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.
Rappahannock County
PEC is proud to join other local groups and interested citizens in successful efforts to protect the magnificent natural and cultural heritage of Rappahannock County.
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
Return of brook trout signals promise for trout stream restoration efforts
Find out about recent fish counts.
Creating a Digital Record – The Formation of Shenandoah National Park
Read about an effort to digitize the thousands of legal documents related to the condemnation of private land within eight counties for the creation of the Shenandoah National Park. The goal is to make all of the deed book records, court proceedings and individual condemnation case files publicly accessible and searchable via an online database. The effort will forever memorialize the sacrifice made by so many, for the creation of a national resource we all enjoy today.
On the Ground Updates – September 2020
Read on for a series of short updates from each of PEC’s nine counties.
The Little Park that Could
Along the Rush River in the town of Washington, just a few miles east of the Shenandoah National Park, the 7.3-acre Rappahannock County Park is best known by locals for its pirate-ship playground, skate park, tennis courts, and picnic area. But, it has also come into focus recently for its natural beauty.
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.
Rappahannock Update – April 21, 2020
Read this third edition of the Rappahannock Land Use blog for PEC as a summary of the past week’s events, for April 13-17, 2020.
Rappahannock Update – April 14, 2020
…Here at PEC, we continue to work remotely and provide you with connection to your community and the issues that affect you. I have drawn together this second edition of the Rappahannock Land Use blog for PEC as a summary of the past week’s events, for April 6-April 12, 2020.
Rappahannock Update – April 6, 2020
The COVID 19 pandemic has forced many of us and our localities to rethink how we do business. Here at PEC, we are working remotely and continue to try and provide you with connection to your community and the issues that affect you. This includes connecting you to the important decisions being made at the state and local level.