This View at Smith Mountain Lake Will Remain The Same-Forever

This View at Smith Mountain Lake Will Remain The Same-Forever.

This is great news- thanks to a donation to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Appalachian Power (a subsidiary of Appalachian Electric Power), 4022 acres of land at Smith Mountain Lake will remain permanently protected from development. A conservation easement was recorded in late January on land in Bedford and Pittsylvania Counties. The easement is co-held by Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Most of Smith Mountain is covered by the easement (see arrow above). If you’ve been to the dam, the protected land forms the ridge on both sides of the dam and contains 10 miles of shoreline. Looking at the map above, Smith Mountain Lake State Park to the left is shaded in green. This newly donated land is the crescent shape in green.

Some public access is allowed for fishing, camping, hiking and hunting. Spring is coming and this is the perfect time to visit beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. For more information on the donation, go to the AEP website www.aep.com.

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