The Piedmont Environmental Council Board of Directors has approved three new members this year: Jane Fisher of Charlottesville; Andrew Gutowski of Culpeper County; and Kemp Hill of Madison County.
Maps & Resources
Bluebell Walk on Cedar Run April 13 to honor Mike Stevens
Each year in April, a spectacular display of thousands of bluebells appears on the banks of Cedar Run at Bonny Brook Farm. Sunday, April 13, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. — rain or shine — community members are invited to celebrate this rite of spring with The Piedmont Environmental Council and host Margrete Stevens.
Conserving a Crown Jewel in Culpeper County
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.
Data Center Reform Campaign Continues
In the pre-dawn hours in a Haymarket parking lot, a few dozen people huddled in record cold temperatures as they made their way to the warm glow of a charter bus. Their destination: Richmond. Their mission: convince legislators to enact data center reform during the 2025 General Assembly session.
PEC’s Big Year in Conservation
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.
A Conservation Win in Loudoun County
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
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
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
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.
General Assembly Update – Spring 2025
Every day, Piedmont Environmental Council staff engage at the local, state and federal level to shape public policy with an eye toward protecting natural resources and advancing sustainability. These efforts include the annual Virginia General Assembly, which convened on Jan. 8 for a short session during which legislators introduced and considered over 2,000 pieces of legislation.