Richmond Times-Dispatch
by Ward Burton, founder and president of the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation

RICHMOND, Va. — Long before I took the wheel as a NASCAR driver, I grew up on the land in Southside Virginia. From an early age, I learned to love the forests, streams, meadows, and wildlife that make this part of the commonwealth so beautiful and valuable.

My father, grandfather, and many other hunters and outdoorsmen taught me that we must be good stewards of the land, conveying it to our children and grandchildren in the same — or better — condition as we found it.
That was the reason I started the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation two decades ago. The foundation has a deep commitment to protecting the thousands of acres now entrusted to it. So I was very concerned when Dominion approached me with the news that the proposed path for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline ran through three foundation-owned tracts near Fort Pickett in Nottoway, Dinwiddie and Brunswick counties and that the project needed easements through all three parcels.

Initially, I made up my mind not to allow it. I thought the environmental impact would be too negative.
But I also decided to hold a conversation with Dominion. The more I learned about the company, the more I came to respect their commitment to the environment and their dedication to building the pipeline in a way that preserves and protects the land, to the greatest extent possible. I kept hearing the same things from other landowners. And I changed my mind.

What I initially saw as a threat to foundation property has turned, in my view, into a big opportunity. Working with Dominion, we have been able to develop a plan for the easements that will in the end enhance the parcels rather than diminishing their environmental value.

Frankly, I’m excited about it. And with no hesitation, I recently signed the papers conveying the easements.
True, the pipeline will mean some changes. Two of the parcels are timbered; a strip of trees must be cut down and the stumps removed. But Dominion will help the foundation financially by paying not only for timber now on the land, but also for a future harvest that would take place 20 to 30 years in the future.

And once construction is finished, the company will work with us to plant the land with warm-weather grasses and other pollinators. These plants will create diverse and valuable new habitats for an array of Southside wildlife, including bobwhite quail, many other birds, and rabbits.

The third tract is used to grow crops such as soybeans and wheat. Once the pipeline work is completed, we can go back to using the land as we’ve always done, with no restrictions.

After construction is finished, Dominion also will restore the property’s access road, property-line fences and gates. They will permanently maintain the road by re-graveling it.

I don’t believe the foundation is getting special treatment. Such painstaking care is standard practice for the company. They believe each tract crossed by the pipeline should be returned as much as possible to the way its owners kept it.

In addition to its environmental value, the parcels serve another important purpose. The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation is the primary partner for a federal program known as ACUB (Army Compatible Use Buffer). This vitally important program maintains protective buffers around U.S. National Guard bases, including Fort Pickett in Blackstone. The program ensures that our nation’s servicemen and -women are getting the best and safest training they need to defend our precious freedoms.

It is an honor to work with the dedicated staff at Fort Pickett to both protect our armed forces’ bases, while at the same time practicing conservation. The National Guard assures us that the pipeline easements will do nothing to compromise its national security function. I’d never agree to the easements without that assurance.

Conservation as we know it wouldn’t exist without the original conservationists — the hunters and outdoorsmen, including those I knew growing up in Southside, with a deep respect for the land. My racing career has given me the opportunity to put that commitment into action and help preserve our precious natural heritage.

I have been very pleased to learn that Dominion shares the foundation’s commitment to environmental responsibility, even as they and their partners work to build an important new pipeline that will bring valuable new energy supplies to all Virginians and help grow the commonwealth’s economy. And I look forward to a productive partnership with the company that will help us pass our land — healthy and protected — on to future generations.

Ward Burton, a Halifax County resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and conservationist. He is a former NASCAR driver and is the founder and president of the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation. Contact him at wardburton1961@gmail.com.

Read the full story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch