• Skip to Content
• Online Services
• Commonwealth Sites
• Help
• Governor

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

• Hunting
• Fishing
• Boating
• Wildlife Watching
• Wildlife Information
• Habitat
• Education
• Licenses
• Permits
• Forms
• About VDGIF

News Release

MEDIA ADVISORY: Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area Dedication and Opening

MEDIA ADVISORY

Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area
Dedication and Opening

April 10, 2008
10 a.m.
Merrimac Farm WMA
Nokesville, Virginia

We will be dedicating a significant public land acquisition and celebrating a unique partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Prince William Conservation Alliance, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and the McDowell family, who owned the property.

VDGIF and partners will be officially dedicating the Merrimac Farm WMA at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2008.

The Dedication Ceremony will include

* a posting of colors by a U.S. Marine Corps color guard,

* music by a quartet from the Quantico Marine Corps Band,

* light refreshments, and

* tours of the property beginning at noon. A highlight of the tour will be the Virginia bluebells, one of the largest patches in northern Virginia. The event has been scheduled to be timed with the peak of the bluebells. This sight will be impressive.

NOTE: The Virginia Native Plant Society has designated Merrimac Farm as a Virginia Native Plant Society Registry Site not only for the large stand of Virginia bluebells and other spring wildflowers in the Cedar Run floodplain, but also for the outstanding upland forest community in the northern and western portions of the property.

Brief remarks by Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant, Jr.; Board of Game and Inland Fisheries Chairman James W. Hazel; Executive Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Bob Duncan; Donald Schregardus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the Environment; Alex Beehler, Deputy Assistant Under Secretary of Defense for the Environment, Safety and Occupational Health; Kim Hosen, Executive Director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance; and Gail McDowell of the McDowell family.

This event offers:

* Excellent photo opportunities of scenic natural areas including northern Virginia’s largest patch of Virginia bluebells;

* One-on-one interviews with state, federal and conservation leaders;

* Opportunities to interview local outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife professionals, and Department of Defense personnel about the significance of this public land.

Directions:
From Interstate 95 take exit 150.Take Joplin Road (Route 619) and travel west for 9.5 miles
Turn left on to Aden Road (Route 646) and travel south for 6.2 miles
At Aden, turn left. Turn left on to Fleetwood Drive (Route 611) and travel east for 1.2 miles
Turn left onto Deep Wood Lane (Route 645) and travel for 1.5 miles following signs to the Stone House

Background

Merrimac Farm, a more than 300-acre property in Prince William County, is the newest addition to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' (VDGIF) statewide network of wildlife management areas. The land features diverse wildlife habitats - wetlands, hardwood forest and upland meadows - as well as access to Cedar Run. The property was recently acquired by the VDGIF with support from the Prince William Conservation Alliance, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and the McDowell family (who owned the property). As a result of this successful partnership involving state and federal agencies, local non-government organizations and private individuals, this scenic property has been permanently conserved for public use including hunting, fishing, wildlife watching and environmental education programs.

Why Merrimac Farm WMA is Significant

The acquisition of Merrimac Farm presents a unique opportunity to protect forested wetlands and vernal pools, some of the most threatened habitat in the United States, in one of the fastest growing communities in the country. The proximity to highly urban populations makes Merrimac Farm an ideal place for the more than 2 million northern Virginia residents to participate in wildlife-related recreation and education. Plans for the site include special managed hunts, fishing, wildlife viewing areas, and environmental education programs. VDGIF will use this site to demonstrate wildlife management principles and practices in an urban/suburban setting which will hopefully serve as a model for other public lands in northern Virginia. To protect the integrity of the property as well as to minimize user conflicts and negative impact on habitat, Merrimac Farm WMA will have some restrictions. Horseback and bicycle riding, use of all-terrain vehicles, dog walking and jogging will be prohibited.

The U.S. Marine Corp' involvement in the acquisition is part of a federal program to work with state and local agencies, conservation organizations, and willing landowners to protect the mission integrity of military installations by establishing an easement that will act as a buffer area outside the installation's existing border to protect against incompatible development that could impact current or future military operations occurring within the current installation boundaries, as well as to support local land conservation efforts. Merrimac Farm is the first acquisition of its kind in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Contacts:

Wildlife Regional Manager Jerry Sims
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
540-899-4169
Jerry.sims@dgif.virginia.gov

Executive Director Kim Hosen
Prince William Conservation Alliance
703-499-4954
Kim@pwconserve.org

1st. Lt. Brian P. Donnelly
Public Affairs Office
Marine Corps Base Quantico
703-432-0305
Brian.p.donnelly@USMC.mil