Va. forestry officials team up to save forestland

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Forestry teamed up with federal, state and private partners to preserve thousands of critical acres in southeastern Virginia last year.

The preservation effort included 216 acres along the Nottoway River in Southampton County, 2,348 acres in Isle of Wight County and 2,885 acres along the Blackwater River in the city of Suffolk.

Forestry officials say the conservation easements involved an upland pine plantation, one of the state's largest of stands of old-growth cypress and the largest remaining longleaf pine seed trees in the state.

State foresters worked on the conservation initiatives with their counterparts at the U.S. Forest Service's Forestry Legacy Program, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Nature Conservancy and businesses.