Piedmont Environmental Council

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works in Loudoun County as well as eight other counties in Virginia to safeguard the landscapes, communities and heritage of the Piedmont. In addition to providing resources such as the Loudoun Outdoors Guide and the Loudoun County Buy Fresh, Buy Local Guide, PEC focuses on the following:

Clean Air and Water
Water flows through all of our land. To keep it plentiful and safe for drinking, swimming and fishing, we need clean air, expansive forests, responsible farms, wooded stream banks, and communities and individuals who make choices to avoid pollution.

Conserving Land
Conservation easements help ensure that the Virginia Piedmont is always characterized by its open spaces, healthy environment, and cultural resources.

Energy Solutions
PEC works toward energy solutions that emphasize efficiency first, use appropriate technologies for the 21st Century and respect the scenic and historic character of the Piedmont.

Historic, Scenic Landscapes
The Piedmont's beautiful vistas also present some of America's most historic terrain-where visionaries, pioneers, farmers, generals, soldiers, slaves and Presidents lived and left their mark.

Thriving Communities
PEC believes that the work of protecting natural resources and the work of building better communities are integral to each other.

Transportation Solutions
As high gas prices, traffic congestion, strain on the state budget and concerns about pollution prompt widespread calls for change, PEC supports a new transportation vision for Virginia.

Wildlife Habitat
PEC works to protect fish and other aquatic creatures from pollution, conserve expanses of connected habitat and keep open the corridors needed by roaming or migrating animals.

Working Farms & Forestland
Farmland and forests produce the necessities of life and provide essential natural services. In PEC's nine county area, over 180,000 acres of farmland and 140,000 acres of forests are protected through private, voluntary land conservation.