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.
Historic preservation

Video: Virginia’s Parks and Battlefields are at Risk
Virginia’s state and national parks, battlefields, and other historic and recreational sites are under threat from uncontrolled data center development. One notable example is Wilderness Battlefield, in Orange County, which was named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2024 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Take Action Sept. 4: Cell Tower Ordinance Changes Loom
Next Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to vote on the updated ordinance. PEC is supportive of some of the changes that the Board has proposed, but concerned about some of the protections that have been removed in the draft.
Wilderness Lost?
Industrialization marches into Orange County, threatening historic battlefield and landscapes along Route 3.

New data center proposals in Brandy Station and near the Town of Culpeper
We are urging Culpeper residents to weigh in at upcoming public hearings on June 4 and 12 or via email and ask that each proposal be denied.

Wilderness Battlefield Area, Threats and the Data Center Industry
Wilderness Battlefield’s inclusion on this list underscores the inextricable link between natural, historic and cultural resources.

The Germanna Ford Boat Launch is Open!
A new public boat launch on the Rapidan River is now open to visitors at Historic Germanna in Orange County.

Imperiled by Development, Wilderness Battlefield Named One of Nation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Wilderness Battlefield, site of a pivotal clash that marked a turning point in the Civil War, was named one of the nation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places due to the threat of a massive data center development that would irrevocably destroy the historic landscapes fundamental to maintaining the area as a vital educational resource and treasured hallowed ground.
On the Ground Updates – March 2024
A series of short updates from around the PEC region.

Conserving a Cultural Crossroads
On Oct. 27, 2023, Historic Germanna’s executive director, Jennifer Hurst Wender, and board president, Keith Hoffman, signed a perpetual open-space easement on Siegen Forest.