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Va. awards $7.5 million in grants for land conservation

Virginia has announced a third round of grants aimed at buying and preserving 8,000 acres worth of land across the commonwealth.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation on Thursday said a total of $7.5 million had been awarded to land trusts, local governments and state agencies to fund 30 conservation projects ranging from farmland, forests and historic sites to natural areas and parks.

“Through ConserveVirginia, we’re making sure we prioritize protecting lands that bring the most benefit, addressing historic inequalities, and widening our public land program into new areas,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “Each one of these grants is an opportunity to protect public space in our local communities.”

The funded projects closest to the D.C. area were in Stafford County, where the county government was awarded $120,250 for a conservation easement to protect the historic 70-acre Kevin Jones Farm, and in Culpeper County, where the American Battlefield Trust was granted $249,876 to buy and preserve Pegram’s Battery Tract in the Cedar Mountain Battlefield.

You can see the whole list on the department’s website.

Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. In place of the people movers, the airport will add a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways and new concourses. An above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles is also in the offing, according to Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The airport makeover would add to a long list of renovation projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on the Washington region after his term ends in January 2029. Among other undertakings, he is building a new White House ballroom and wants to build a towering triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. But of all the construction projects Trump is pursuing, the renovations at Dulles could prove to be his most popular and benefit the greatest number of people. The airport, the area’s primary international airport, served roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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