Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Morven East and City Comp Plan. Clarke: Planning & Water Quality. Culpeper: Clevengers Corner, History and the Hazel River. Fauquier: Sanctuary at Barrel Oak & Community Planning Initiatives. Greene: Streetscaping and Community Mobility. Loudoun: Land Use Planning. Madison: Criglersville School & Zoning Ordinance Changes. Orange: New County Administrator, Gordonsville Park. Rappahannock: “Beaver Believers” make a splash at local event.
Maps & Resources
Fronting the Costs: Fencing at Mountain Hollow Farm
Eight generations of cattle farming had taken its toll on the streams at Dean and Carina Elgin’s Mountain Hollow Farm in northern Fauquier County. Historically, “all the cattle had access to the creek. That was our watering system. And that was the norm in that day,” Dean Elgin said. But by 2015, the Elgins wanted to repair the streambank erosion and reduce the water pollution caused by the foot traffic and waste generated by 200 cattle moving in and out of the water repeatedly. But there was a problem.
Spring at Roundabout Meadows
Alot is going on, at and around our 141-acre Roundabout Meadows property at Gilberts Corner in Loudoun County. We’ve got a new trail opening, the second season for the Community Farm and news to share about the market property at the northeast corner!
Osage Oranges, Hydrological Cycles, and Ruminations on Conservation Easements
My wife and I, and our animal family, have lived on the same farm in Clarke County for over 35 years. We donated an easement on our land 20 years ago for the usual reasons—we loved the farm and wanted to make sure it wouldn’t become a future subdivision. We feel that we are all part of human settlement on the landscape and everything we do should be compatible with nature’s processes.
Local Land Conservation Surpasses 12,000 acres in 2019
In 2019, private landowners, working together with land trusts and public agencies, protected 12,475 acres of land in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties. The 2019 conservation easements bring the total protected land in The Piedmont Environmental Council’s (PEC) nine-county region to 421,415 acres, accounting now for nearly 20 percent of the entire land area in the nine counties.
President’s Letter – Winter 2019
As anyone who knows me is aware, I have always been proud of my dad. My choice to work at PEC and on long-term solutions to sustainability is a direct response to what I learned from him.
Meet Senior Conservation Fellow Kat Imhoff
When it comes to conservation, Kat Imhoff is nothing short of a virtuoso, as abundant in inspiration and innovation as she is in action. At the helm of Montpelier, Monticello, and The Nature Conservancy in Montana, she led conservation and restoration projects that preserve significant historical, cultural and rural legacies. PEC is proud to welcome Kat into its fold as senior conservation fellow, working out of our Charlottesville office.
Year One on the Farm
Loudoun County is one of the most affluent counties in the nation and simultaneously home to some 14,000 people without reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. It is consistently one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, and yet over 200,000 acres is planned to remain rural with over 58,000 acres of permanently conserved open space. Nestled among the three roundabouts of Routes 15 and 50 and Howser’s Branch Road, lies PEC’s Community Farm. Located at the literal intersection of suburban and rural Loudoun County, it is perfectly positioned both to shine a light on the value of conservation and to make practical, tangible progress to address food insecurity in the community.
What will tomorrow bring?
This year’s Virginia General Assembly promises to be an interesting one, as the November 2019 elections resulted in a change in leadership in both the House and the Senate. A new Speaker of the House (Filler-Corn), Senate Majority Leader (Saslaw) and large shifts in committee memberships of both bodies are among the changes. With Governor Northam still in office, the Democrats have consolidated control of state government for the first time in more than two decades. And that means we will see many of the priorities of the party at the forefront of the legislative agenda.
On the Ground – Winter 2019
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.