The following article appeared in the Winter 2009 Piedmont View.

The new park will create the only public access to the Rappahannock River in Fauquier County.

In October, a conservation easement was finalized on 26 acres of a Civil War battlefield in Remington that will become a public park, after PEC partnered with Fauquier County to save the property from imminent development. With the completion of the conservation easement, the land was officially transferred to the County.

In 2005, when this battlefield was slated for an 80-home by-right development, citizens urged Fauquier County to find a way to save it. The County asked PEC to join forces, and we did. PEC committed to raise over half the purchase price for nine house lots on a knoll where the most important part of the battle was fought, and we succeeded in bringing in major grants as well as donations from the local community.

When the Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park opens, it will provide public open space within walking distance of the center of Remington, much-needed canoe and kayak access to the Rappahannock River, and interpretative signs telling the story of the Civil War action that took place there.

In 1862 and 1863, two battles were fought on the land, over control of a bridge across the Rappahannock River. The larger battle, on Nov. 7, 1863, resulted in a decisive victory for the Union, which captured over 1,600 Confederate soldiers.

The park will create the only public access in Fauquier County to the Rappahannock, which is a state Scenic River. A forested buffer along the banks will protect water quality as well as the river's scenic qualities. These protections also benefit the Chesapeake Bay, of which the Rappahannock is a tributary.

Just across the river, another portion of the Rappahannock Station battlefield was protected recently. Last year, landowner Bob Currier donated a conservation easement on 185 adjacent acres, in Culpeper County. This conservation easement protects more of the battlefield and buffers the new parkland with preserved open space.

PEC's Director of Land Conservation Heather Richards says, "These two successes at Rappahannock Station illustrate the important role of private land conservation as a complement to public open space. This way, Virginians get more out of their parkland, at an excellent value to taxpayers because private landowners are making donations, of which only a fraction is compensated by tax credits."

Read more articles from the Winter 2009 Piedmont View.