Virginia is home to some of the most historic, beautiful and meaningful landscapes in America. In my more than 25-year career in land conservation, I’ve been proud to protect the places that tell the story of our nation, and in that time, none have been more important, more comprehensive in its story, and more urgent to protect than Oak Hill.
It is 1,200 acres of rolling farmland in Northern Virginia, threaded by streams and creeks for fishing and forested glades for enjoying wildlife and a walk in the woods. It is also a uniquely American place and one that tells the story of our nation. Oak Hill is the only privately held home of a presidential Founding Father — the estate where James Monroe lived and where he drafted the Monroe Doctrine that shaped two centuries of American foreign policy.
But that headline tells only part of the story. At least 60 enslaved people lived and worked this land, and Oak Hill showcases their craftsmanship and carries their history alongside Monroe’s, as well as the history of the Indigenous people who were here long before him. It is a fuller, more honest American story than a single president’s name can hold. The DeLashmutt family called Oak Hill home for nearly 80 years, turning down far larger development offers specifically so the land could one day be preserved for the public.
When you think about the places that should belong to all Americans, protected as a state park, Oak Hill sits at the top of the list. Yet for the second year in a row, and just days before celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary, the General Assembly has left Oak Hill out of the state budget, despite overwhelming public support to preserve it for Virginia and the nation.
The Conservation Fund acquired Oak Hill last November precisely to protect it from development, and we have spent the better part of two years assembling the funding to turn it into a state park. We did the hard work of stitching together federal, private and state dollars to make it possible for this park to be fully self-supporting and paid for without any money from the state’s General Fund. Leaving Oak Hill out of the budget doesn’t save the commonwealth a single dollar. It instead forfeits millions, including federal grant money that disappears permanently if the state fails to act in time.
A $6 million federal grant from the stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund expires in 2027 and must be used by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire Oak Hill. It is not transferrable to another agency or another project in Virginia and would return to the national pool. Another $5 million in private pledges held by The Conservation Fund are also at risk as the commitments are contingent on Oak Hill becoming a state park.
Beyond the immediate funding that would be lost both to the project and to Virginia, forgoing this new park is a failure to invest in the outdoor economy that helps drive more than $13 billion in economic activity in Virginia every year. State parks are a good investment in Virginia’s economy, driving tourism throughout the state and generating $530 million or more in economic output. With so much natural beauty and cultural significance in a location so close to major urban centers, Oak Hill would be a tremendous economic engine for the Commonwealth.
Governor Spanberger, you can fix this. You have the authority to put Oak Hill back into the budget, and the window to do it is narrow and closing. A decision to proceed this summer protects the federal grant, secures the private pledges and unlocks the economic potential of a new cultural and recreational asset. Waiting another year risks losing all three — and with them, the best chance Virginia will ever have to add a property of this caliber to its park system.
As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, there could be no more fitting addition to Virginia’s state parks than Oak Hill — a place where Americans can walk the same ground where the Monroe Doctrine was written, reckon honestly with the lives of the enslaved people who built and sustained it, and experience 1,200 acres of Virginia’s landscape that will never come available again.
The Conservation Fund has done its part. The DeLashmutt family has done theirs. The funding is in hand. All that remains is for the commonwealth to say yes.
As the vice president for the Mid-Atlantic region, Heather Richards oversees The Conservation Fund’s Conservation Acquisition programs in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia.
