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Scenic easements
THE AIR IN Rappahannock County has been filled for the past several months with talk of zoning and planning and other methods of controlling and directing development. Plans and ordinances and zoning maps are all very handy in this rfespect, and Rappahannock’s public officials have done what appears to be an excellent job in drawing up blueprints for keeping the county a pleasant place in which to live. But something was talked about at last week’s meeting of the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection which could also be of immense value in preserving the cherished Rappahamiock landscape. Easements, freely granted by individuals who love the country side? and who want to see its beauty passed on for the enjoyment of future generations, can sometimes be even more effective than plans and zones.
As William T. Bolger of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation said, a preservation desire by one or more landowners can add up to “de facto” landscape protection which doesn’t need elaborate Jegislative maneuvering, fancy legal toe-dancing or political blood-letting. Simply by placing it in an easement, land can be save for its beauty, and saved from the bulldozers. Thanks to a new Virginia law, the easement doesn’t even have to be designated “forever.” It can be tied to a 30year contract, after which time the landowners (or their heirs) can reappraise their desires, and the conditions that prevail at that time.
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