This may be a more quiet week than usual, which is probably a good thing as so much has happened this month already and a nice break would be very beneficial. This week closes out the third month of 2023, a year that seems to be one of transition in a community that has grown so much and is poised to grow more.
Our Region
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.
2022 Land Conservation Totals
Last year, landowners partnered with The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and other land trusts and conservation agencies to permanently protect 6,651 acres of land in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Orange and Rappahannock counties.
More Data Center News in Warrenton
Much has happened in the weeks since the 4-3 Warrenton Town Council vote to approve the Amazon Data Center Special Use Permit (SUP). I want to give you an update on potential permit violations on the property and share concerns about proposals to build more data centers in Town.
On the Ground Updates – March 2023
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
Volunteer Spotlight: Felix Kontanis and Jennifer Dorrer
Each spring and fall, PEC welcomes dozens of volunteers who get their hands dirty and their feet muddy helping us plant native trees and shrubs along streams on private properties. We caught up with two of our tree planting volunteers, Jennifer Dorrer and her son, Felix Kontanis, to learn about their experiences with PEC.
A Neighborhood Conservation Effort along South River
In Greene County, a community-wide effort to protect land along the South River has been underway for nearly two decades. In 2022, a critical 140-acre multi-generational cattle farm was added to the tapestry of this corridor with a conservation easement generously donated to PEC by Mr. Laymon Breeden, who wanted to protect the farm in part to honor his father.
Conserving a Piece of Heaven
From the wrap-around porch at Hans and Anne Wachtmeister’s Fauquier County home, I feel as if I’m standing atop a mountain looking across heaven. And it’s one of seven Fauquier County properties permanently protected with a conservation easement last year.
The Sperryville Trail Network: Uniting a Community and Creating a Sense of Place
You may have driven through Sperryville on your way to the Thornton Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park. But this historic village is much more than just a place to pass through, and I found the Sperryville Trail Network to be the perfect tour guide
Update on DEQ’s air quality variance for data centers
The variance would allow backup diesel generators to run more frequently this coming summer.
Week Ahead for March 20, 2023: New hotel planned on West Main; Regional bodies to get update on how to better run the buses; housing summit on Friday
Each week I write this report and want to write up every single item. The world is complex and my view of journalism is that there’s enough room for many accounts of what the government does at all levels. I believe better outcomes are possible if information can be made available and shared. That’s why I do this every week.