Land Conservation

PEC has helped landowners permanently protect over 430,000 acres of rural or natural land. Conservation Easements help ensure that the Virginia Piedmont is always characterized by its open spaces, healthy environment, and cultural resources.

Conserving a Crown Jewel in Culpeper County

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Jessica Edington

Western View Plantation in Culpeper County gets its name from the panoramic vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park seen from its pastures and fields. This 700-acre working farm exemplifies the kind of agricultural operation that sustains a thriving rural economy.
Thanks to the efforts of many — including a farming family dedicated to conserving farmland for the continuation of our local food systems — PEC used $1.6 million of state and federal funding to purchase an Agricultural Land Easement that now permanently protects the excellent soils and streams that run through Western View.

PEC’s Big Year in Conservation

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Cindy Sabato

Last year, within The Piedmont Environmental Council’s nine-county region, landowners partnered with conservation organizations like ours to conserve 5,446 acres of lands and forever protect the many public benefits they provide the region.

Expanding a Piece of Heaven

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Lauria McShane

As the warm sunlight stretches through the bare tree branches at The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Warrenton office, Hans and Anne Wachtmeister huddle in the yard for a picture. With a smiling face, Hans holds up a sign that reads, “This property is forever protected with a conservation easement.”

A Conservation Win in Loudoun County

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Mike Kane

The conservation of Beaver Dam Farm also marked an important milestone in protecting water quality, as conservation of the farm’s nearly half-mile of frontage along Beaverdam Creek provided the last link in a continuous 5-mile corridor of protected lands along the waterway. Beaverdam Creek is a major tributary of Goose Creek, a designated Virginia Scenic River and public drinking water source for Loudoun and Fairfax counties.

Conservation Funds Protect Clarke County Property

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Keely Murphy

Sometimes advancing conservation in our region means supporting another partner’s vision. This was the case last year, when The Piedmont Environmental Council contributed funds from our Clark County Land Conservation Fund to the purchase of a conservation easement at the 43-acre Lilly property, facilitating a conservation win for all parties.

The Little Forest That Could

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Faith Schweikert

Deep within the center of a former 1,200-acre monoculture pine plantation-turned-utility-scale solar project lies a donut hole of amazing, permanently protected natural hardwood forest. It exists because Christine and Bob Putnam took yet another of their many steps of fierce commitment to the environment and to Albemarle County by placing their 70 acres of forestland into a conservation easement with the Albemarle County Easement Authority last year.

The Next Generation

Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Faith Schweikert

For over 100 years, three generations of Goodalls have owned and worked to improve their land in Madison County, which now stands at 596 acres after enlarging the farm several times. Now, brothers Joe and Paul have fulfilled their parents’ final wishes to keep the land as a farm. In April, PEC used grants from the USDA’s Agricultural Land Easement program, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, and the Volgenau Foundation to purchase a conservation easement for $1.3 million, permanently protecting the farm for the next generation.

A Historic Opportunity: Help Make Oak Hill Virginia’s Newest State Park

Posted on February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 by John McCarthy

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create an expansive new state park in Loudoun County, a proposed park that will protect a National Historic Landmark and offer easy access to the outdoors for millions of visitors to and residents of Northern Virginia.

The 2025 Virginia General Assembly is in Session.

Posted on January 9, 2025January 9, 2025 by John McCarthy

An overview of the topics that PEC has its eye on this session: data center reform, land conservation and public access, solar implementation, housing and local land use authority

2024 Highlights: By the Numbers

Posted on December 18, 2024December 18, 2024 by PEC

PEC’s dedicated staff work relentlessly to advance land conservation, sound land use planning, the protection of natural resources and better climate and energy policy.