Two New Conservation Easements to Protect Forest and Farmland in Greene

Two Greene County landowners, working with the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), recently set up conservation easements on their properties.

One of the new easements was donated by a good friend of PRG, long-time Greene County resident Judie Pagter. Judie’s Deutsch Haven Farm, located west of Stanardsville near Bull Yearling Road, includes 73 acres of forest and farmland. The PEC notes that the easement will help protect the water quality of nearby Bull Yearling Run, and will build on other conservation successes in western Greene County.

In addition to Judie’s easement donation, the PEC also recently completed the easement for the 68-acre Amicus Farm, located west of the Ruckersville growth area.

A conservation easement is a voluntary land preservation agreement between a landowner and a land conservation organization, designed to protect the agricultural resources, forest resources, scenic open space, or wildlife habitat of a property. Such agreements can happen when a landowner wants to limit future building on the land (or its future subdivision) and is willing to give up any existing rights to do so. The landowner retains all other rights to the land.