NOVA Parks acquires 3.2 acre Stribling Property 

Pohick Bay Regional Park is about to get a little bigger. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) is pleased to announce that it has completed a purchase for 3.2 acres along Pohick Bay on the Mason Neck peninsula – a lot actually located within the current park borders that had served as private property since before Pohick Bay was a regional park.

“This is such a wonderful addition to the park and we’re delighted for the opportunity,” said NOVA Parks Chairman Michael Nardolilli. “Being able to add significant shoreline will only further enhance our conservation efforts in the area and provide NOVA Parks and our park guests with more opportunities for passive recreation.”

“The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust is very pleased to lend our support in partnering to saving this beautiful property in perpetuity,” said Gary Kirkbride, Chairman of the Board of NVCT. Pohick Bay Regional Park is over 1000 acres and located in Lorton. The park offers a variety of amenities for its users, including camping (tents, cabins and RVs), trails, golf, boating, playgrounds and a waterpark. Located within the park’s borders, the residential property has been in the Stribling family since the 1950s. The property is subdivided into three single-family residential lots of roughly one acre each and each with roughly 100 feet of river frontage.

“It’s obviously a unique situation to have private, residential property located within the park’s borders, and it’s wonderful that Mrs. Stribling reached out to us first,” said NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert. “This would obviously be prime land for private development, so to have the opportunity to add it into the park and make it available to the public is something we’re really excited about.”

Conservation, including protecting vital riparian areas along the water, is a key goal for both NOVA Parks and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust.

“Pohick Bay Regional Park is one of the most popular outdoor recreation sites in Northern Virginia, so we couldn’t be happier to partner with NOVA parks in enhancing it,” said NVCT Executive Director Alan Rowsome.  “As our region continues to grow and develop, it is critical that we set aside and protect natural lands such as this as an investment in our future.”

NOVA Parks was founded in 1959 as a regional park agency with parks in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church Cities. NOVA Parks has about 12,300 acres and 33 parks, much of it protecting the rivers and major waterways of our region.

The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust was founded in 1994 as a nonprofit organization that conserves landscapes with natural, historical and cultural value in rural and urban areas across the region. The Trust assists private landowners and local jurisdictions in conserving and caring for our natural and working lands and waters, thereby saving nearby nature® for the benefit of current and future generations.