Building on our foundation of excellence
Message from Executive Director Peggy Stevens
Dear Friends,
I am always on the lookout for good stories to tell. You know,
the kind with good guys, bad guys, and happy endings. I have
no bad guys to tell you about, but plenty of cliff-hanger plot
lines to relate from our 20th year in the land trust business.
Surprises, twists and turns, heroes, heroines, and herons are
all part of my stories from the past fiscal year.
The Good Guys are the ones with white hats who ride in just
in the nick of time. No Board of Directors ever sported more
white hats in one year than the NVCT Board of Directors this
past year. Thank you.
Surprises: Northern Virginia is huge! Each community has its
own flair and style; each region its own personality. Every
community is committed to saving open space and natural
areas. Thank you.
Twists and turns: We added seven easements (and 397
acres) to our portfolio of protected properties in the past
fiscal year. We settled several easement inquiries. We talked
about nutrient trading prospects in one community and
transfer of development rights in another. We spoke of
stream mitigation to one audience and of land conservation
appraisals to another. We dug through old files seeking the
answers to current accreditation questions. Thank you.
Any question we ask of these heroes
can lead us to a fuller conversation
about what land conservation means
in our Northern Virginia region. Any
piece of land with conservation value
is land worthy of our consideration,
because even one acre conserved in our region is an acre
saved for people, water quality, and air quality. Thank you.
Herons: The first property owned by NVCT is a nesting area
for the majestic great blue heron, largest of our native
wading birds. Great Blue Herons are also what we call our
most significant donors. Herons mark our beginning 20 years
ago and light the way for our next 20 years. Thank you.
Happy Endings: Our happy ending is our very strong and
fearless start to the current year. We could not be here—our
united staff and board of directors—without support from
every corner of our expansive Northern Virginia community;
so many friends ready to help us overcome the unexpected
and to celebrate each success. Thank you.
I look forward to collecting more stories in the coming year.
Thank you!
Heroes and heroines: Each person who ventures a question
to us about protecting his or her land is a hero in my book.
NVCT staff and community
working together
to protect the land
2 ▪ Northern Virginia Conservation Trust ▪ Annual Report 2014