The following article appeared in the Spring 2009 Piedmont View.

Broccoli grows at Sunnyside Farm in Rappahannock, a newly protected 420 acre farm that connects to Shenandoah National Park. See story on Pg 5. Photo Courtesy of Sunnyside Farm.

The Piedmont achieved a major conservation milestone in 2008, as the total amount of land protected by conservation easements crossed the 300,000 acre mark. Last year, Piedmont landowners permanently protected more than 14,000 acres of land, which brings the total to nearly 307,500 acres. That comes to 14% of the total land, in addition to public lands, which comprise another 4%.

This extraordinary level of conservation, in a landscape under pressure from sprawl and other threats, brings important public benefits for residents both within the bounds of the Piedmont and beyond. As PEC works toward our ambitious vision of the Piedmont Reserve-one million acres of privately held protected land in our nine county region- so far landowners have used conservation easements to protect approximately:

• 140,000 acres of farm soils designated as important by the state and federal government
• 150,000 acres of forests
• 1,300 miles along streams and rivers
• 307,500 acres of the Chesapeake Bay watershed
• 186,000 acres in the headwaters of the Rappahannock River
• 78,000 acres of the Goose Creek watershed
• 12,000 acres of Civil War Battlefields
• 78,000 acres of historic districts
• 140,000 acres visible from Virginia Scenic Roads
• 95,000 acres visible from the Appalachian Trail

This newsletter focuses on some of the great places that were protected in 2008- places where people gather to watch woodcocks dance on a spring evening, places where you can go to pick your own strawberries, places that call to memory the Civil War soldiers who fought and died there. Thanks to all of the people in the Piedmont who have acted on a strong ethic of conservation, we know that future generations will be able to experience places like this.

Read more articles from the Spring 2009 Piedmont View