PEC focuses on nine counties and one city in the northern Piedmont of Virginia: Albemarle, Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock.
We also team with local organizations to promote thriving communities and healthy natural resources in a much larger region, including the Shenandoah Valley, the central Piedmont, and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Corridor. In addition, we are proud to serve as fiscal sponsor of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, an organization that focuses on land use and policy in the greater Washington D.C. area.
Text from our Dec 2014 Member Newsletter:
One of the least heralded assets underpinning Loudoun’s wonderful rural character are the County’s 300 miles of unpaved rustic roads and bridges— the most of any county in Virginia. Most of these old roads follow routes laid out almost two centuries ago. Lined with mature trees and stone walls, the roads are key parts of our Civil War battlefields and connect our historic villages.
Text from our Dec 2014 Member Newsletter:
In partnership with local landowners and Trout Unlimited, PEC recently completed a survey of 124 road crossings along several high quality trout streams that flow out of Shenandoah National Park into the Piedmont region. Madison County waterways surveyed in the study were funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and include the Conway River, Rose River, Strothers Run, Garth Run, Kinsey Run, Robinson River and the Hughes River.
Text from our Dec 2014 Member Newsletter:
Grymes School is partnering with Chesapeake Natural Heritage, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and PEC to design and secure public and private funding for a native meadow planting, approximately 13 acres in size, located on the edge of the Town of Orange.
Text from our Dec 2014 Member Newsletter:
PEC, Fauquier County, and Culpeper County commissioned a report that identified a more cost-effective option for the full rehabilitation of the historic Waterloo Bridge on Waterloo Road (Route 613). The bridge has a long history dating back to the late nineteenth century, but it was closed due to safety concerns last winter.
Greene County Public Hearing for 2015 Comprehensive Plan Update. On November 19, residents will have the opportunity to share their ideas about Greene’s future with the county Planning Commission. The commission is holding a “public hearing” to hear from residents as it begins its review of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The current Plan was approved in 2010. This may be the only chance residents have to voice their opinions to the whole commission and influence what actually gets revised in the Plan.
While momentum has shifted towards positive, effective improvements to Rt. 29, it’s now critical for the public to weigh in on something important — design.
Albemarle County Supervisors are hosting town hall meetings to discuss the Route 29 Solutions Package. The intent of these meetings is to provide the public with an understanding of the projects, the impact they will have on the larger transportation network, and an opportunity to ask questions. Details on the concept recommendation package can be found on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s website.
An encouraging new report commissioned by The Piedmont Environmental Council, Fauquier County, and Culpeper County has identified a more cost-effective option for the full rehabilitation of the historic Waterloo Bridge on Waterloo Road (Route 613). The bridge has a long history dating back to the late nineteenth century, but it was closed due to safety concerns last winter.
Fauquier County has long been a leader in recognizing the importance of protecting its natural, scenic and cultural resources. Take a look at the time series below that shows conservation easements in Fauquier County added between 1974 and 2014, or download a PDF of the maps.
In our last newsletter, we shared great news regarding the demise of the ill-conceived Western Bypass. As you might recall, a major blow to the project had been delivered back in February, when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced serious reservations about the viability of the project. It made it clear that the necessary federal approvals were indoubt unless VDOT reevaluated the entire project, including a new review of alternatives.