Petition for Recreational Access to Purcellville Watershed

The Purcellville Watershed (Robert W. Lazaro Watershed) consists of 1272 acres of wooded mountainside and rolling hills terrain. It is bordered on the west by the Appalachian trail, and on the North, East, and South by private landowners. The property includes the 8 acre Purcellville reservoir on the southeast corner of the property.

According to the Town website, this reservoir provides roughly 28% of the town's water supply. The 1200+ wooded acres in the Watershed are currently used by a select few town approved employees for hunting and fishing, but is currently closed to everyone else.

The purpose of this petition is to show citizen support to the Purcellville Town Council to allow recreational access to the property for a Multi-Use Trail system, as well as include current hunting activities. Access to watershed properties for recreation purposes is not uncommon.

Frederick MD, Roanoke VA, New York City, Washington DC, and Los Angeles are all examples of municipalities which allow recreation access to their watershed lands. These trails would allow hiking, running, cycling, equestrian activities, as well as provide educational and leisure opportunities.

The potential benefits to Purcellville include not only the obvious recreational, but also economic and quality of life benefits. Town small business owners, as well as the town directly, will benefit via increased traffic to town businesses and the resulting tax revenues.

Additionally, a fee based permit system which requires users to purchase either a day pass or annual pass can be implemented. This allows the town to control the number of approved users into the property. For reference, please see the economic benefits studies and Northern Virginia recreational survey at the following links:

Northern Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Regional Recommendations:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/documents/voppd08.pdf

Outdoor Foundation – Active Outdoor Recreation Report
http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research.recreation.bicycling.html

American Trails Organization – Economic Impact of Trails Resource Library
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/economics/

There are many examples of trails on lands on which hunting is permitted, and safety mitigations include closing trails to recreational use during prime hunting seasons.