The Ivy Creek Natural Area, comprising 215 acres on the Rivanna Reservoir, was established in 1979 when the County of Albemarle and City of Charlottesville purchased it from the Nature Conservancy.  The founders of the Ivy Creek Foundation (ICF) were responsible for initiating preservation of the property and facilitating its sale to the Nature Conservancy, with the objective of  creating a publicly accessible natural area. 

The term "natural area" was never bound to any legal definition.  It was, and is, an agreement among all parties to mean: land upon which natural processes are permitted to take place undisturbed, except as necessary for its preservation, and safe access through a system of trails for quiet hiking and nature observation. ICF was established from the outset to protect and manage the natural area. 

Operation and maintenance of the Ivy Creek Natural Area is a joint effort of the County, City and the Ivy Creek Foundation. Under this arrangement, ICF has responsibility to: lay out, construct, post, monitor, and maintain a trail system, as well as monitor the overall health of the natural area.  The Foundation conducts plant and wildlife inventories; prints trail maps and brochures; provides public walks, nature programs and educational activities; and handles public inquiry through a staffed office. Funds are generated through membership in the Ivy Creek Foundation, which receives no governmental revenue.  The County and City, in equal share, are responsible for maintenance of the parking lots and facilities, utilities, and trail maintenance materials (treated posts, signs, trail marking paint, etc.) The practice has been for the County to provide actual maintenance and supplies, and then bill the City for half.  It has been the County's policy to bill for only on-site costs, and not administrative time.

Under "natural area" designation at the Ivy Creek Natural Area, the following conditions apply:

• The area is designated for foot travel only (with the exception of non-combustion type devices intended to aid the handicapped), for the purposes of quiet hiking, nature observation and study, and fishing. Visitors are asked to: take only pictures, leave only footprints.

• No timber cutting is permitted, except as necessary for safety and operations of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.

• No pets, horses, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, etc. are permitted.

• The hunting or trapping of any animal during any season be prohibited.  The willful introduction of non-native plants, as well as native and non-native animals is prohibited, except fish stocking under direction of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

• Fields near the parking lot and barn are kept mowed through an agreement with a nearby landowner, who is permitted to cut them for hay.