By TRAVIS CRUM
Williamson Daily News
(Herald-Dispatch photo by Sholten Singer)
HAMLIN, W.Va. — Glenn Stickler’s eyes welled up with tears as he described the 200 acres of land in Lincoln County that has been part of his family since 1922.
His grandfather spent his life farming the land, as did his father “from daylight to dark,” he said. Now the land is being officially preserved as a farm forever, meaning it can never be used for development.
It’s thanks to the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act, passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2000. The act permanently preserves agricultural and grazing lands to combat the shrinking number of farms within the state. So far, properties in more than 20 counties have been added to the efforts.
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