WHEREAS, in the late 1950s, the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission and a group of citizens from several local jurisdictions came together to protect Northern Virginia's rich heritage of woods, meadows, lakes, and streams from the threat of suburban sprawl; and

WHEREAS, these citizens, working with their local governments, including Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Falls Church, organized under the Virginia Park Authorities Act in 1959 as the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority; and

WHEREAS, NOVA Parks, as the organization came to be known in 2014, represents Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, the City of Alexandria, the City of Falls Church, and the City of Fairfax; and

WHEREAS, NOVA Parks staff, volunteer board members appointed from each jurisdiction, and many friends of the regional parks working together have preserved over 12,000 acres of the rolling and wooded Virginia countryside and created a priceless legacy for future generations; and

WHEREAS, NOVA Parks provides almost two million citizens with some of the finest recreational facilities in the country; and

WHEREAS, this year, NOVA Parks is celebrating 50 years since the establishment of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway Trail, a continuous 45-mile trail from Arlington County to Purcellville, one of the first rails-to-trails routes in the nation; and

WHEREAS, NOVA Parks has worked to document the precolonial presence of Native American tribes like the Piscataway, Monacans, and Algonquians and to preserve the burial grounds of enslaved communities within the land it manages with a series of markers and interpretive programs; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That NOVA Parks hereby be commended for the 50th anniversary of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and for its outstanding service in promoting resources to residents and their families; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to representatives of NOVA Parks as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's significant contributions to the Northern Virginia community and best wishes in its future endeavors.