Loudoun Wildlife often works with coalition partners to address issues of common concern. While our desired outcomes are not always achieved, we have had many conservation advocacy successes over the years. Advocacy campaigns from the last couple of years are described below. You can also read about some of our campaigns prior to 2022.
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
The new Zoning Ordinance is in effect. The Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the new Ordinance at the public hearing on December 13th, 2023. Loudoun Wildlife collaborated with nonprofit partners of the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition to provide input throughout the process. Learn more about the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite…
2025 Virginia General Assembly
The 2025 General Assembly session has come to an end, and the Governor has completed his review of the bills that passed through the Senate and House of Delegates. Now that the session has concluded, you can see the list of bills for wildlife in Loudoun that the Governor has signed into law, and the full list of all successful and failed bills we tracked on the General Assembly page.
Greenlin Park Data Center Application
The rezoning application for Greenlin Park was approved at the February 19, 2025 Board of Supervisors business meeting. Despite known opposition and inconsistency with county policy, this application proposed to convert a forested area to data center use. Read more about Greenlin Park…
Belmont Innovation Campus
The historic data center application for the Belmont Innovation Campus passed the Board of Supervisors vote on April 10th, 2024 after the application underwent major revisions to decrease the size and server capacity. Read more…
Orme Farm Rezoning Application
The Orme Farm application was a potential data center rezoning application which would have expanded data center uses and put additional strain on the power grid. However, once the application removed “data center” as a potential use for the property, the application was approved. Read more about the application…
See also policy recommendations regarding data centers and energy from the Sierra Club.
Western Loudoun Power Line
Data center expansion continues to fuel the need for more infrastructure. The Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (previously known as the Western Loudoun Line) is one example. Originally, this route was planned to construct new right-of-ways for 500 kV transmission lines across rural Western Loudoun. PJM announced at the beginning of August that this line is instead to be constructed along a northern corridor through West Virginia and Maryland before cutting south to reach Ashburn data centers. Read more about the power line…
Equestrian Use at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
Loudoun County has completed evaluations and approved the opening of trails at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve to equestrian use. The Parks and Recreation and Open Space Board (PROS) as well as the Transportation and Land Use Committee of the Board of Supervisors recommended that all possible trails be open to equestrian use. The Board is also asking for a second study to construct new trails. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy continues to have concerns about the ecological implications and public engagement in the construction of new trails at Banshee Reeks. More information about equestrian use…
Mickie Gordon Memorial Park
The Loudoun County Department of Parks and Recreation officially withdrew the Special Exception Application (SPEX-2022-0020) for Middleburg’s Mickie Gordon Park in October 2023. In conjunction with our dark skies campaign, Loudoun Wildlife has worked with concerned community groups to oppose environmentally harmful improvements that were proposed for the park. The original application proposed the addition of three new athletic fields with eighteen 100-foot-tall light poles and a championship-level field. More information about this win…
Scott Jenkins Park
At the September 6, 2022 Board of Supervisors business meeting, the Board of Supervisors instructed the County to withdraw their application to add additional lighting to the existing ballfields at Scott Jenkins Park outside of Hamilton, and the County Administrator formally withdrew the application. While the withdrawal of this application is certainly a success for wildlife conservation efforts, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy remains vigilant on peripheral issues that may arise from this decision. Read more about the park…
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