RD214 - Status Report on Grand Caverns Park Transfer to the Department of Conservation and Recreation


Executive Summary:
As requested in Item 362 of the 2008 Appropriations Act, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has prepared the attached report on actions it has taken with respect to the future transfer of the Grand Caverns Regional Park to DCR for operation as a state park.

This report reviews the history of the transfer proposal since it was first addressed in Senate Document No. 23 prepared for the 2000 Session of the General Assembly. Specifics are provided within the report on steps taken by both the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority in the intervening eight years.

The primary impediment to the state assuming ownership and management of Grand Caverns has been lack of funding for immediate and necessary capital facility upgrades and park operation as well as lack of funding to acquire the approximately 500 acres of additional land needed to bring the site up to the preferred state park minimum acreage of 600 acres. The total cost for facility upgrades/replacements and the additional land acquisition is estimated at $7.5 to $8.5 million. In addition, the operating cost of the site as a state park, once transferred, is estimated at $580,000 annually, plus one-time start-up cost of $261,000.

A second consideration for the Commonwealth is the renewed opposition to the transfer by several private cavern owners. Their objections are outlined in the report.

In recent meetings with the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority, they have reiterated their desire to give this site to the state and have also indicated a willingness of the four localities that make up the Authority to cover a portion of the operational cost for the first four years. Resolutions passed by three of the four localities at the time of this report have been made available to the Department and are mentioned in the report.

DCR reaffirms its position that the cavern site has significant conservation and natural resource value. The transfer of the property to the Commonwealth would be a positive addition to the state park system. While the site has the potential to become a future state park, the “how” and “when” of the necessary funding remain unresolved and the Department advises against the transfer until the funding is provided as there will be immediate disruptions in service to the public once the transfer occurs in order to bring the park facilities up to state standards. In this regard, Grand Caverns is unlike other lands the agency has acquired recently for future state parks which were undeveloped and land banked until development and operating funds could be appropriated.