Shenandoah 2045: Preservation
Dec 19, 2022
Our conversation today with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner is part of an ongoing series following the work on Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive plan. The planning process will unfold over the course of four years with the majority of the community collaboration occurring from 2020-2022, with input in 2023-2024.
Keven Walker, CEO of Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF) joined Tyler & me to talk about the role preservation plays in the future planning of the county. He gave us a quick history of his organization.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation was established by Congress in 1996 to be the managing entity for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield's National Historic District. That National Historic District also created by Congress, was established to preserve and protect the heritage and culture of the Shenandoah Valley, most especially surrounding its battlefield history. Scores of battles were fought here in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War and Congress believed that it was a very important place to preserve and protect. Their headquarters are in New Market but their area spans an eight-county area - about three times the size of Rhode Island and roughly 20 to 25% of the land mass of Virginia. The enabling 1996 legislation initially named 10 battlefields upon which SVBF would focus, however since then, that number has grown to 20 battlefields.
SVBF has directly preserved 7,012 acres. The vast majority of that acreage is located in Shenandoah and Frederick Counties. Although, SVBF has acreage in just about every other corner of the valley as well, and are currently working to open those acres to the public, so that they are resources for outdoor recreation and learning for all our communities.
Keven explained the different levels of preservation, their long-term plan, and talked about the important role education plays in accomplishing their mission. We discussed how much preserving the past impacts future growth and that the two are not mutually exclusive. Tyler told us that the majority of people they heard from during the public input process expressed a desire to preserve and protect open lands and historical resources.
To learn more about Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, visit their website: https://www.shenandoahatwar.org/ and follow them on Facebook.
For more information about the planning process or to see more results, visit their website: https://shenandoahcountyva.us/future/ and follow them on Facebook.
You can listen to previous conversations with Tyler about Shenandoah 2045 by clicking here.