Cyberspace dreaming...

by Kathy Poush, Summer 2006

RLEP's website is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for getting news out to our membership between issues of this newsletter. Recent postings have included detailed information on the Piedmont Alternative Energy Expo, organized by RLEP, and the Spring Nature Series, arranged by the RLEP Biodiversity Task Force. The latter included a presentation at the Rappahannock Library on the Peregrine Falcon Restoration and Monitoring Program, the Spring Wildflower Walks at Bruce and Susan Jones's property, and Spring Bird Walk at Phil Irwin's Caledonia Farm. The website has also tracked the status of the Hazel River Tier III nomination and provided information on the Rush River controversy.

In the past two months, usage of the website has almost doubled, from around 4,000 page views a month to almost 8,000. Factors driving the increased use are frequent additions of new material to the website; the popularity of the new postings on alternative energy and biodiversity (as measured by page views); and additional traffic generated by Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines. Also, several high-traffic websites, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's site, have added links to RLEP on their websites.

With the efforts of RLEP's Biodiversity Task Force and Alternative Energy Project, we expect to have much additional useful, high-quality material to add to the website on a continuing basis. As the website evolves, we expect it to be even more effective in informing the community on issues, challenges, and initiatives that affect environmental protection.