WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2000

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2000

Our View

Our county

i Keeping Rappahannock scenic.

Rappahannock is Virginia’s only officially-designated

“Scenic County”, so labeled in the

Comprehensive Plan, so voted by the Board of Supervisors. The Rappahannock News supports this designation, which is well-merited as a glance out any window will confirm. • Unfortunately, an official statement will not by itself keep Rappahannock a Scenic County. Our landscape is at severe risk from the urban sprawl that ehjgulfs much of Virginia at the close of the 20th Century, the sprawl that confronts Rappahannock at virtually every border. And evidence elsewhere singly suggests that, in the current political climate statewide, Virginia jurisdictions generally lack the regulatory power to halt sprawl.

.'Yet, we at the News are highly optimistic about our landscape in the 21st Century, and our future as a designated Scenic County. This optimism derives from the repeatedly and strongly expressed views of the people of Rappahannock, the tough-minded dedication of County officials, and particularly the clear and growing commitment of Rappahannock landowners to protect our common heritage. • "Here, as the 21st Century begins, about 10,000 acres of land have been voluntarily and permanently protected through gifts of conservation easements, 2;832 acres came during 1999 alone. The 10,000-acre total represents seven percent of all private land in the county, 15 square miles whose owners have forever walled out sprawl, 15 square miles preserved for oiir visual enjoyment, for wildlife habitat, for water quality, and, with proper permission, even for our direct use. , The Rappahannock News salutes those landowners who donated conservation easements in Rappahannock County during the 20th Century. We hope that many others will follow suit in the 21st.