CRLC earns award for acquisition, protection of New Market Heights Battlefield in Henrico

New Market Heights (Courtesy CRLC)

The Capital Region Land Conservancy April 19 received the 2024 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award during the Environment Virginia Symposium at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. The award was given in recognition of CRLC’s protection of the core area of the New Market Heights Battlefield.

The battlefield, located in Eastern Henrico County, is home to the Battle of New Market Heights and was the site of the greatest Civil War victory of the United States Colored Troops. CRLC acquired the site, which features a nearly 800-foot segment of original earthworks known as The New Market Line, in 2023. Fourteen USCT soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their bravery in the Sept. 29, 1864 battle.

Mike Rolband, Director of VA Dept. of Environmental Quality; Travis Voyles, Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources; Parker Agelasto, CRLC Executive Director; Matt Wells, Director of VA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation; and CRLC Board Members Heather Barrar, Patrick Fanning, and Demetrius Venable.(Contributed photo)

CRLC is a three-time recipient of a Governor’s Award, previously being recognized for the James River Park conservation easement and its acquisition and protection of Malvern Hill Farm. The acquisition of the New Market Heights Battlefield was made possible in part by funding provided by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program.

The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards were presented by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

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