Greetings from Executive Director-Jennifer Jones

Resilience. It’s a word you hear a lot these days. It means "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness." Scientists now identify landscapes that are "resilient" – a kind of ecological toughness that can withstand the fast pace of a changing environment. A resilient landscape, for example, offers migrating wildlife moving North to cooler temperatures an intact home not sliced and diced by development. In fact, the Cacapon and Lost River Valley is seen as a top resilient landscape in the Eastern U.S. and a key migratory corridor for wildlife survival as our climate changes. The extent of unbroken, intact forests also makes our watershed among the most ecologically diverse and vital to the health of waters downstream – including the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Our resilient landscape will only increase in importance in the years ahead.

Resiliency is something rural communities know a lot about. I was reminded of this as I stood with Mike Rudolph, staring at his family’s two-story poultry barn which had been destroyed by fire in the early hours of a January morning. While not used for chickens anymore, it was filled with farm equipment, hay and lumber. A huge loss that could have been worse had it not been for the determined efforts of the volunteer firemen who came from all over the Valley to put the fire out.

Despite the loss, Mike talked about the days ahead, anticipating the birth of new calves and the bull sale in March. He wasn’t going to use up his time wishing it wasn’t so, there was work to do. You can find this kind of resiliency all over the Cacapon and Lost River Valley. The Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust knows something about resiliency too. We have been a resilient force for the protection of this Valley’s rural heritage for 30 years – despite the onslaught of unplanned development and insults to the landscape. In partnership with landowners, we have permanently protected more than 14,000 acres of productive farm and forest land. Throughout 2020, we will be celebrating the progress made to protect the resiliency of this Valley and this watershed. We look forward to celebrating our 30th Anniversary with you!



Contact us