At lunch during PEC’s Wildlife Friendly Habitats and Gardens Tour in Clarke County, the group was joined by a barn owl, a screech owl, and a red tailed hawk. The sharp-beaked raptors sent smaller birds darting in agitation among the nearby trees, even though they were perched on the hands of their human keepers. The three raptors—called Lamont, Fiona and Briar—were rescued by the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Millwood, but unlike most of the animals rehabilitated at the center, they couldn’t be released because of injuries that leave them incapable of surviving in the wild. So, they’ve become part of the center’s educational programs—in this case, giving people who are interested in building wildlife habitat on their land a look at some of the species that might thrive there.
Publications
The Piedmont Environmental Council produces a number of publications — follow the links below to view PDFs of our newsletters, annual reports, Buy Fresh Buy Local guides and more.
Radioactive Rivers
Beneath the rolling landscapes of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Orange are deposits of the radioactive mineral uranium — potential mine sites. In the 1980s, companies filed mining leases on thousands of acres of land in these counties, as well as in southwest Virginia, with an interest in extracting the uranium, which can be processed into nuclear fuel.
Because uranium mining poses severe dangers to public health and the environment, PEC fought to prevent it, helping to secure a statewide moratorium on uranium mining in 1982. This ban is still in effect. But a Canadian-backed company called Virginia Uranium, Inc. is now pushing to mine a large deposit in southwest Virginia.
Scenic Byway Bridge–Wider, Faster, Straighter?
When Rap Owings and his family learned about VDOT’s plan for the bridge near their farm in Banco, on Route 231 west of Madison, they were concerned. VDOT was planning to take out the existing bridge and rebuild it nearly twice as wide. Plus, they were going to straighten the road for two thirds of a mile, widen the right of way, take out trees and dynamite a rock outcropping.
A Walk Through Bird and Butterfly Paradise
Fifteen years ago, Bruce Jones’ research led him to the discovery that, in his words, “Native plants are the basic building blocks for the whole ecology of our area.” So, he and his wife Susan began the epic project of replacing invasive plants with native plants on about 87 acres of their property, now known as the Jones Nature Preserve.
Building Fences for Cleaner Streams
Farmers are using a unique incentive program coordinated by PEC to substantially expand water quality protections in our region. The program helps cover their costs for fencing livestock out of streams.
A Wasteful Bypass and a Better Plan
VDOT gave plans for the Charlottesville Western Bypass an F. So why spend half a billion dollars on it?
That's the question that PEC posed to Charlottesville and Albemarle residents though ads in local papers and a mailing that we sent to 15,000 homes — part of our full-on campaign to stop this wasteful bypass from moving forward ahead of better alternatives.
Saving Nature in Town
Three children romped down the trail, shouting in unison, "We found the Osage Orange! We found the Osage Orange!" The softball-sized fruit, with its bright green, wrinkled shell was the last thing they needed to complete a 26-item scavenger hunt on the Chapman-DeMary Trail in Purcellville — having already discovered hackberry, wild grape, a small island in the creek, a bug on the ground, a good hiding place, and the rest.
Fellowship Program – Five Years In
This summer marked the fifth year of the PEC Fellowship Program, which is becoming a nationally known educational program for students with an interest in environmental work. Each year, twelve college students, graduate students, and recent graduates spend seven weeks with us, gaining hands-on experience in a wide range of environmental fields
Virginia Uranium Company Pushing to End the Ban in 2012
On the day that an earthquake struck Virginia, as the region prepared for a hurricane, representatives of Virginia Uranium found themselves addressing the City Council of Virginia Beach, to explain why containment pits of radioactive mine tailings upstream would not pose a danger to the city’s water supply.
The timing of that meeting could have gone better for them. Still, they asserted that they’ll be able to mine uranium safely in Virginia. It’s a tall order—considering that the piles of hazardous mine wastes would cover hundreds of acres.
Double Bypass
If there’s one thing that’s been bypassed in the ongoing push for new roads around DC and Charlottesville, it’s public process.
First, in May, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) revived plans for a developers’ dream road around DC—the vast Outer Beltway. The unelected CTB brought back the Outer Beltway without consulting local governments, without a recommendation from VDOT, and without any public input.