The Piedmont News

The Piedmont News is a weekly email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.

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Snowy night in Crozet

The Piedmont News – December 12, 2025

Virginia lawmakers propose slowing down data center growth; Conservation groups decry high-end resort on Loudoun-Fauquier border; States push to end secrecy over data center water use; and more
Piedmont News: December 5, 2025

Piedmont News: December 5, 2025

Top Stories: Environmentalist weighs in on new rate class for data centers; New Chesapeake Bay watershed agreement; Proposed changes to Endangered Species Act could impact Virginia animals; and more
A tall tree with some remaining red leaves in a brown field where cows are grazing.

Piedmont News: November 26, 2025

Top Stories: Scientists discover an ancient landscape; Farmers deserve to know what’s being spread on their land; Clarke voices concerns about proposed hotel complex; and more
A figure looking at the night sky where the aurora is visible.

The Piedmont News: November 14, 2025

Top Stories: Conservation Fund acquires Oak Hill; $15.5 million in grants for VA conservation; data centers have a diesel problem; and more
The Piedmont News: November 7, 2025

The Piedmont News: November 7, 2025

Top Stories: Data center backlash swallows American politics and influences elections; VA rolls out food assistance program; incentives available for delayed haying; and more
The Piedmont News: October 31, 2025

The Piedmont News: October 31, 2025

Top Stories: cryptids to watch out for on fall hikes; the benefits of forest bathing; how data centers use NDAs to hide details; government shutdown and SNAP; and more
The Piedmont News: October 17, 2025

The Piedmont News: October 17, 2025

Top Stories: PEC launches nationally significant agrivoltaics project; data centers emerge as major election issue in VA; VGBI financial incentives available for delayed haying; and more
The Piedmont News: October 10, 2025

The Piedmont News: October 10, 2025

Top Stories: Data centers, PFAS, and “Cancer Alley”; Virginian apples, pumpkins, and fall foliage; biomarkers from Goose Creek to the Chesapeake; and more
A row of orange pumpkins.

The Piedmont News: October 3, 2025

Top Stories: Albemarle tables data center ordinance; tree canopy shrinking in Chesapeake Bay watershed; data centers threaten wildlife and electric bills; remembering conservationist Jane Goodall; and more