Slides prepared for the 2017 Virginia Land Conservation & Greenways conference. Given by Bri West, The Piedmont Environmental Council's Director of Outreach & Communications.

1. Communicating the Value of Land Conservation for Clean Water

2. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
You are here
PEC’s service
territory is
here

4. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
What isVirginia’s
Piedmont known for?

5. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Beautiful views
Photo by Patricia Temples

6. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Shenandoah National Park
and Skyline Drive
Photo by James Marshall

7. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
The
Appalachian
Trail

8. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Presidential homes like
Monticello Photo by Cindy DeVore

9. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
CivilWar Battlefields
Photo by Cindy Vasco

10. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
And a vibrant agricultural economy
Photo by Patty King

11. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
One might not think “water”
right away. But….

12. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Our water
originates in the
mountains

13. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
provides habitat for fish and wildlife
Photo by Chris Anderson

14. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
And (clean) drinking water for people
• Important water supplies forWashington DC,
NorthernVA, Fredericksburg, and Richmond
all originate in the Piedmont.
Photo by James Marshall

15. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
When it comes to
land conservation, our
region is well-known.

16. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

17. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
But we sometimes struggle
to select which public
benefits to highlight.

18. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

19. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
In total, conservation easements in our nine
counties have protected approximately:
• 1,600 miles of streams;
• 9,500 acres of wetlands;
• 186,000 acres of prime farming soils;
• 186,000 acres of forests;
• 106,000 acres along Scenic Byways;
• 118,000 acres in the viewshed of the
AppalachianTrail;
• 125,000 acres in historic districts; and
• 28,500 acres of CivilWar battlefields.

20. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Sometimes, we lead
with water

21. Like in a recent
donor mailing
where we focused
on clean water and
included this map.

22. Or this email
blast titled
“Protecting the
WaterWe
Drink”

23. Or by participating
in a coalition effort
#BayStrong

24. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
But with others issues, we
weave in water

25. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Photo by Chris Anderson

27. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Robinson River in
Madison

28. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
The Robinson
two weeks ago

29. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

30. Events are an area
where we have to
think hard about
why people might
choose to attend.

31. Is it to improve water
quality…?

32. In one of our most successful advocacy blasts this
winter, we described the benefits of the Land
PreservationTax Credit this way:

33. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Also, don’t be afraid to pivot.

34. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

35. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

36. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Photo courtesy of Friends of
the Rappahannock

37. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri

38. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri
Clean water depends on what
we do with the land.

39. Bri West  The Piedmont Environmental Council  bwest@pecva.org  Twitter: @west_bri