This free, family-friendly walk through a beautiful streamside field of Virginia’s iconic and ephemeral bluebells is hosted by Margrete and Mike Stevens at their conserved property, Bonny Brook Farm in Catlett.
PEC
On the Ground Updates – March 2024
A series of short updates from around the PEC region.
Who’s Protecting the Piedmont?
Here, we highlight two of those people, who are protecting the Piedmont with a passion and focus on stemming the decline of our once-abundant grassland birds.
2023 Land Conservation Totals
In 2023, 6,315 acres of land in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties were permanently protected with 52 conservation easements.
Reshaping the Future of Farm to Table: Expanding Local Meat Processing Capacity in Virginia
This video tells the story of partners coming together to give small Virginia producers more options to process meat products from their farms.
Data Center Legislation in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly
Numerous pieces of legislation related to data center reform were introduced as part of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly Session. Unfortunately, the majority of the bills were defeated or carried over to the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session.
Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition
This growing coalition is made up of more than 50 environmental, conservation, historic preservation, and climate advocacy groups, as well as representatives of communities and neighborhoods across the state of Virginia.
Together, we are urging localities to adopt strong local protections and pushing for our state lawmakers to require transparency around and track the cumulative effects of data center development on Virginia’s electrical grid, water resources, air quality, and land conservation efforts, and to institute several common-sense regulatory and rate-making reforms for the industry.
It is thanks to the work of this coalition in spreading the word, mobilizing public support, and working directly in communities that we are starting to see real progress and reform at the local and state level. We encourage you to learn more about the threat of data centers on our communities and natural environment in Virginia at www.pecva.org/datacenters. Also check out the many resources available on the coalition partner webpages below.
Interested in joining the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition, or have more questions?
Coalition Members
Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley
American Battlefield Trust
Center for Biological Diversity
Chesapeake Bay Program
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Chesapeake Legal Alliance
Citizens for Fauquier County
Clean Virginia
Climate & Clean Energy Working Group of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Coalition to Protect Prince William County
The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
Coalition to Save Culpeper
Crow’s Nest Research Center
Data and Society
Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
Friends of the Rappahannock
Goose Creek Association
Henrico Conservation Action Network
HOA Roundtable
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground
Loudoun Climate Project
Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
Manassas Battlefield Trust
Maryland Legislative Coalition – Climate Justice Wing
Moms Clean Air Force
National Parks Conservation Association
Nature Forward
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
The Piedmont Environmental Council
Potomac Conservancy
Preservation Virginia
Prince William Conservation Alliance
Protect Catlett
Protect Fauquier
Rappahannock Tribe
Save BrenMar Coalition
Save Rural Loudoun
Scenic America
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action
Virginia Conservation Network
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
Virginia Native Plant Society
Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area
Waterkeepers Chesapeake
…and more, including 20+ HOA and community representatives
Contact
Julie Bolthouse
Director of Land Use
[email protected]
(540) 347-2334 ext. 7042
On The Ground Updates – December 2023
A series of short land use and conservation updates from around the PEC region.
Winter 2023 Piedmont View
In this issue: a 2024 General Assembly preview; this year’s photo contest winners; a look at how PEC is bringing distributed solar to farms in the Piedmont; PEC staffer profiles, Out & About; and more.
Virginia Conservation Network’s Our Common Agenda: 2024 Policy Briefing Book
In January, the Virginia General Assembly will begin its regular session, this year held for 60 days. The Piedmont Environmental Council and the Coalition for Smarter Growth are proud to have co-authored eight of 45 briefing papers in Virginia Conservation Network’s newly released Our Common Agenda: 2024 Policy Briefing Book, which represents the policy agenda of more than 160 organizations across the state.
Our Common Agenda is your road map for state-based, pragmatic, policy solutions to address the environmental problems facing Virginia.