Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Housing and Connectivity. Clarke: Water Quality and Conservation Luncheon. Culpeper: White Farm Conserved and PDR Program. Fauquier: Transportation Fixes and New Cell Tower Regulations. Greene: Putting Stanardsville on the Map. Loudoun: Trails, Comprehensive Plan, Roundabout Meadows and Easement Program. Madison: Planning Commission Tackles Utility-Scale Solar. Orange: Healthy Watershed Pilot Program. Rappahannock: Rappahannock County Park: Attacking Invasives and Planting Natives
PEC
Dana Melby
Dana joined The Piedmont Environmental Council in October 2018. She is serving as the Gilberts Corner Farm & Land Manager, working at Roundabout Meadows Community Farm to create a more inclusive, equitable food system in Loudoun County.
Larson Native Plant Garden Opening
With umbrellas in hand, attendees of the Larson Native Plant Garden Reception ventured out to admire the well-designed landscape around PEC’s headquarters office in Warrenton, Va. Named in honor of the organization’s former vice president, Doug Larson, the visionary of the project, the garden has 118 species of native perennials, woodies and grasses.
“It’s already proving to be an educational tool,” says Doug. “People in our beautiful front yard were reading the names of the plants and really taking it all in; and that’s just folks walking down the street. I think it’s going to show people in Warrenton what they can do with native plants.”
On the Ground — Spring 2018 Update
Updates from the around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Biscuit Run and courthouse relocation updates. Clarke: County updates and ordinances. Culpeper: Waterloo Bridge update. Fauquier: Data centers, development proposals & stormwater pollution solutions. Greene: White Run Reservoir. Loudoun: True North data center & Leesburg transportation. Madison: Septic system program. Orange: Subdivision ordinance. Rappahannock: Putting farms first.
On the Ground — December 2017 Update
Updates from the around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Courthouse, greenways & cell tower update. Clarke: Pollinator facilities, nature education & sporting clays. Culpeper: Solar farms and farmer-chef event. Fauquier: Buckland bypass, Marshall dealership, Remington Walks & planting for pollinators. Greene: Mountain Heritage Program, memorial dedication & brook trout. Loudoun: Comprehensive plan & data center proposal. Madison: Robinson River, Headwater Stream Initiative & Battlefield update. Orange: New historic district & neighborhood park project. Rappahannock: Headwater streams, Sprucepine Branch & Thornton River pollinator garden.
Albemarle to decide on fate of downtown courts
Since 1762, the Albemarle County Courthouse has been located at its present location in downtown Charlottesville, where both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe practiced law. However, there is a real and growing concern that the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will attempt a vote to move the county courts away from Court Square Away and in doing so, seek to avoid a county-wide referendum. They could vote as early as December 2017.
On the Ground — Fall 2017
Updates from the around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Route 29 Transportation Improvements & Land Use Planning Update. Clarke: Quarry Site & Sporting Clays for Conservation. Culpeper: The Future of Solar Farms. Fauquier: Water in Marshall & Buckland Bypass. Greene: Making Main Street More Walkable. Loudoun: Transportation Planning & Comprehensive Plan Updates. Madison: Civil War Battlefield Research. Orange: Gordonsville Park Initiative. Rappahannock: Sprucepine Branch Restored!
Eastern Brook Trout Monitoring Protocols for Headwater Streams in Virginia’s Piedmont
During the summer of 2017, PEC Fellowship participants Dana Ek and Callee Manna put together this stream monitoring guidebook as part of their final practicum project. The guidebook is meant to serve as a reference for PEC and other entities who are planning of stream restoration projects, especially in the development of improved monitoring procedures.
Robinson River
SYRIA, VA. At the Robinson River, 350 linear feet of stream was restored to its natural channel, stabilizing banks from erosion, and ultimately removing sediment from going downstream to the Chesapeake Bay. In all, 5.3 miles of habitat was restored for aquatic species such as American eel and brook trout. PEC worked with USFWS, Shenandoah Streamworks, Trout Unlimited, and local landowners to complete this stream restoration project in April 2017. Monitoring for water quality, and fish population health with the help of partners of VA DGIF and TU.
Sprucepine Branch
HUNTLY, VA: Recent work at Sprucepine Branch reconnected 2 miles of stream, as a set of culverts were removed from a private driveway, and replaced with a bridge. PEC coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Shenandoah Streamworks on the natural channel design and construction. The work included re-grading stream banks and in-stream structures that restored the natural hydrology of those streams.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries provided pre and post fish community monitoring.