Loudoun County Shadowbrook Farm

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Shadowbrook Farm Development: Wood Turtles in Danger

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“Talk of mysteries! Think of our life in Nature - daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it - rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks. The solid earth!”

- Henry David Thoreau

Issue "Shadowbrook Farm", a 114 acre development, has been proposed for land adjacent to the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. In response to environmental concerns raised, the developer has revised his original plan to include a 300' stream buffer and addressed issues around road/stream crossings and steep slope disturbances. In spite of these revisions, we still have some concerns. This development will include 22 parcels (17 in densely packed hamlets) as well as the requisite infrastructure: roads, utilities and sewer systems to support the 22 homes. In addition to farmland and habitat destruction, the development proposes to install a sewer line for two of the houses across floodplain and the riparian buffer. Additionally, some of the house sites and drainfields are surrounded by steep slope areas.	Wood Turtle, photo by Dennis Desmond
Originally, this development was planned for 11 houses. When the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the Loudoun County zoning plan on an advertising technicality, the developer doubled his approval request to the 22 houses. The developer also requested a waiver from the required floodplain study, claiming no crossings or encroachments into the floodplain. This waiver was denied.
Why this development is of concern: This area is one of the richest habitats of Loudoun where a great diversity of animals and plants still thrive. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy has conducted bird and butterfly counts in the area for the last 10 years and we recognize it as one of Loudoun’s critical habitat areas. Piney Run currently has excellent forest and wetland habitat. This development threatens the water quality of this stream and watershed by increasing sediment and run-off that will result from disruption of soil and forested areas.
Wood Turtles live in woods, fields and streams, photo by Dennis Desmond	Of particular concern is that this development will result in destruction and/or degradation of the upper third section of known wood turtle habitat on Piney Run. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) delineated this area as wood turtle habitat. Development of this habitat will result in further decline of the wood turtle through elimination of protective habitat, impairment of the stream, introduction of more wood turtle predators (raccoons, foxes) that occurs with urbanization, and increased road mortality.
The wood turtle is listed as a State of Virginia threatened species and the VDGIF recommends that it be listed as an endangered species because of its rapidly declining status. VDGIF also recommends that “small waterways with this species should be preserved and development near them restricted. All known colonies should be protected.”	Wood Turtles require clean streams with forest buffers, photo by Dennis Desmond

Action We developed a petition that was signed by 221 residents and submitted that to both the Board of Supervisors and the County's Dept of Building and Development. Residents wrote letters to their Supervisors We held an event at the Government Center in Leesburg prior to the public input session where we had a local wildlife rehabilitator bring live wood turtles and talk about their lifecycles, their habitat needs and their threatened status. We spoke before the Board of Supervisors and we worked directly with the developer to help identify options to protect the habitat that the turtles require. Our position on the Shadowbrook Development: LWC strongly opposes the development as planned. Because this is such sensitive habitat, we request a complete ecological analysis of the Piney Run watershed and an environmental impact assessment prior to approval of any proposed development in and/or impacting the watershed. We further request that land delineated by VDGIF as wood turtle habitat be protected and deemed un-developable so that this species can be protected. We request that official public hearings be held on the development before any decision is made by the County to approve this development and/or any other waivers, variances and/or special exceptions in this matter. Outcome The developer engaged in discussions with organizations able to help set up conservation easements on the property and, at least as of Fall 2006, we believe sufficient habitat will be protected for the turtles. We will continue to monitor the situation.