The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP) and the Sperryville Community Alliance would like to thank all the hardworking volunteers who came out last Saturday (April 16) to clean up the Sperryville Nature Trail in preparation for SperryFest.

Nestled in between two of Culpeper County’s historic sites lay plans for construction on two industrial buildings on over 230 agricultural acres courtesy of Amazon Web Services.

Wegmans on Thursday announced it will eliminate plastic bags companywide by the end of year.

For environmental advocates, the just-concluded Virginia legislative session had its victories, highlighted by repelling a former Trump official’s nomination to oversee the state’s natural resources.

RICHMOND – Legislation aimed at increasing tree canopies across Virginia passed both chambers of the General Assembly after legislators compromised on removing language around equity.

The bill, sponsored by Webert, who represents Rappahannock County, requires the state to analyze the impact of small- and medium-sized solar and energy storage projects on forested lands and those containing prime agricultural soils, a federal classification defined in state law.

Each year, the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District awards up to $4,000 in educational scholarships to students who plan to pursue a career in a conservation-related field.

• Nonprofit reports 25% of Piedmont now under easement

The Piedmont Environmental Council on Wednesday announced the appointment of Laura O’Brien as its new Rappahannock County field representative, filling the role previously held by Claire Catlett, who served in the position from 2017 to 2021.

Democrats on a Virginia Senate committee voted Tuesday to strip former Trump EPA chief Andrew Wheeler from a list of approved hires for Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s cabinet.

In 2021, LTV staff completed 16 easements for a total of 3,041 acres, compared to 1,765 acres in 2020 and 1,730 acres in 2019. The organization also expanded into six new Virginia counties.

Shenandoah National Park will begin its Old Rag Mountain ticketing pilot project in March in an effort to control the number of hikers and combat bottlenecks that can create long waits along narrow corridors of the nearly 10-mile loop trail.

Rappahannock County residents who lost power as a result of Monday’s snowstorm may not have service restored for several days.

In Rappahannock County this year, one citizen dominated the conversation.

Look up into a twilit sky, and you’re likely to see a tiny silhouette fluttering across the dusk. Evoking fear in some, and fascination in others, the bat has a storied reputation. 

Birdsong is the soundtrack of life in the country, and a coalition of conservation groups aims to keep it that way.

In Lyt Wood’s decades-long career of heading the Rappahannock Nature Camp, he’s seen children learn about the outdoors beyond superficial textbook definitions. As he heads toward retirement, he hopes the campers will continue to experience the wilderness’ natural phenomena.

Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection will help run events; neighbor agrees with plan

So goes the land use quandary stewing in rural counties around Virginia, the result of a building friction between the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals and the desire of communities to preserve productive farmland and with it, their agricultural identities.

Neighboring property owner expresses concerns about late night stargazers

The Propers finally had enough. The family, whose property backs up to Rappahannock County Park, have endured for years what they described as mistreatment at the hands of the Rappahannock County Recreational Facilities Authority (RCRFA), the body that oversees the park.

The Rappahannock Lions Club received unanimous approval at the Sept. 1 Board of Supervisors meeting to implement a plastic bag and film recycling program at Rappahannock County’s Flatwood and Amissville disposal sites.

The Piedmont Grassland Bird Initiative (PGBI), a wildlife conservation project, is coming to the rescue to help Rappahannock farmers put a plan into action to protect grassland bird nestings. 

Shenandoah National Park is reopening the park's streams to fishing. All angling had been temporarily suspended due low stream flows and high water temperatures, but recent rains have brought stream flows up and replenished groundwater making conditions less stressful for fish. Fish may stil…

Commonwealth Attorney Art Goff recommended that the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors repeal an ordinance that controls utility-scale renewable energy generating facilities, which received lukewarm support from the body and was hurried along at a July meeting.

At the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors August meeting on Monday, the body approved an amendment for a special exception permit from Nick Dowling, owner of Blue Rock Inn, to run an unused home on his property as a tourist residence. This application initially fell before the board in June, receiving opposition from neighbors and some of the board members. In 2006, the previous owners obtained a permit for the home on the condition that it not be used for commercial purposes, and Jackson District Supervisor Ron Frazier had hesitations about overturning the previous board’s decision.

Not blessed with the sharp beaks and strong talons of raptors like eagles, owls and hawks, shrikes overcome their physical shortcomings by using the environment to their advantage.

Chuck Akre — Rappahannock resident and famed money manager — is launching a new portfolio, composed not of securities but deeply felt values and stunning horizons. 

Ahead of their joint meeting with county supervisors on Wednesday, July 7, Rappahannock’s planning commissioners called on an expert to discuss a possible new ordinance which would impose conditions on small and utility-scale solar farms.

Whatever your interest in or aversion to white-tailed deer, you may eventually see fewer of them sprinting across the road, eating your cabbage or magnified in your rifle scope. The reason: chronic wasting disease, a fatal, incurable affliction that continues to spread in the mid-Atlantic.