Albemarle County gets an A for land preservation.
In 2010 2,253 acres of additional land went into conservation easement. According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress this brings the total amount of protected land in Albemarle to approximately 83,600 acres. This is over 17% of the county acreage.
You might think " this is nice, but it doesn't really matter to me". It matters to all of us who live and work in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Many of the residents of the Central Virginia area moved here because they fell in love with the scenic beauty of the rolling countryside and the Blue Ridge Mountain views. Even if your home is in one of the many Albemarle neighborhoods you can enjoy driving through the countryside or the scenery that you see every day from your back deck.
However, if we don't work to protect it, the very countryside that we may take for granted can change over night. Growth is important for ecconomic vitality but we must be careful to contain that growth in designated areas.
Conservation easements are an excellent choice for land protection and ensuring that we still have large sections of contiguous open land for our children and grand children to enjoy. Among the things that land conservation protects are family farms, wildlife habitats, rivers, and scenic views.
Visit the Piedmont Environmental Council website for more information on conservation easements, how you can help with land preservation, and whether your Albemarle County horse farm could be a candidate for a conservation easement.
