THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140360
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
A proposed wildlife refuge in the heart of this urban core is on its way to becoming reality.
In the past four months, citizens in Churchland have formed a board of directors and have begun recruiting volunteers and soliciting donations for the proposed Hoffler Creek Wildlife Refuge.
The 11 board members received one grant and applied for nonprofit status for the preserve, which borders Suffolk. The 142 acres of woodlands, wetlands and water support herons, egret, eagles, otters and owls living 15 minutes from Portsmouth's downtown.
A state committee recently recommended that the Hoffler Creek Wildlife Refuge project receive a $13,425 grant for designing and building trails, benches and signposts in the pristine area. Those funds would come from the state's license plate fund.
That grant is expected to be awarded this spring - well before the one-year deadline the City Council gave for citizens to come up with a feasible plan, prior to agreeing to take the land from the Virginia Department of Transportation. State officials have offered to sell the land, which includes a 35-acre man-made lake, to the city for $1 if the area is dedicated as a wildlife refuge.
The city at first refused the offer but reconsidered after citizens urged the council to give them a chance to preserve the land. If the city eventually refuses the offer, the transportation department would sell the land for development.
Some Hoffler Creek board members see the refuge as a way to ``put Portsmouth on the map for something positive.'' They hope to give inner-city children from across the region an opportunity to smell, see and hear nature.
To further develop its plan, the board is hunting for more grants and seeking support and technical advice from other Hampton Roads environmental groups.
``When we attended the Southeastern Association for Virginia's Environment conference meeting, all of the organizations were in support of the project,'' said Betty Cornetta, one of the Hoffler Creek Board members. ``It was really inspiring and exciting.''
Those groups have offered technical and environmental assistance, Cornetta said.
The Hoffler Creek board has begun setting up promotional programs for civic leagues and service organizations.
The board has received nearly 20 donations and recruited two dozen volunteers, since completing the paperwork for the group's non-profit status, Cornetta said.
``Now our main goal is to start soliciting for members,'' she said. ``By the first of the year we will send out letters of interest and will begin soliciting donations of money and supplies.''
City officials are currently working to design minimum standards for conservation groups who want to take care of the proposed refuge. The city will then send out a request for proposals to environmental groups interested in operating or managing the refuge.
The Hoffler Creek group hopes to win that contract and accept responsibility for the land. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Proposed Hoffler Creek Wildlife Refuge
by CNB