Bill Text: VA HJR82 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State park; DCR to study feasibility of establishing in Washington County.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-18 - Left in Rules [HJR82 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2025-HJR82-Introduced.html
24105062D
\r\n\r\nHOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 82\r\n
\r\n\r\nOffered January 19, 2024\r\n
\r\nRequesting the Department of Conservation and Recreation to \r\n study the feasibility of establishing a state park \r\n in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the \r\n Holston River Watersheds. Report.
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\r\n\r\nPatron-- O'Quinn\r\n
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\r\n\r\nUnanimous consent to introduce\r\n
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\r\n\r\nReferred to Committee on Rules\r\n
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\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the Department of Conservation and Recreation is \r\n charged with the mission to conserve, protect, enhance, and advocate the wise \r\n use of the Commonwealth's unique natural, recreational, scenic, and cultural \r\n resources; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, tourism is vital to the economy of Virginia, and it \r\n has been the Commonwealth's policy to encourage tourism and travel in Virginia; \r\n and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, in 2016, more than 10 million people visited state \r\n parks located within the Commonwealth; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, in 2018, visitors to Virginia's state parks spent an \r\n estimated $249 million within the Commonwealth; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the Mendota Trail and \r\n Abrams Falls was designated by the Nature Conservancy as one of the 39 \r\n \"Last Great Places,\" comprising one of the \r\n world's most important intact remaining ecosystems; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the Mendota Trail was a \r\n rails-to-trails project that spans the former Southern Railroad corridor \r\n between Bristol, Virginia, and Mendota, Virginia, with a total of 12.5 miles of rail bed; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, Washington County, the surrounding counties, and the citizens thereof have benefited economically \r\n from the former railroad established around 1900; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the trails have been fully restored and are now \r\n available to the general public for hiking and biking; \r\n and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the new economy for the Mendota Trail is based on \r\n recreation and tourism that provide for sustainable and inexhaustible resources \r\n that is anchored in the natural beauty of Southwest Virginia, consisting of \r\n breathtaking mountains, tranquil countryside and forest, and pastoral views in \r\n Washington County; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the Washington County Board of Supervisors \r\n unanimously approved acquisition by donated conveyance from the Mendota Trail \r\n Conservancy, the 12.5-mile rails to trails greenway \r\n from Mendota to Bristol, along with all related amenities; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, since 2017 a portion of the Mendota Trail has been \r\n open to the public \r\n fo \r\n r \r\n hiking and biking and officially opened on September 15, 2023, to commemorate the inspiring success of the Mendota \r\n Trail Conservancy Board; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the nearest state park from Bristol, Virginia, and \r\n Mendota, Virginia, is nearly one hour of drive time away from such communities, and research indicates that such communities are more \r\n socially vulnerable and disadvantaged than communities where recreational \r\n opportunities are available; and
\r\n \r\n \nWHEREAS, the Mendota Trail and her supporting cast of unique \r\n features and lands all complement and add value that will greatly open the \r\n possibility to becoming a premier destination state park in Washington County, \r\n Virginia; now, therefore, be it
\r\n \r\n \nRESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, \r\n That the Department of Conservation and Recreation be requested to study the \r\n feasibility of establishing a state park in Washington County at the Mendota \r\n Trail and Abrams Falls located within the Holston River Watersheds.
\r\n \r\n \nIn conducting its study, the Department of Conservation and \r\n Recreation shall seek and consider the views of local citizens, local \r\n governments, and regional organizations before making its final \r\n recommendations.
\r\n \r\n \nAll agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to \r\n the Department of Conservation and Recreation for this study, upon request.
\r\n \r\n \nThe Department of Conservation and Recreation shall complete \r\n its meetings by November 30, 2024, and shall submit to the Governor and the \r\n General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and \r\n recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive \r\n summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the \r\n Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative \r\n documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session \r\n of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
\r\n \r\n \n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n","DraftTitle":"Requesting the Department of Conservation and Recreation to \r\n study the feasibility of establishing a state park \r\n in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the \r\n Holston River Watersheds. Report.
\r\n24105062D
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