Plantings for the Piedmont

Top illustration by Nick Garnhart.

Have you seen the ribbon of green growing along a stream, edging fields and mountains with vibrant life? What you are looking at is a riparian buffer, an essential part of our ecosystem in Virginia’s Piedmont.

Riparian buffers are the vegetated areas along rivers, streams, creeks, and other waterways. These areas are the single most effective means of protecting water quality throughout the Chesapeake Bay. With healthy riparian buffers, we can ensure the water we drink throughout the watershed is clean and can be a sustainable resource for future generations.

aerial of volunteers planting trees along a stream

Numerous programs across our nine-county region provide free technical assistance, project design, materials, and labor for the planting of native trees and shrubs in riparian zones on qualifying properties.

Find My Watershed
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Brook Trout in hand

Video: Free Flow

A must-watch!! We’re so excited to bring you this video about our largest trout stream restoration project to date, on Bolton Branch in Rappahannock County on the border of Shenandoah National Park …
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| | Bolton Branch, Brook Trout, Clean Water, For Wildlife & Fish Habitat, Land Conservation, Managing Your Land, Our Work, PEC Productions, Plantings for the Piedmont, Rappahannock County, Restoring Connections, Stream Restoration / Fish Passage Projects, Video
tree planting photo

Pen Druid Tree Planting

Part of a collective effort to get native trees and shrubs planted in riparian zones in headwater counties of the Rappahannock River Watershed …
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| | Clean Water, For Wildlife & Fish Habitat, Headwater Stream Initiative, Managing Your Land, Our Work, Plantings for the Piedmont, Video
A Legacy of Love

A Legacy of Love

Through the Headwaters Stream Initiative, an astounding 3,765 trees were planted on 16 acres the Goodall property in Madison County, including 4,600 linear feet of stream …
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| | Agricultural BMPs, Clean Water, Conservation Case Studies, Krebser Fund, Madison County, Native Plants & Pollinators, NFWF, PEC Conservation Funds, Plantings for the Piedmont, The Piedmont View, Tree plantings
aerial image of a rural farm. there are tree tubes adjacent to a stream between two sets of fences

Other Cost-Share Programs

Learn more about the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and Soil & Water Conservation District Ag BMP cost-share programs …
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| | Plantings for the Piedmont
Bolton Branch trout stream

Trout Streams

Planting riparian buffers along native trout streams is a priority for the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR). Many of the headwater streams of the Upper Rappahannock watershed support Eastern brook …
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| | Brook Trout, Clean Water, Plantings for the Piedmont
aerial image of a river surrounded by spring-colored trees and further away, farmland and mountains

Why Riparian Buffers?

Riparian buffers are the vegetated areas along rivers, streams, creeks, and other waterways. They provide a number of important benefits for stream health, people and wildlife …
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| | Clean Water, Plantings for the Piedmont

PEC’s work on riparian buffers is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, which promotes community-based efforts to develop conservation strategies to protect and restore the diverse natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.