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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This spring, the Piedmont Environmental Council will unveil a project at our Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows with the potential to revolutionize the relationship between the agricultural lands that make up the heart of the Virginia Piedmont and the need for more solar energy capacity across the Commonwealth.
The Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative’s Incentives Program application is open!
Open to 16 counties, VGBI’s financial incentives program pays farmers $35 per acre for delayed haying and/or summer pasture stockpiling during the grassland bird nesting season.
Both practices balance grassland bird conservation and long-term production goals by allowing ample time for nesting grassland birds to successfully fledge their young before farmers cut hay or rotate cattle into select fields.
Since 2021, 46 farmers have formally enrolled 3,000 acres of land into our financial incentives program, and 28 have implemented delayed haying or summer pasture stockpiling on another 3,000 acres voluntarily, without the financial incentives.
Stepping into land conservation for the first time, or starting a new conservation project, can feel as intimidating or overwhelming as a first date might feel. But in these brightly lit rooms with friendly faces, VGBI’s Conservation Speed Dating workshops replace the awkward small-talk with a fun and comfortable atmosphere where neighbors come together with conservation professionals to receive guidance.
