Nine-county land conservation totals 6,651 acres in 2022

Posted on by PEC

Contact:
Mike Kane, Director of Land Conservation
[email protected]; 540-347-2337, x7063

A conserved property in Rappahannock County. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC.

PIEDMONT REGION, VA. (Feb. 14, 2022) – Last year, landowners partnered with The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and other land trusts and conservation agencies to permanently protect 6,651 acres of land in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Orange and Rappahannock counties. The 50 new conservation easements in 2022 bring the total amount of land protected by conservation easement in PEC’s nine-county region to 439,782 acres. PEC accepted three of the new easements, while many other conservation organizations, including the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the Albemarle Conservation Easement Authority, the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority, and the Land Trust of Virginia, accepted the remainder. 

“Conserved lands provide the important public benefits of clean air and drinking water, natural flood controls and carbon reduction, wildlife habitat, scenic views that attract millions to the region, and strong agricultural, forestry and recreational economies,” said PEC President Chris Miller. “Virginia is fortunate that so many families have the desire to preserve its invaluable open spaces and that so many conservation organizations and agencies are willing and able to shepherd them through the process of permanent land protection,” he said.

Eleven properties were conserved last year in Albemarle County, nine with the Albemarle Conservation Easement Authority and two with the Land Trust of Virginia. With over 1,700 acres of land protected this past year and 111,305 total acres conserved, Albemarle now has more lands under conservation easement than any other locality in the Commonwealth. “This success is the direct result of decades of effort on the part of conservation organizations in the region, and particularly the County’s own land conservation programs, which have intentionally made conservation an option for landowners of all income levels,” said PEC Senior Conservation Field Representative Kim Biasiolli. 

In Fauquier County, one of seven properties conserved last year was the 381-acre Belmont Hill Farm, owned by Hans and Anne Wachtmeister, who donated the conservation easement on their land to PEC. Standing atop the green velvet-like rolling hills at the center of this working cattle farm,

one can look several miles to the west and south and see the Town of Warrenton, Airlie, the Warrenton Training Center, Clifton Institute and the protected lands of Wildcat Mountain.

“With its high visibility across this part of the county, 230 acres of forest, and 115 acres of pasture, Belmont Hill Farm has long been a conservation priority for PEC. And within a one-mile radius, the farm is surrounded by roughly another 745 acres of protected land, so its protection enhances the conservation impacts of them all,” said PEC Rappahannock-Rapidan Conservation Initiative Coordinator Maggi Blomstrom. 

In Greene County, a community-wide effort to protect land along the South River has been underway for more than two decades. “South River is a jewel of a mountain stream that originates in Shenandoah National Park and winds its way about 14 miles before its confluence with the Rapidan River. Thanks largely to this tremendous neighborhood effort, approximately 2,000 acres of land along this corridor have been permanently protected,” Blomstrom said.

In 2022, a critical 140-acre multi-generational cattle farm was added to this corridor with a conservation easement generously donated to PEC by Mr. Laymon Breeden, who wanted to protect the farm in part to honor his father. With its 2,850 feet of frontage along the South River, conservation of this property will help protect water quality. In addition, 45% of the property’s soils are designated as Prime Farmland or Farmland of Statewide Importance, which will now not be lost to development. 

“Conservation of any one property has invaluable positive impacts, but the combined efforts of so many conservation-minded neighbors working together to protect a broader area enhances tremendously the open space value of any single protected parcel. The collective impacts of what we call the South River conservation corridor are significant in terms of water quality, forestry, and soil protection, as well as for preserving the scenic viewsheds for the traveling public along South River and Teel Mountain roads,” Blomstrom said.

In Culpeper County, PEC board member John Grano and his wife Cynthia placed their 154-acre property under easement with the Land Trust of Virginia. This easement will protect over three-quarters of a mile of Crooked Run – a tributary to the Rapidan River – with a 100-foot riparian buffer, ensure that numerous acres of designated wetlands and floodplain remains in a natural state, and preserve 102 acres of Prime and Statewide Important Soils, among other notable conservation values.

Besides the inherent conservation attributes of his land, Grano is looking beyond his property lines. “Culpeper is at a crossroads right now and the discussions are around whether or not this county will become another exurb of the northeast megalopolis, or the leading edge of a beautiful rural area along the East Coast. I believe that preserving as much green space as we can protects our rural identity,” he said.

In addition, Clarke County saw seven properties conserved in 2022, all held by the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority. Thirteen new properties were conserved in Loudoun County, nine in Orange County, and two in Rappahannock County. 

Virginia’s Piedmont is a unique place for residents and visitors alike, with its exceptional natural resources, productive farms and forests, and a landscape steeped in history. The abundant public benefits of these irreplaceable resources are multifaceted — individual, regional, global, economic, ecological, recreational, climatic.

“The challenge is to ensure that the abundant public benefit of the Piedmont’s exceptional resources are available for future generations,” says PEC Director of Conservation Mike Kane. “As such, PEC has a goal of working with landowners and other conservation organizations to protect one million acres, representing about half of the land in our nine-county service area. We believe this goal is achievable. The tremendous interest landowners have expressed in voluntary land conservation over the past generation combined with the continuing commitment on the part of both PEC and our preservation allies to sustain conservation partnerships with landowners make this possible,” he said.    

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a public agency or a nonprofit conservation group, such as The Piedmont Environmental Council. As part of a suite of public policies ranging from local comprehensive plans to the multi-state Chesapeake Bay agreement, conservation easements provide important benefits to the public. For more information about conservation easements, visit: pecva.org/easements.

A regional map of private and protected lands in the nine-county region can be downloaded here. County-by-county maps detailing conservation easement totals and easements added in the year 2022 within The Piedmont Environmental Council region can be downloaded here. County-by-county conservation totals are as follows:


County		Acres Protected in 2022 by Conservation Easements *Total Acres Protected by Conservation Easements *
Albemarle1,715111,305
Clarke81627,602
Culpeper15521,430
Fauquier735110,561
Greene14010,787
Loudoun1,67567,866
Madison016,365
Orange1,30940,203
Rappahannock10633,662
PEC REGION6,650439,782
* Numbers are rounded

In total, conservation easements in these nine counties have protected approximately (in rounded acreage):

  • 10,695.4 acres of wetlands;
  • 207,323.8 acres of forests;
  • 31,696.6 acres of battlefields;
  • 137,428.4 acres in historic districts
  • 1,819.3 miles of streams;
  • 131,446.1 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 209,028.2 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 27,802.6 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 116,696 acres along scenic byways.

In Albemarle County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 37.2 acres of wetlands;
  • 1,161.8 acres of forests;
  • 0 acres of battlefields;
  • 1,462.9 acres in historic districts;
  • 6.1 miles of streams;
  • 188.9 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 759.5 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 75.2 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 1,320.9 acres along scenic byways.

In Clarke County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 10.7 acres of wetlands;
  • 274.2 acres of forests;
  • 97.1 acres of battlefields;
  • 207.3 acres in historic districts;
  • 2 miles of streams;
  • 504.1 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 303.1 acre of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 438.7 acres along scenic byways.

In Culpeper County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 5.7 acres of wetlands;
  • 119.4 acres of forests;
  • 4.6 acres of battlefields;
  • 0 acres in historic districts;
  • 1.3 miles of streams;
  • 0 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 60.8 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 0 acres along scenic byways.

In Fauquier County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 2.4 acres of wetlands;
  • 412.6 acres of forests;
  • 12.5 acres of battlefields;
  • 124.7 acres in historic districts;
  • 1.6 miles of streams;
  • 121 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 198.4 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 0 acres along scenic byways.

In Greene County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 0 acres of wetlands;
  • 12.4 acres of forests;
  • 0 acres of battlefields;
  • 0 acres in historic districts; 
  • 0.7 miles of streams;
  • 0 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 67.7 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 0 acres along scenic byways.

In Loudoun County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately:

  • 17 acres of wetlands;
  • 754.1 acres of forests;
  • 117.9 acres of battlefields;
  • 246.2 acres in historic districts;
  • 7.5 miles of streams;
  • 710.4 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 1,161.3 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 747.7 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 298.8 acres along scenic byways.

In Madison County, there were no conservation easements recorded in 2022.

In Orange County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately: 

  • 40.7 acres of wetlands;
  • 534.4 acres of forests;
  • 481.3 acres of battlefields,
  • 459.2 acres in historic districts; 
  • 6.9 mile of streams;
  • 422.3 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 928 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 333.8 acres along scenic byways.

In Rappahannock County, conservation easements in 2022 protected approximately: 

  • 0.4 acres of wetlands;
  • 85.4 acres of forests;
  • 0 acres of battlefields;
  • 0 acres in historic districts;
  • 0.7 mile of streams;
  • 22.7 acres in the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail;
  • 42.5 acres of prime farmland soils;
  • 0 acres adjacent to scenic rivers; and
  • 99.6 acres along scenic byways.

Since 1972, The Piedmont Environmental Council has proudly promoted and protected the natural resources, rural economy, history and beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. PEC empowers residents to protect what makes the Piedmont a wonderful place, and works with citizens to conserve land, improve air and water quality and build thriving communities. PEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and accredited land trust. Learn more at www.pecva.org.