Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

As you drive along the back roads of Loudoun and look along the telephone wires, you may very well see an American Kestrel.  They love to hunt over fields for small rodents. They’re wonderful to see on the wing as they hunt and they are our smallest falcon.

Check out a great article that Gerry Hawkins wrote on the American Kestrel awhile back for our Habitat Herald newsletter and then try out our Ketsrel word search puzzle. It’s good fun!

More puzzles on Loudoun wildlife and environment can be found on our Educational Resources page.

David McCarthy, President of the Friends of Banshee Reeks, sent over this email and I wanted to share it with you here. The Friends of Banshee Reeks is an important organization in making sure this incredible nature preserve is protected into the future.

The note from David:

Follow-up to the Public Meeting of July 29

I would like to thank all of you who were able to attend the public meeting Wednesday evening to address the issues related to The Woods Road.  It is unfortunate that an understandably frustrated group from Courtland dominated the question period, as the majority of people in the audience did not get to raise their questions about the status of a road that appears on the earliest maps of the county; that runs through an area that reflects the human ecology of man’s interaction with the natural habitat in Loudoun from 4,000 BC through the 1970’s; and is the only publicly owned collection of traditional Piedmont habitats that exists in the county on a scale which keeps them viable.

The good news is that Lewis Rauch, Director of the Office of Capital Construction attended the meeting and has offered to head up a Woods Road Stakeholders Group that would meet regularly this year and next to address the safety concerns of the road, the county’s solid waste disposal needs, and the need to protect irreplaceable natural resources and the conservation easements that protect them. Mr. Rauch has earned a reputation of bringing an open, positive and professional approach to problem solving, and he understands that all the issues related to The Woods Road need to be seen within the larger context. I believe that someone who can look at this situation with fresh eyes and knows how to listen can help take us beyond the stale rhetoric we have been subjected to before.

As always, Supervisor Sally Kurtz played the key role in seeing that the process of public participation promised in April 2008 was not allowed to die. The Woods Road presents a striking example of the constant pressure that the county’s diminishing resources are under from competing demands. The Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve will be pleased to enter into a transparent and participative process at the front end of the decision making, rather than having to react to the damage caused by decisions made without consideration of the consequences.

Loudoun County has been the victim of a risky and speculative development process that has been driven by the short term possibilities of monetary gain. It is recognized that the economic situation the county finds itself in now is the result of this kind of approach. We all know now that we need a new way forward based on an informed and engaged citizenry. The decisions made about The Woods Road will send a clear message of how Loudoun County will approach the future. We all agree that business as usual is not the answer. Let’s help shape a new one.

David McCarthy, President
Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve  

On Wednesday, July 29, Supervisor Sally Kurtz led a public meeting on the issue of The Woods Road relocation. Also speaking for the County were Lewis Rauch (Director of Capital Construction and Solid Waste Management), Rick Weber (Solid Waste Management Program Manager), Harry Walsh (Citizens Relations Manager from the Office of the County Administrator), and Diane Ryburn (Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services).

Over 100 citizens attended, coming from two primary interest areas: residents of Courtland Woods concerned about road safety and viewsheds, and residents from across Loudoun concerned about Banshee Reeks and the wildlife and habitat impacts of any road realignment.  I took notes throughout the meeting and wanted to share what I gathered with you here:

Supervisor Kurtz conveyed that the landfill will be expanded and the future phases have already been planned and prepared. At the current rate of trash collection, these future phase of the landfill will be opened and used over the next 10-15 years. In order to use these new phases of the landfill, there need to be ground water monitoring stations around the perimeter of the landfill to make sure toxins are not escaping from the landfill. The perimeter for the expanded landfill butts directly against The Woods Road in some places. Because it is a residential road, there needs to be a 300′buffer.

VDOT is responsible for The Woods Road. In 2009, however, budget cuts caused them to defund the relocation plans. In response to that, our Board of Supervisors put $750,000 of County money against doing a 30% design plan for relocating The Woods Road. Once that plan is in place, it will be the determining document for what is done to The Woods Road when the final phases of the landfill are opened up. [So -- What is decided in the next year about The Woods Road and Banshee Reeks will be what we have to live with in 15 years from now - regardless of how technology, environment and other factors change between now and then]

Mr. Rauch explained that “VDOT has washed their hands of the project,” and therefore the County is putting money in to make sure this project goes forward.  Sally explained that because County funds are being used, there will be more flexibility in what is done in relocating The Woods Road. 

Citizens raised questions around the impact of the landfill on Goose Creek, as well as wetland issues such as the impact of relocating The Woods Road on the rare Mountain/Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp that is on Banshee Reeks and the Virginia Outdoor Foundation (VOF) conservation easement on the property. The response that we received from Sally was that in moving the road, the Mountain/Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp would not be destroyed. Mr. Weber said “We don’t know where the road will be – we need to do the environmental analysis.”  Additionally, the county is in discussions with VOF because the current plans do violate the easement.

The next step is for the County to set up a Woods Road Stakeholder Group and signups were taken [yes, we signed up]. In addition to residents of Courtland, there were members and leaders from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Friends of Banshee Reeks, Virginia Master Naturalist (Banshee Chapter), Audubon Naturalist Society (Rust Sanctuary), Piedmont Environmental Council, and the Loudoun Preservation Society present. Together, we will make sure the environmental and historic concerns around the relocation of The Woods Road are heard and considered as alternatives are identified and plans move forward. We will keep you informed throughout.