RLEP's President

At RLEP's annual membership meeting in November 2007, the Board of Directors elected Monica Worth as president of the organization.

Before assuming the presidency, Monica chaired the RLEP Communications Committee and was a key participant in the Education Outreach and Executive Committees. In her professional life, Monica has managed fund raising and public relations for not-for-profit organizations for more than a decade and now consults in media relations, business communications, marketing, organizational development, and issues and project management. As president of Worth Associates, Inc., a twenty-year-old media and public affairs agency, Monica also coordinates teams of professional consultants, synthesizing the strengths of highly accomplished individuals into smoothly operating alliances.

A Rappahannock resident of eight years, Monica served as treasurer and president of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire & Rescue company before joining RLEP's board in 2006. A full-time musician for about twenty years, she continues to perform occasionally throughout the region. These days she enjoys spending as much time as possible exploring the outdoors and treasures the peace and quiet of an old farmhouse tucked into a mountain hollow.

RLEP's Executive Director

RLEP is delighted to announce the appointment of Pam Owen as our first executive director, effective April 2008. Pam's appointment enables RLEP to meet a critical need for staff support for our ever-expanding programs, projects, and activities.

Pam works for RLEP on a half-time basis and performs her duties in RLEP's new office in the Theatre Building at 291 Gay Street in Washington.

The office phone number is 540-317-1449; Pam can also be reached by email at ExDir@RLEP.org.

An award-winning photojournalist and journalist, Pam started her career working on newspapers. For more than twenty years, she has had her own communications consulting business, Nighthawk Communications, offering writing, editing, desktop publishing, and photography services to commercial and not-for-profit clients throughout the region.

Pam has also been a documentary-film producer, a college photography instructor, and a hand on a cattle ranch. Coming from a long line of book lovers, she opened Fly-by-Night Books, Etc., in Flint Hill in 2003. She closed the shop last December but continues to sell nature, art, and collectible books online and at Copper Fox Antiques in Sperryville.

Since she moved to Rappahannock in 1999, Pam has worked as a volunteer with the Rappahannock County Conservation Alliance and with RLEP. A lifelong lover of wildlife, she started RLEP's Biodiversity Task Force four years ago and had served on the RLEP board before stepping down to take on her new position. She also helped found the Old Rag Virginia Master Naturalist chapter and serves on that board. A native Virginian, she now lives on the edge of Shenandoah National Park, in Gid Brown Hollow, her favorite spot in the county.

RLEP's Mission, History, and Accomplishments

The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection is dedicated to preserving the natural resources and rural character of Rappahannock County, Virginia.

Who and What We Are

• A local citizen-based conservation group open to all who share our values and vision.

• A non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation staffed by volunteers. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The League is non-partisan and does not support political candidates.

• Affiliated with state and regional conservation groups, including the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Virginia Conservation Network.

• Guided by a Board of Directors comprised of county residents, local landowners, and regional enthusiasts.

A Little History. In 1970, eighty-five conservationists in a young environmental group challenged a giant utility’s plans to erect huge towers and 138,000-volt transmission lines through the heart of Rappahannock County. RLEP led a 15-month fight that forced the utility to withdraw its plans. In the years since, the League has confronted other threats to the rural community it serves. Now one of the region's senior conservation groups, RLEP is a respected voice for environmental protection and carefully planned growth—a voice heard well beyond the county's borders.

Our Action Agenda. RLEP's membership of dedicated volunteers has worked to protect the scenic and natural resources of the county by raising community awareness and campaigning for the responsible stewardship of the land. The League has:

• Encouraged donation of conservation easements to protect open spaces and provided plaques for owners who donate easements.

• Worked for adoption of the county's first comprehensive plan and subsequent revisions, stressing responsible management and farming ideas, because subdivisions spoil our land and generate high service costs.

• Promoted a local recycling program with safe, sensible management of solid waste.

• Supported adoption of the county's land-use taxation program, including the establishment of agricultural and forestal districts as key tools in maintaining a viable agricultural economy and a rural community.

• Sponsored studies of the county's traffic corridors to maintain our byways and highways as safe, scenic, uncongested roads.

• Consistently worked with government agencies, other conservation groups, community organizations, and private citizens to continue this vital conservation work.

• Sponsored studies, surveys, and seminars to preserve and protect Rappahannock's irreplaceable historic buildings and vernacular architecture.

A Sense of Values. In all its activities, RLEP is guided by a sense of values rooted in the preservation of Rappahannock County's priceless natural resources, farm land, scenic beauty, and rural character. We support policies and actions that protect and enhance these gifts, and oppose those that threaten to destroy or degrade them.

As unchecked growth in surrounding counties continues to threaten our rural landscape, it is more important that ever for Rappahannock citizens to support this agenda of preservation. The League's program emphasizes a comprehensive approach:

• Education. RLEP publishes a newsletter, the RLEP News, maintains this website, and sponsors numerous educational programs to benefit county residents.

• Natural resources. The League works for the preservation of open space and scenic beauty through conservation easements, scenic river and road designations, use-value taxation, protection of wildlife habitat and ecosystems, and conscientious stewardship of public and private lands. Protection of the county's scenic ridgetops and erosion-prone mountain slopes also is critical to maintaining the beauty of the Blue Ridge and the quality of water throughout our watersheds and beyond.

• Farming. RLEP recognizes that farmland generates more property-tax revenues than its occupants receive in county services, while subdivisions generate high-cost needs for schools, sewers, streets, and services in excess of tax revenues received. The League supports lower assessments for farm and forest land that reflect this reality. We also favor the continuing establishment of agricultural and forestal districts and the County's Purchase of Development Rights program for farmers. Preserving farms helps save the county’s scenic vistas, rural lifestyle, and its appeal to tourists.

We need your help in these important endeavors. If you are not already a member, click on this link to JOIN US!