SVBF Hires Resource Protection Staffer

Milner to manage Foundation’s battlefield preservation program

For immediate release—October 3, 2007
Contact: Howard J. Kittell /SVBF (540-740-4545)

NEW MARKET, Va.—The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation announced today that it has hired Chase Milner to fill the position of program manager for resource protection.  Milner started work on October 1st.

Milner’s background is in land conservation and environmental stewardship.  He comes to the Battlefields Foundation from the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy in western North Carolina , where he worked with landowners, partners, and others to support various elements of the conservancy’s land protection projects, including a $1.18 million effort to protect Alexander’s Ford, an American Revolutionary War encampment site.  Prior to joining the conservancy, he held a variety of land stewardship positions in the western working with an array of organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.  A native of Lexington, Kentucky, he is a graduate of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources.

At the Battlefields Foundation, Milner will manage the organization’s battlefield preservation and land management programs, working with partners—local governments, preservation organizations, and private landowners—to protect battlefield land through conservation easements, fee simple acquisitions, and development of preservation plans.  He will also assist with the Foundation’s property management responsibilities for land that has been protected.  Milner fills a vacancy created in January 2007 when John Hutchinson departed the Foundation to open a private consulting practice.

Battlefields Foundation executive director Howard Kittell welcomed Milner to the SVBF staff.  “Chase brings a strong background in land preservation and resource management as well as a great deal of enthusiasm and a ‘can do’ spirit,” said Kittell. “We are excited to have him on board to help the Foundation and our partners with these crucial elements of our mission.”

“The opportunity to work for the Battlefields Foundation enables me to follow passions close to my heart,” commented Milner.  “As a conservationist and Civil War enthusiast, I now have a chance to advocate for and protect the rich agrarian heritage of the Shenandoah Valley , while also learning the stories of our nation’s past that are sown among these hallowed fields and farms.  I am honored to help ‘fight the last fight’ for the sake of the Americans who fell here and for the generations who may come to see these battlefields long past my own time.”

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As authorized by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves as the non-profit manager of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, partnering with local, regional, and national organizations and governments to preserve the Valley’s battlefields and interpret and promote the region’s Civil War story.

Created by Congress in 1996, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District encompasses Augusta , Clarke, Frederick , Highland , Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia and the cities of Harrisonburg , Staunton , Waynesboro , and Winchester .  The legislation authorizes federal funding for the protection of ten battlefields in the District: Second Winchester, Third Winchester, Second Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, New Market, Cross Keys, Port Republic , and McDowell.

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ON THE WEB:

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
     www.ShenandoahAtWar.org

National Park Service 1992 study of the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War battlefields:
     www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs0-1.html

 

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