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Our View
Forever green
French geographer Jean Gottmann’s “Megalopolis”— the continuous mega-city from Washington to Boston— has essentially become reality several times over since he recognized it in the 1950s. As houses and roads spring up all over the landscape of Northern Virginia, and its counties hit the top of the Census Bureau’s “Fastest Growing Counties” list, there seems little doubt that the Megalopolis is heading west. What can be done to stop its amoeba-like spread across our land? National and state parks are wonderful resources, but we can’t depend on them as our only method of preserving open land, ending up as “city parks” for a paved United States. Municipalities condemning land to save it is not enough either. The people of this county and this nation must decide that natural land is something they value. The conservation easement remains our biggest weapon to fight development. Generous donations of large tracts of unspoiled land are the greatest gift one generation can give another. Gifts like the 796-acre Whippoorwill Farm easement are of a value that goes beyond measure, beyond the concept of real estate. It is a portion of our land, a segment of earth that ultimately belongs to all generations. Many in Rappahannock have given this gift. At present 12.6 percent of private land in the county is in such easements. We encourage others who are able to make similar gestures for posterity and for the future of Rappahannock County. And we salute the four who made the Whippoorwill easement a reality: Sharon Luke, Louise C. Pulliam, Jene Younkin and Gary Younkin.
Letters to the Editor We welcome your opinions and comments. Letters must be exclusive to the Rappahannock News, must be signed and include the writer’s telephone number and home address which can be verified (not for publication). Due to space limitations, published letters are subject to abridgment for length, accuracy and clarity. For the best chance of publication, letters should be 260 words or less. Longer letters from those with special experience on a current issue may be published as a guest column (with your photo). While unable to acknowledge letters, we appreciate your views towards the newspaper’s editorial values. Letters should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, Rappahannock News, P.O. Box 59, Washington, Va. 22747 and submitted via U.S. Mail, Fax (675-3088) or by e-mail (makuhndtimespapers.com).
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