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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
What is a Conservation Easement?
A conservation easement is a land preservation agreement between a landowner and a governmental or non-profit conservation organization that places permanent limits on the future development of a property in order to protect the conservation …
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 …
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 …
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 …
