Will You Help RACC Meet Our Local Environmental Conservation Challenges?
The emerging environmental challenges to Rockbridge are increasing in number and complexity. It is easy to identify many of the major issues that face our area in the near future. The burgeoning truck traffic that makes I-81 crowded and dangerous will be one of these. Recent spring water business proposals have revealed that our County and State have few regulations regarding the removal of natural resources such as water. The impacts of extending a sewer line along Route 11 to Raphine will be significant in extending strip development along this corridor. Subdivision of farmland will continue as people flee the crowding along our Nation’s east coast. More people will be attracted to the recreational resources in the forest and along streams.
Since 1975, the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council (RACC) has been the primary organization working on local environmental advocacy in our area. Despite the time volunteered by its members, the financial resources of the Council are proving inadequate to adequately fund its present and future organizational needs. We appeal for your financial support to help create a permanent Rockbridge Area Conservation Endowment Fund (RACE). The interest earned from RACE will supplement regular RACC dues income and empower the Council to expand its work and scope effectively. Our citizens count on RACC to provide an effective way for them to express and empower their opinions about public and private actions that could degrade the quality of our local environment for present and future generations.
A Short History of the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council (RACC)
Anyone coming to Rockbridge county is immediately struck by the exceptional beauty of the place: its landscape, the clean streams that flow out of the mountains, the patchwork of settled farmland and forest that lies in the floor of the valley, the trails that weave through the forests, the Parkway, the vernacular architecture, the vibrant college towns, and the many historic sites.
In 1974, the completion of Interstate 81 and the siting of a huge manufacturing plant in a rural part of the county raised concerns among many local people. A year later, anticipating the coming changes and the threat these changes could pose to the special character of this area, a small group of Rockbridge citizens decided to promote a better understanding of land use planning. Aided by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, committees were formed to study relevant aspects of planning, and four nationally prominent speakers were brought here to conduct seminars about planning. A year later, the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council was formed as a non-profit volunteer organization. RACC is a grass roots organization, composed of concerned residents, land owners, farmers, merchants, teachers, trades people, students and others who want to protect and preserve the unique and healthy rural/town character of the Rockbridge area. RACC focuses on the preservation of this “sense of place”.
Today the Council has nearly four hundred families as members. RACC is made up of people who care enough about this place to give their time, energy, and abilities to help protect and enhance the qualities of life found here. As committees and individuals report to the Board on the current events in the county, the discussion may range from water quality, paving policies for country lanes, recycling, construction of towers on North Mountain, to hikes on Brushy Hill or around Moores Creek Reservoir, management of House Mountain, and threats to roadless areas in the National Forest. The Board initiates actions and educational programs, it undertakes studies of environmental concerns, it cooperates with other organizations that share its mission, and it advocates appropriate governmental reactions to emerging threats to the environmental quality of the area.
RACC’s Record of Accomplishments
RACC’s many accomplishments give insight into the scope of the local projects and issues which it addresses for our community. RACC has initiated many programs and projects including the purchase of the top of House Mountain and establishing it as a protected area, and the transformation of the old C & O railroad bed into the Chessie Trail between Lexington and Buena Vista. Some of RACC’s other accomplishments include:
RACC has cooperated with local governments and other conservation organizations on many projects including establishing the Rockbridge Easement Agreement Program (REAP), a voluntary County program to purchase development rights from farm and open land owners; promoting conservation easements and Ag/Forestal districts; building support for the use of railroads as an alternate means of truck transport of goods moving along I-81; developing of Jordan’s Point Park; and studying of the effects of a proposed cogeneration plant on local water and air quality. Also among RACC supported projects are development of the County sign ordinance and establishment of By-ways along scenic roads in the county.
The Council publishes a newsletter that informs people about conservation activities in the County and has published the Trail Guide to the Chessie Trail, and A Special Place, a Conservation Guide for Homeowners. A more complete listing of RACC past and current projects is available at the RACC website http://organizations.rockbridge.net/racc/ or at the RACC office above the Wachovia Bank, 101 S. Main Street, Lexington, or by writing to RACC, P.O. Box 564, Lexington, VA 24450.
Help RACC Establish a Rockbridge Area Conservation Endowment (RACE)
RACC’s 28 years of effective local environmental conservation work have been accomplished primarily through the volunteer efforts of general and Board of Director members. As the scope and complexity of critical local conservation issues has grown, RACC has evolved a large board or “council” approach to harness expert local talents to address the emerging threats to Rockbridge’s qualities of life. RACC’s numerous volunteer working groups are critically supported by the timely efforts of its dedicated Executive Director, a part-time, hybrid volunteer and professional position. For the last several years, it has been increasingly clear to the Board of Directors that the organization needs more weekly paid hours of support if RACC is to realize its full potential effectiveness in recruiting and utilizing our community’s remarkable volunteer resources.
RACC will be strengthened by the permanent resources of a Rockbridge Area Conservation Endowment (RACE). With RACE as a permanent endowment, RACC will be empowered to pursue the successful preservation and protection of the unique character of our county. The Endowment’s primary purpose is to permanently assure financial resources sufficient to augment RACC’s annual membership revenues and adequately fund its operations and programs budget. Earnings from RACC’s investment will help pay for publications, speakers, postage, ads in local papers, and staff salary as well as supplies and materials that may be needed to carry out future Board approved projects. An important example of a currently conceived but un-funded RACC project is the production of an educational video about environmental concerns in Rockbridge for use in local schools. All donations will go into building the Endowment unless the donor chooses to specify how their money is to be used.
As you love this place, please create this Endowment with your generous financial investment!
Updated 2007 April