Bundoran Farm + Audubon International

As the land planners, landscape architects and civil engineers of record for the preservation development at Bundoran Farm (http://www.bundoranfarm.com/) , we are excited to share with you the news that Audubon International has chosen this project to receive their Gold Signature Sanctuary designation. Please read the article below that describes the plan for this farm and why it meets this prestigious standard. This award recognizes the values that we have always espoused; developing land in an environmentally sustainable manner while maintaining the economic value for the landowner. Conservation of rural land and wildlife habitat can coexist with the manmade landscape to create a place that is preserved for future generations.

Bundoran Farm Designated a Gold Audubon Sanctuary

Bundoran Farm, located in Albemarle County, was recently designated as a "Certified Gold Signature Sanctuary" by Audubon International. Signature certification is awarded only to new developments which are designed, constructed, and maintained according to Audubon International's standards for planning and environmental stewardship.

The highest level of certification, gold, is reserved for projects complying with the most exacting of these standards. Bundoran Farm is the first development in the Commonwealth of Virginia to receive this honor and the first working farm to be certified in the Audubon International Signature Programs.

"Bundoran Farm has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program and are to be commended for their efforts in fostering sustainable development and land management with emphasis on protecting and sustaining land, water, wildlife, and natural resources where people live," comments Nancy E. Richardson, Director, Signature Programs, Audubon International. "Bundoran Farm clearly excels as an example of good stewardship and we look forward to continuing our relationship to protect and enhance the environment in Virginia."

To become certified, each Signature member must design and implement a Natural Resource Management Plan for the property by addressing the following: Wildlife Conservation and Habitat Enhancement, Water Quality Monitoring and Management, Integrated Pest Management, Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, and Waste Management. The designation of Signature Certification is contingent upon the quality and completeness of the Natural Resources Management Plan and its implementation.

Located just 15 minutes from Charlottesville and the renowned University of Virginia, the 2,300 acres of Bundoran Farm are nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Two ponds provide a place for quiet reflection or fishing, and farm buildings and cottages dot the landscape, framing views that typify the slower pace and natural beauty of the Albemarle County lifestyle. This land remains intact today because of a legacy of family stewardship, a tradition of care that will continue for generations to come.

Bundoran Farm is not just a place of rare visual beauty. It is a thriving landscape of cattle and orchards - a place where deer, fish and birds find quiet refuge. A place where a network of over fifteen miles of walking and riding trails winds amongst mature Piedmont forest species. And where, most importantly, all of this will remain intact for future generations. In fact, 90 percent of Bundoran Farm will remain untouched by residential development thanks to the careful process of Preservation Development.

Bundoran Farm is the location of a new kind of rural community. At the heart of this community is a new economic, environmental and social way of life called Preservation Development. This innovative concept of land preservation, combined with extremely limited residential development, has been practiced and refined over thirty years.

In the case of Bundoran Farm, these principles will result in a low-density community of approximately one hundred homesites, with the great majority of the farm's acreage put under a proven system of easements and deed restrictions to ensure the beauty, character and vitality of this land in perpetuity. With the purchase of their individual homesites, owners enjoy the expansive acreage and beauty of the entire working farm and forest. They can experience the benefits of living on a large farm without the investment of time and management such a parcel would typically require.

Audubon International is a not-for-profit environmental education organization dedicated to educating, assisting, and inspiring millions of people from all walks of life to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them. By helping people make sound environmental decisions and take environmentally responsible actions, Audubon International seeks to foster more sustainable human and natural communities. The organization works with communities in 26 different countries.

The Ordinary at The Fork Farm and Stables

Stanly County, North Carolina - Since its inception in 1999, The Fork Farm and Stables has quickly become a premier facility for all things "field sport," especially equestrian events. In 1999, this was only a vision for the property, as owner Jim Cogdell retained the services of Field Sport Concepts to assist in bringing the vision to life. FSC worked closely with Mr. Cogdell to prepare a feasibility study for the property, which sits at the confluence of the Pee Dee and Rocky Rivers near Norwood, North Carolina. This study resulted in a conceptual land use diagram, as well as, documentation of the site's history and inventory and analysis of existing ecologic systems partnered with suggested programmatic uses and subsequent management of those uses. This work was backed by conservation principles that further guided the decisions and recommendations made during the design and implementation of the project.

Today, The Ordinary at The Fork offers many opportunities for field sport enthusiasts to pursue outdoor and recreational interests such as fishing, hunting, shooting, boating, biking, archery, cooking schools and painting classes. This facility is aimed at marrying the aspects of education, recreation and conservation while providing each guest a unique experience. The Ordinary is also home to the International Wing Shooting School, directed by Field Sport Concepts' affiliate John Higgins of The British School of Shooting.



This July, Field Sport Concepts will be a proud sponsor of the Inaugural Front Country Festival set for Sunday, July 19 at The Ordinary. This event will not only celebrate the local history of the area, but will also afford opportunities for all to become immersed in traditional and contemporary field sport activities.

Crown Grant Conservation

Bath County, Virginia - The Jackson River passes through a spectrum of land uses as it makes its way from the Virginia Highlands in the Allegheny Mountains to the James River in the Roanoke Valley. From its “pristine” mountain headwaters it flows into Lake Moomaw and then into Covington, Virginia as its waters are used for the production of paper products at the Mead- Westvaco mill that has supplied a means of living for folks in that community since the early 1900s.

Reaching back further in time, to the mid and late 1700s, Kings George II and George III issued land grants - called crown grants - which afforded landowners control of their property “from the earth’s surface to the heavens.” For this reason, the rights of these landowners were brought into the spotlight in the mid-1990s and were upheld by a Virginia Supreme Court decision that limited public fishing access along a 19-mile tail water section of the Jackson from Gathright Dam to Covington.

In 2007, Field Sport Concepts Ltd., affiliated with Trout Headwaters Inc., was commissioned to master plan over 600 acres of privately-held crown grant property. The goal was to identify less than 20 home sites interspersed throughout the property - all with access to the blue-ribbon trout waters of the Jackson River. Once the home sites were selected, proposed roads were staked using GPS by walking hundreds of routes in search of the least destructive alignments. Natural systems inventories were also taken to assure the proposed interventions were “laying as lightly on the land” as possible.

As anticipated lot sales draw closer this summer, a fortunate group of people will purchase their own pieces of nature, history and culture along the banks of the Jackson River - ultimately made possible by conservation efforts that are sensitive to all aspects of the property. Conservation is about the land and the constituents by which it is composed. It encompasses natural resources, ecological systems, history, culture and lifestyles. A frontiersman once said “the colonist shaped the wilderness and the wilderness shaped the colonist.”

“We are always in search of innovative ways to conserve land, history and culture in our projects,” says Field Sport founder and president, Bob McKee. “The beauty of conservation is that it is scaleable - its principles can be applied on a 10,000 acre ranch as well as a 1/2 acre urban lot. The key is to identify what is being conserved in a project and focus your time and energies on doing just that. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming and the final product may not be what was invisioned.”

This is evidenced by the company’s portfolio of projects, which range from a 2300-acre conservation development that only disturbs 20% of the total land area to a one-acre commercial urban infill lot, in which the design protected an urban stream from being box-culverted and treated stormwater runoff through Low Impact Design measures. “We are commited to sustainable ownership and we want to provide our clients with economically feasible solutions for both the short and long term.”

Field Sport Concepts Ltd is an affiliation of respected consultants in the disciplines of resource and land planning, engineering, landscape architecture, environmental sciences, field sport facilities design and real estate. The organization seeks to enhance and manage rural properties in a manner that is sympathetic to the natural environment and provides opportunity for the pursuit and appreciation of outdoor activities.