Clean Water

Water flows through all of our land. To keep it plentiful and safe for drinking, swimming and fishing, we need clean air, expansive forests, responsible farms, wooded stream banks, and communities and individuals who make choices to avoid pollution.

Sprucepine Branch

Sprucepine Branch

Posted on by PEC

HUNTLY, VA: Recent work at Sprucepine Branch reconnected 2 miles of stream, as a set of culverts were removed from a private driveway, and replaced with a bridge. PEC coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Shenandoah Streamworks on the natural channel design and construction. The work included re-grading stream banks and in-stream structures that restored the natural hydrology of those streams.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries provided pre and post fish community monitoring.

Protecting Thumb Run

Protecting Thumb Run

Posted on by Paula Combs

What’s good for wildlife is often good for water quality,” said Celia Vuocolo, PEC’s wildlife habitat and stewardship specialist, as she spoke to guests at the fifth Annual Thumb Run Open House.

This sentiment was reinforced at the event, held on November 13 at the Orlean Fire Hall, by speakers Amy Johnson of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Virginia Working Landscapes Program, Janet Davis of Hill House Farm and Nursery and Dr. Tania Cubitt of Performance Horse Nutrition LLC, whose presentations focused on grassland bird conservation, landscaping for wildlife and healthy horse pastures, respectively. While the presentation topics varied, the underlying theme was the same — land stewardship supports clean water.

Fenced in at Roundabout Meadows

Fenced in at Roundabout Meadows

Posted on by Paula Combs

Polluted water is not only bad for us and the environment, but it’s bad for livestock as well,” says Celia Vuocolo, habitat and stewardship specialist at PEC.

A significant stewardship project is wrapping up this fall at Roundabout Meadows, the 141- acre property near Gilbert’s Corner that was gifted to PEC in 2013. The project is focused on implementing agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will keep livestock away from the property’s streams and provide a clean source of water for cattle. As part of the effort, over 2 miles of fencing and almost a mile of pipeline plumbing for a watering system have been installed.

“Our long-term plan for Roundabout Meadows is to retain its agricultural use, and we want to do so in a manner that is in harmony with being good stewards of the land and water resources, while farming continues on the property,” says Michael Kane, director of conservation at PEC.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant

Posted on by Bri West

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded PEC a $200,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund this past October. With this grant, PEC will collaborate with Loudoun County, the Town of Lovettsville, Loudoun County Master Gardeners and Loudoun homeowners associations to implement projects that involve planting native trees and shrubs, improving stormwater facilities and reducing polluted runoff in Loudoun County communities.