An Article from the Piedmont View

Adding Up

At 293,000 acres -- including 23,000 acres newly protected --
private land conservation is making a difference for whole landscapes.

In the woods, along the border between his land and Montpelier, in Orange County, Curt Brooking can point out a silver-barked cherry tree that will bear wild fruit in the summer, brushy bayberry that offers food for grouse and turkeys, and striking pillars of white oak and tulip poplar that may have been growing since James Madison's time.

His family's land, Rockwood, borders the James Madison Landmark Forest, which was personally set aside by James Madison, and is considered the best remaining example of old growth woodlands in the southeastern U.S. -- a rare glimpse of our native forests' potential for vast trunks and high green crowns. From the fenceline at Rockwood, you can see the walking trail meandering through Montpelier's old growth woods. But what if the trees on Brooking's side were cleared, and the edge of the forest laid open to suburban lawns? That will never happen, because last year Brooking and his family agreed to permanently preserve their 318-acre farm. The terms of their conservation easement specificallyprotect the woods contiguous with the old-growth forest, which cannot be cut except to eliminate invasive species and promote the growth of desired trees.

When the Brookings decided to protect their land, they joined neighbors who have conserved a contiguous block of 8,450 acres. Monk Sanford, who owns an adjacent farm and grazes cattle at Rockwood, said when he conserved his own land two years ago, "It would have been a more difficult choice for me had I been the only one within miles, but because I joined thousands of acres of land that's under easement, I feel that there's a greater opportunity for some kind of agricultural enterprise to survive."

Whether the focus is on viable agriculture, historic integrity, intact ecosystems, healthy watersheds or beautiful views, private conservation lands in the Piedmont are adding up, helping to protect major resources and sustain whole landscapes Landscape Level Conservation

Last year, landowners used conservation easements to protect 23,000 additional acres in the nine counties where PEC focuses our outreach. This brings the total to more than 293,000 acres -- one of the highest concentrations of private conservation land in the United States. As we progress toward our goal of one million protected acres -- the Piedmont Reserve -- we are starting to realize the cumulative potential of private land conservation.

For example, 34% of the land in the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District that includes Rockwood is now protected, while 41% of the land in the contiguous Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District in Albemarle is protected.

In the Goose Creek watershed in Fauquier and Loudoun, a full 34% of the land is protected -- 76,000 acres of private conservation land and 7,800 acres of parks and other public lands. This conservation success safeguards the source of drinking water for eastern Loudoun and the City of Fairfax, as well as the beauty of Goose Creek, a Virginia Scenic River.

Heather Richards, PEC's Director of Land Conservation, says, "At PEC, we understand that if we're going to make a meaningful difference at the landscape level, we have to be involved in many ways -- complementing land conservation by promoting positive local plans and policies, building awareness of good management practices, and promoting the beneficial uses of protected lands such as farming and forestry. Conservation easements offer the strongest protection because they go well beyond other measures, because they last forever, and because they provide the foundation for continued strong relationships with landowners over the long haul."

Private Land, Public Good
Rockwood, with its Gothicly vertical wooden house that was built in 1848, was part of the Montpelier estate until the owner, Marion duPont Scott, gave it to Brooking's father, "Link," who managed hunts and farming operations on Montpelier's 3,200 acres. The two properties remained virtually seamless, with members of the Brooking family frequently crossing through the fields and woods to tend the horses, hounds and livestock, among other tasks. They cut selected timber for building projects at Montpelier, taking care to avoid the old-growth tract, promote native species and keep the streams running clear. With these labors, Brooking says, "came a lesson that what we have been given, we need to be good stewards of."

He says, "It's all so consistent with the eleventh article of the Virginia Constitution that says to preserve the land and keep the quality of air and water where it needs to be for people's enjoyment. That's really what we were looking at when we put Rockwood into a conservation easement." Jack and Delma Bagley's conservation of their 57-acre farm along Rte. 231 in Rappahannock County also fulfills important state and local objectives. As Jack says, "The property is on the Hazel River. It's on a Scenic Byway. It's within sight of Shenandoah National Park. And it's surrounded in part by other easements." But in order to protect their land, the Bagleys had to overcome an obstacle. Current demand for land conservation exceeds the capacity of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), the state agency that holds the vast majority of conservation easements in Virginia, so VOF simply can't process easements on most properties smaller than 100 acres.

In response, PEC decided to expand our own role in holding easementsto fill that gap, taking on the legal responsibility to ensure that they endure over time. In 2007, PEC accepted five easements on properties, including the Bagleys', that meet high standards for conservation values.

The Bagleys' land connects to two other properties that are already protected. Considering additional lands that his neighbors intend to conserve, Jack says, "You're looking at a block of protected land that will go on for several miles." Altogether, 7,900 acres are currently protected along Route 231, a Virginia Scenic Byway.

The Bagleys put their small farm to good use. About half of their land is studded with thin saplings in plastic tubes -- the beginning of riparian woodlands that will filter precipitation flowing into the Hazel River, as well as nearby wetlands and a tributary stream. In the remaining fields, they raise cattle, which Delma manages. She plans to develop their farming operations into a locally-oriented, organic business. "That kind of niche farming is certainly a growing enterprise," she says, "and I think Rappahannock County is well positioned to lead the way."

"It Becomes A Part of You."
When the Colvin family donated a conservation easement on their 251-acre farm on the banks of Cedar Run in southern Fauquier, they helped to provide clean reliable water supplies for the northern Virginia communities downstream. The Cedar Run watershed is a focus of PEC's conservation outreach -- with major gains last year as landowners protected over 1,300 acres. Currently, over 7,800 acres, or 6% of the watershed, are protected, including three miles of frontage along the river, which is a tributary of the Occoquan. Melvin and Mary Colvin took time for an interview about conserving their land during a weekend when they were moving home to the farm with the help of their family, and the halls and stairways of their house were flowing with grandchildren.

Tenerife Farm has long served as a gathering place -- where siblings, cousins, parents and children reunite to work the hay and
timothy fields, maintain farm structures, rebuild the historic house after everything burned except the stone walls, swim in Cedar Run, and celebrate weddings. Melvin and Mary raised their own family in Laurel, MD, but they returned on weekends to manage the farm. "I feel very connected to the land," Melvin says. "I think when you live on it and work on it for so many years, you feel comfortable with it." His wife finishes the thought: "It becomes a part of you."

Colvins have been living and working on this gently rolling spread for centuries, says their son, Mel Colvin III. Sometimes they owned it, sometimes they didn't, but the family stayed tied to this place. Now they have left a lasting mark, with a conservation agreement that will keep the land intact and open, and maintain wide bands of forests along the river's edge.

"We wanted to protect the water," Melvin says. "We have a large stretch on Cedar Run and that's important. If we can protect at least our side of it and encourage the people who live on the other side, so we don't have pollutants going down it and so we have a decent flow, I feel that it's going to help us in the future. Maybe not me personally, but it's going to help my children and their families."

Read the entire Piedmont View (7.1 Meg, pdf), including maps & graphics.