For Immediate Release

For More Information
Robert Lazaro, Director of Communications, Piedmont Environmental Council
Cell: (571) 225-0198

4,180 Acres Conserved in Fauquier County for 2007

(Warrenton, VA - January 24, 2008) In 2007, residents of the Piedmont protected 23,021 acres of open space through the use of conservation easements. In Fauquier County, 4,180 acres were preserved in 2007 bringing the grand total of nearly 82,000 acres of privately conserved land in the County.

The movement to protect privately-held rural land from development has been experiencing tremendous momentum in Virginia's Piedmont region, with landowners conserving an average of 23,714 acres every year for the last five years. The total for 2007 brings the number of acres conserved in the nine counties served by the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) to 293,364 acres, an acreage that is larger than Shenandoah National Park

"We're immensely pleased at what communities in the Piedmont have been able to accomplish to provide a legacy of conserved open space for our children and future generations," says Chris Miller, President of PEC. "When it comes to conservation, this is one of the most successful regions in the entire country."

The Piedmont region continues to lead the state of Virginia, which is among the top five states in the nation for protecting land through private conservation easements. The nine counties of Virginia's Piedmont -- including Loudoun, Clarke, Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Madison, Orange, Greene, and Albemarle -- have conserved more land than almost any state in the nation.

PEC's Director of Land Conservation, Heather Richards says, "The tremendous gains we've seen in conservation over the last few years reflect the growing awareness among Fauquier's residents of the importance of their landscape. Conserving green spaces does more than just protecting pretty views. It protects drinking water and air quality, reduces traffic, keeps taxes down and preserves family farms. These benefits are explicitly recognized in Fauquier County's Comprehensive Plan."

Bob Lee, the Executive Director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), said, "Calendar year 2007 witnessed the second highest annual acreage in new Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) easements at 60,175 acres. VOF staff worked in collaboration with PEC staff to realize significant land conservation in each of the nine counties in the PEC service region. This year also represents 35 years of cooperative land conservation between VOF and PEC."

According to a 2003 study that was done by the American Farmland Trust in Culpeper County, farms and other open lands use only $0.32 in local services for every dollar of taxes paid, while homes require $1.22 for every dollar paid. Land placed under permanent easement also lowers the value used by the state to determine local ability to pay, which results in increased funding from the Commonwealth for schools and other county services.

Easements also support two major industries of the Piedmont: agriculture and tourism. Like other landowners, farmers can gain needed capital by voluntarily conserving their land and earning a substantial state tax credit which they may either use or sell on the open market. Farmers also benefit from reduced appraisal values on their land, which lightens their tax burden. In Albemarle, Clarke, and Fauquier counties, working farms also have the option of receiving money from publicly supported Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs.

For information about land conservation in Fauquier you can contact Heather Richards at (540) 347-2334 or via email at hrichards@pecva.org