2009 Annual Report: Nature
Since our founding, PEC has helped to conserve over 325,000 acres of land, and as this land conservation movement matures, we are increasingly taking the next step of educating people who want to practice good stewardship of their land. We are teaching people to nurture nature-for instance by preserving wetlands, enhancing habitat for wildlife, cultivating native plants, protecting water quality, and practicing sustainable agriculture or forestry.
We also create opportunities for people to connect with nature-from day camps and nature walks to public parks and trails-because these connections become the basis for a commitment to good stewardship.
Restoring Warm Season Grasses-a Native Habitat
PEC encourages landowners to restore warm season grasses-an increasingly rare habitat that is essential for native birds such as bobwhite quail, meadowlarks, bobolinks, sparrows and barn owls.
Warm season grasses grow in bunches, allowing wildlife to move at ground level, and they provide dependable nutrition in the summer. Species that rely on this habitat have been declining-but many Piedmont landowners are taking interest as they learn about the benefits of warm season grasses for both wildlife and people. This habitat can be managed for hunting, boosting populations of turkey, quail and pheasants, and they benefit farmers by promoting pollinators and beneficial insects.
PEC secured a grant to provide State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) cost-share funding to landowners who enhance habitat in the Culpeper Basin Important Bird Area, which spans parts of Culpeper, Orange, Fauquier and Prince William. In 2009, we held a workshop and sent mailings to landowners in the area-spurring interest not only in bird habitat but riparian buffers and land conservation.
PEC is coordinating with other conservation groups to step up outreach about warm season grasses-which could include tours of properties in Rappahannock where landowners have cultivated vibrant native-species meadows and edge habitats.
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| Warm season grasses cultivated by Bruce Jones in Rappahannock provide important habitat for barn owls and other native birds. Photo by Bruce Jones |
Highlights
- PEC co-hosted the third annual Wildlife Habitat Open House in Rappahannock, where over 350 people came out to learn about improving habitat on their land.
- PEC continues to distribute the guide we produced with the American Bird Conservancy, Managing Land in the Piedmont of Virginia for the Benefit of Birds and Other Wildlife.
- PEC is making incentives available for riparian buffers in the Upper Hazel River Watershed that will improve habitat for native brook trout and other species.
- Thanks to a generous donor, PEC created a full-time position for a Sustainable Habitat Program Manager, to be filled in 2010.
- PEC sponsors six Natural History Day Camps every summer, in Albemarle, Clarke, Fauquier, Orange and Rappahannock, creating opportunities for children to discover the outdoors.
- PEC's annual Cedar Run Bluebell Walk in Fauquier brings neighbors together to celebrate spring and the beauty of native Virginia bluebells.
- The Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park in Remington will provide much-needed public access to the Rappahannock River.
- PEC secured land for the new Gilberts Corner Regional Park, expanding opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors in Loudoun.
- PEC is developing a new interactive website with information on the Rivanna Trail network-over 20 miles of hiking trails around the City of Charlottesville.
- PEC organized the third annual Conservation Fair for all fourth-graders in Clarke, with activity stations on native plants, energy conservation and more.
