FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 25, 2008

For More Information:
Robert Lazaro, PEC, Director of Communications
571.225.0198

PEC Publishes Loudoun Outdoors Guide
Mailed to all Loudoun Households

(March 25, 2008 - Leesburg, VA) The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), in partnership with a stewardship grant from REI (Recreation Equipment Inc.), has published a Loudoun Outdoors Guide for use by residents and visitors to enjoy the beauty of Loudoun's natural treasures.

The Guide lists 24 parks and publicly accessible nature areas, where people can hike, watch wildlife, canoe, kayak, fish, bike, and more. It is currently available at various locations including PEC's Leesburg office near the Rust Sanctuary, REI Fairfax, and at www.loudounoutdoors.com. The Guide will be mailed to all residential addresses in Loudoun County the week of March 24th.

"Loudoun is a special place and has numerous natural attractions, from the Potomac River to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains that provide wonderful recreational opportunities for everyone," said Mike Kane, Loudoun's Land Conservation Officer for the PEC. "We are grateful to REI for all their support."

"We're very excited about our partnership with Piedmont Environmental Council," said Rhonda Krafchin, Outreach Specialist at REI Fairfax. "This is a great opportunity to share our passion and love for the outdoors with the residents of Loudoun County."

Glenn Gillis, "a baseball player turned backpacker" who lives in the CountrySide neighborhood and leads Sierra Club wilderness trips when not on the job for the U.S. Postal Service, has coordinated volunteer efforts to establish new trails. He and other Loudoun neighbors connected through the Potomac Heritage Trail Association come out to clear paths, mark the way and build bridges over tributary streams. Gillis sees the riverside trail as a recreational opportunity for local residents -- but more than just a leafy version of the gym. "It's nature itself," he says. "It's a wildlife corridor and everything else. It's our national heritage."

Experiencing Loudoun's great outdoors may make the most persuasive case for protecting it. Gem Bingol, a PEC Land Use Officer who lives in Leesburg, says, "Over the years, many people in Loudoun have conserved their land because they knew it as home and they wanted to preserve the beauty and the sense of heritage that they felt there. As we look for the next generation of good stewards for this land, we will need to connect with urban and suburban residents who are motivated because they also know Loudoun's spectacular natural abundance as their home."