A conservation nonprofit is advancing plans to restore wetlands within a nearly 700-acre property along the northwest tip of Surry County.
The Nature Conservancy bought the land for $3 million last year after eyeing it for decades, said Karen Johnson, wetland and stream mitigation director.
Most of the sprawling property is forest, which will remain untouched and preserved, she said.
The central, and most controversial, piece of the project is removing a longstanding dam that created the beloved Sunken Meadow Pond.
It was constructed sometime between 1886 and 1912 and rebuilt in the 1960s, according to the Nature Conservancy, and does not meet requirements now set by the Virginia Dam Safety Act.
Johnson said the nonprofit believes it’s important to restore flow to the James River and bring back the wetland ecosystem.
“It’s been cut off for 100-plus years, and the wetlands have been, essentially, flooded,” she said.
The 150-acre pond puts pressure on a “globally rare” type of swamp that serves as a seepage area for the surrounding, sloped forests, Johnson said.
She compared the Sunken Meadow restoration to a similar one completed by the nonprofit about 15 years ago at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice River Center.
“We've seen at VCU that as soon as we take the dam out, the fish start swimming upstream,” Johnson said.
But many Surry residents argue that draining the pond will drive away existing wildlife, create a smelly nuisance and reduce people’s enjoyment.
“You have an entire ecosystem that's been created over more than a century that they're going to destroy,” said Roberta Hammel, who lives across the street. “They don't care about how they're going to impact the people around here.”
The Nature Conservancy spent the past year holding meetings with the community “after we found out that some of the interested neighbors were not excited about our plans,” Johnson said.
She acknowledged the concerns, such as potential temporary odors and eyesores when the pond is drained.
It may look drastic at first, and will take time to grow in, Johnson said. The group plans to evaluate methods and times of year for the work “to make sure it’s as palatable as possible.”
“I think once it is covered in vegetation, that vegetation is going to really bring in the wildlife, the birds, the fish, and I think they'll be able to see the beauty that comes from it,” she said.
Robert Elliott Jr., a representative on the county’s Board of Supervisors, said in a statement that he supports the project.
It “stands to benefit all residents of Surry County with future opportunities for public access and is a net positive for wildlife.”
The Nature Conservancy has outlined options such as kayak launches, trails and boardwalks.
But the nonprofit does not plan to build or manage those, Johnson said. Other entities, such as the state or county, would need to step in.
Hammel said the uncertainty of what the spot will look like is part of what makes the project hard to support.
She is also skeptical about officials’ motivation, pointing to the Nature Conservancy’s plans to earn financial credits tied to the restoration.
By preserving and expanding the ecosystem, the nonprofit can claim mitigation credits that are traded in a market system to offset impacts elsewhere.
But Johnson said, unlike private companies that previously pursued the site, the Nature Conservancy does not see credits as necessary.
“If we generate credits, that's fantastic. We can use funds from the sale of those credits to do other conservation projects across the watershed,” she said. “But if we aren't able to maximize credit sales or generate income, we still have protected the property. So that's a win-win for us.”
Physical changes to the property are still years away, she said. First, the organization will conduct more detailed environmental studies to inform the project’s design.
