Loudoun County businessman and conservationist Chuck Kuhn, the owner of JK Moving Services, has placed 87 acres near Lucketts in conservation easement, protecting it from development in perpetuity.
The Land Trust of Virginia, based in Middleburg, executed the easement for the property that will be known as JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary.
JK Moving purchased the property last year with the intent to place it into easement. Kuhn plans to sell the property to Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy once the conservancy raises the necessary funds. JK will sell it at the lower “conserved” property value, and JK Moving and the Kuhn Family Foundation will donate the remaining balance, according to Monday’s announcement.
___
Click here for drone footage of the property.
___
The property provides important wildlife habitat for a number of aquatic and terrestrial species, with potential habitat for two State Threatened Species – the Wood Turtle (Gleptymis insculpta) and the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludoviciana), according to Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy officials. The site consists of 54 acres of forest cover, 10.7 acres of minor floodplain and 13 important vernal pools, according to officials with the Land Trust of Virginia and LWC.
“It is an exceptional and unique habitat,” Michael Myers, executive director of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, said in a prepared statement. “That’s why we are working hard to acquire the property and protect it for future generations.”
The LTV conservation easement was done in coordination with JK Moving in anticipation of LWC acquiring the property by the end of 2019.
“Protecting Stumptown Woods furthers our interest in making meaningful charitable investments and protecting open spaces. While this property could have been divided into many parcels, we are thrilled to reduce that to zero and conserve this critical habitat,” Kuhn said in his statement.
The property is visible from Route 662/Stumptown Road, Route 663/Newvalley Road, and Route 15/James Monroe Highway, which is designated a Virginia Byway and a National Scenic Byway. The property lies within the Mosby Heritage Area as well as The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, further protecting land important to the cultural and historic qualities of Loudoun, according to Land Trust of Virginia officials.
Kuhn has placed more than 4,000 acres in Loudoun, Frederick and Fauquier counties in conservation easement over the past six years.