Piedmont Environmental Council President Chris Miller is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Hawk as its Land Use Field Representative in Albemarle and Orange counties and of Adam Gillenwater as Senior Policy Manager & Land Use Field Representative in Culpeper, Madison and Green counties. Both began their new positions on October 30 and work out of PEC’s Charlottesville office.
Culpeper County
PEC’s Culpeper County office supports our land use and land conservation activities in the County. PEC is dedicated to promoting healthy communities and the preservation of Culpeper’s rural character, environment and historic resources.
Ovoka Farm joins Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm to Food Bank initiative with 10,000 pound meat donation
Ovoka Farm owner Karen Way, of Paris, is donating 10,000 pounds of locally-raised ground beef and ground pork toward The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm to Food Bank initiative, which is supporting food banks throughout the northern Piedmont.
VDOT Contractor Installs Rehabilitated Waterloo Bridge
Exciting news! On Nov 5, 2020 the rehabilitated Waterloo Bridge was placed back onto its stone abutments.
Online Event: Local Update for PEC Supporters in Culpeper & Rappahannock
Video recording of the presentations:
Here are a few links to resources that were mentioned:
Land Use:
- Monday, November 2 – Rappahannock County Comprehensive Plan 2020: Joint meeting with Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, 7:00 pm at Rappahannock Co. Elementary School Gymnasium
- Historic Rappahannock County Property Records Related to Shenandoah National Park Creation are now Available to the Public: The online database is hosted by James Madison University (JMU) and accessible from the Piedmont Environmental Council’s webpage on the project: pecva.org/snp-digital-records.
Land Conservation:
- Rappahannock-Rapidan Conservation Initiative Storymap – Blue Ridge to the Bay
- October 20, PEC webinar: Plant Northern Piedmont Plants: Changing How We Think About Our Landscapes
- Garden Club of Virginia Conservation Forum
- Be part of the water quality Implementation Plan for Mountain Run, Muddy Run, and the Lower Hazel River in Culpeper County – join the workgroup! First meeting is 10/28 at 6:30pm, and more opportunities to follow. Contact David Evans, VA Dept. of Environmental Quality, for more information at david.evans@deq.virginia.gov, (703) 583-3835
- Sign up for PEC and Friends of the Rappahannock’s 2021 Headwater Stream Initiative: A free technical service for landowners to plant native trees and shrubs along headwater streams in the Upper Rappahannock River watershed.
- Learn more about VA Agricultural Cost-share “best management practices” and apply today for livestock exclusion fencing with Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District:
- David Massie davidm@culpeperswcd.org or 540-825-8591 Ext. 1004
- Amanda McCullen amandac@culpeperswcd.org or 540-825-8591 Ext. 1003
Outdoor Recreation:
- Rappahannock County Park’s website and upcoming volunteer opportunities: https://rappahannockcountypark.weebly.com/
- RLEP’s Dark Skies Initiative is still accepting applications for free light replacements!
- Contact RLEP’s Torney Van Acker for more information: torney630@gmail.com
- Stay tuned for public Dark Sky Viewings at the Rappahannock County Park!
Farm and Food:
- PEC’s Farm to Food Bank Initiative:
- More on PEC’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows
- Re-launched Buy Fresh Buy Local Piedmont website
Additional Items to Share:
- Carbon off-set programs currently exist much like conservation easements, where a forested land would be assessed for its “fair market value,” then compared to its “carbon off-set” value, which is a protected forest enhanced with a forest management plan and certified as a sustainable forest. The difference between these two values reveals the potential carbon credit that could be sold in a carbon market.
- To learn more about carbon offsetting for forested lands, read this great article by Dylan Jenkins ACF, CF in The Consultant (Association for Consulting Foresters)
- The Land Trust Alliance has piloted several carbon sequestration projects in partnership with regional land trusts like The Nature Conservancy’s Working Woodlands program for private landowners in Central Appalachia.
- Finite Carbon has developed in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance a CORE Carbon program for smaller forested acres to participate in carbon sequestration off-set markets.
If you have questions about any of the content in the webinar that we didn’t get to, don’t hesitate to contact our staff.
- Chris Miller, President, cmiller@pecva.org
- Maggi Blomstrom, Land Conservation Field Representative, mblomstrom@pecva.org
- Claire Catlett, Land Conservation Field Representative, catlett@pecva.org
- Chris Hawk, Land Use Field Representative, chawk@pecva.org
- Matt Coyle, Local Food Systems Coordinator, mcoyle@pecva.org
On the Ground Updates – September 2020
Read on for a series of short updates from each of PEC’s nine counties.
On the Ground – Summer 2020
Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Comprehensive Plan Updates. Clarke: StoryMap & Upcoming Webinars. Culpeper: Land Use Update, Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain State Park Study. Fauquier: Fauquier Farm & Land Conservation, Tree Giveaway, Rezonings and Plan Amendments. Greene: Growth & Development, Stormwater Runoff Assistance. Loudoun: Community Farm Update, Zoning Updates, Project Threatens Historic St. Louis. Madison: Potential Communications Tower, Conservation & Stewardship, Potential Rural Resort. Orange: Land Use Update, Green Streets. Rappahannock: Clean Water, More Trees.
Culpeper Land Use Update – May 27, 2020
Good evening. Culpeper has been quite busy since my last update. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the county has continued to carry on with land use business. Although there have been electronic and telephonic public comment submittal options, PEC believes localities should wait until the normal public process is restored prior to proceeding with non-essential decisions.
Culpeper Land Use Update – March 25, 2020
Culpeper County has decided to cancel nonessential meetings through April 7th, with some publicly available streaming for essential meetings. To continue following essential meetings, refer to the Culpeper County Board Docs website and the Board of Supervisors’ potential meeting schedule, which was approved during the March 24th virtual meeting.
On the Ground – Spring 2020
Updates from around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Morven East and City Comp Plan. Clarke: Planning & Water Quality. Culpeper: Clevengers Corner, History and the Hazel River. Fauquier: Sanctuary at Barrel Oak & Community Planning Initiatives. Greene: Streetscaping and Community Mobility. Loudoun: Land Use Planning. Madison: Criglersville School & Zoning Ordinance Changes. Orange: New County Administrator, Gordonsville Park. Rappahannock: “Beaver Believers” make a splash at local event.
On the Ground – Winter 2019
Updates from the around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: New parkland. Clarke: Fall Supper & Powhatan Water Quality Curriculum. Culpeper: Utility-Scale Solar & Clevengers Village. Fauquier: Sanctuary at Barrel Oak, solar proposal near Bealeton, & a bus tour of Southern Fauquier. Greene: Ruckersville and Reservoir. Loudoun: Rural uses review, HOA coalition, & Goose Creek watershed easement analysis. Madison: Criglersville School & Mitchell’s Mountain. Orange: Dollar General application in Barboursville & Gordonsville parks grow. Rappahannock: Headwater Stream Initiative & USFWS stream surveys at VDOT pilot projects.