For Immediate Release

For More Information
John Moore, Conservation Officer, Piedmont Environmental Council
(o) 540-672-0141
Robert Lazaro, Director of Communications, Piedmont Environmental Council
(c) 571-225-0198

3,072 Acres Added to Orange County Easements in 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. Here in Orange County, 3.072 more acres were preserved in 2007
increasing the area of privately conserved land in the County to over 25,000
acres.

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 within
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 Orange'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
Orange 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 improves the results of the
formula used by the state to determine local ability to pay, which increases
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.

Protecting the integrity of the rural landscape also preserves essential
historic resources, provides vital habitat for wildlife, and safeguards the
scenic views and recreation opportunities that sustain a high quality of
life in the Piedmont. "Conservation easements are the surest means of
implementing the comprehensive plan for the rural areas of the county," said
John Moore, PEC's Land Conservation Officer for Orange County. And, he
added that Orange County should seriously consider adopting a PDR program
and share in the funding available to localities from both state and federal
programs. Moore said: "Sometimes paying a land owner directly for their
easement is a stronger incentive than the potential income and estate tax
benefits".

For more information about land conservation in Orange County you can contact John Moore at (540) 672-0141 or via email at jmoore@pecva.org.