RLEP Currents, Spring 2005

by Paul Farmer, President, RLEP

As I prepare my first "Currents" column, we are still largely in winter's grasp here next to the Blue Ridge, as evidenced by the thick blanket of snow outside my window. But that will be changing by the time the spring issue of RLEP News is published.

I am a bit surprised to find myself now leading RLEP into 2005, but fortunately our league has been well led by our retiring president, Bob Lander. So my first job is to just not mess things up.

Beyond that, I must say how pleased I am to have so much strong support from the outgoing president and the outgoing directors (not to mention the entire board), each of whom have remained active in RLEP affairs and are quick to respond to any call for assistance. It is also reassuring that members of RLEP and nonmembers in the general community have stepped forward with advice on where RLEP should head next, and have even offered to lead on environmental projects for RLEP and the community.

I don’t expect change in RLEP direction to be as dramatic as the change here from winter to spring, but I take seriously every offer of help and every thought on our mission. If you have an opinion on our direction, or want to help with a project that you think needs attention, contact me or any RLEP director. The League cannot work on every local environmental issue, but I guarantee that each of us on the board wants to know what is most important to our members and to Rappahannock citizens. And we will carefully consider where to place our energies and how to be as effective as we can in the preservation of the county’s natural and cultural environments.

Bob Lander will continue to lead on the RLEP-initiated project to improve the Washington Courthouse grounds. This is a community project—with involvement from several organizations and the public. Marc Malik, a previous RLEP president with considerable professional landscaping experience, is our representative to the project. Cleaning and restoration of the Confederate monument is the centerpiece of this project, but it is also likely to involve new and upgraded landscaping, with an emphasis on native Virginia plants.

Key to this endeavor is the concurrence of those who work in or near the courthouse complex and of the population of Washington in general. We hope the Washington Planning Commission and Town Council (in addition to the county Board of Supervisors) will, therefore, take an active role in the process as the project moves forward.

The RLEP Board of Directors held an all-day conference at Hearthstone School on March 19 to review our mission statement and to develop an annual plan for RLEP operations over the next 12 to 18 months. Participation was lively, and we came away with numerous agreements about how RLEP will be organized and led and about initiatives that will be taken in 2005.

Water quality and watershed management continue to be issues in the news here. RLEP is giving matching funds and a letter of commitment to RappFLOW for its proposed research demonstration project on watershed management practices on the upper Thornton River.

Another water-related event in the county is the commissioning of the Water Quality Advisory Committee by the Board of Supervisors. The committee will meet every other month under the leadership of Reid Folsom. Contact Reid for more information
(800-324-2524 or reidfolsom@yahoo.com).

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