Conserv™

Conserv Tests Efficacy of Market-based Pollution Reduction Practices

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:05:35 +0000

This fall, working with a host of for profit, non-profit, and government partners, Conserv plans on testing the efficacy of market-based pollution management practices to meet EPA’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment. The test will primarily be comprised of a simulation, similar to the Buy, Sell, Trade Game developed by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development.

Conserv Creates Georgia Chapter of the Association of Conservation Real Estate

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:40:26 +0000

The State of Georgia has approved the formation of the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Conservation Real Estate. Pam Sunderland, Director of the State Chapter as well as the new National Association of Conservation Real Estate, will immediately begin to recruit a state Board of Directors, develop a web site, and create an American Conservation REALTOR certification program specifically for continuing education credits for Georgia real estate professionals.

Conserv Explores Creation of WatershedXH2O

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:29:48 +0000

As a result of Conserv’s collaboration with the Rappahannock River Basin Commission in 2010, the convening of the Rappahannock Exchange Business Advisory Council, and subsequent meetings and discussions, Conserv’s Board of Directors and Staff is considering the launch of a new business unit of the organization, called The Watershed Exchange for Clean Water (WatershedXH2O). The first pilot Initiative of WatershedXH2O will be the Virginia Exchange for Clean Water (VirginiaXH2O), a private pollution reduction collaborative, composed of entities with interest in reducing pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. To test VirginiaXH2O, the Rappahannock Exchange for Clean Water (RXH2O) project would be launched in 2011 as a model program.

A key component of WatershedXH2O is the establishment and branding of “Bay-friendly Products and Services” certifications designed to reduce N, P, and sediment into the Bay. As currently conceived, development of this brand will be accomplished in a collaborative manner building on other related certifications and initiatives.

Pam Sunderland Appointed Director of Real Estate

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:14:12 +0000

Georgia resident and former Maryland farm girl Pamela Sunderland has agreed to become Conserv’s first Director of Real Estate. Pam has a strong business background - as a retail owner and environmental consultant, and will be using her talents to move the following Initiatives forward:

A repackaging and refinement of the program to create a Georgia Conservation Realtor designation accepted by the GREC

American Conservation Broker - A repackaging and refinement of the program to create a Georgia Conservation Realtor designation accepted by the GREC as a Continuing Education Course.

Georgia Ecosystem Services - Pilot projects and programs working in partnership with other organizations, particularly including land trusts, on processes to monetize ecosystem services that provide real annual revenue streams to farmers and rural landowners.

Pam’s appointment is the third this year for the organization and provides complementary skills in business organizational development and networking to Director of Marketplace Development Buzz Van Santvoord’s retail background and to Director of Research Nick Evans’s environmental science, geology, and water resources expertise.

Rappahannock Marketplace Working Group to be Convened Early August

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:54:33 +0000

The first of three Rappahannock Initiative Working Groups will be convened in early August. The Marketplace Working Group is composed primarily of retailers and business persons from the basin. The purpose of the pilot Marketplace is to reduce the amount of Nitrogen and Phosphorus entering the Bay through increases in the sale of “Bay-friendly” products and services. The Marketplace will also act as a portal for the transaction of ecosystem service projects.

F2F Forest Establishment Bidding Begins July 15

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:36:20 +0000

“Bids” for South Fork Rivanna Reservoir Watershed Forest Establishment projects opened July 15 and will run through July 39. See the F2F site for more details.

F2F Landowner Workshops Held in Charlottesville

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:31:55 +0000

On June and July 8, two “Landowner Workshops” were held at the Virginia Department of Forestry in Charlottesville. The purpose of the Workshops were primarily to provide information about the Forest Establishment Bidding Process. Information from the following presentations was discussed:

Buck Kline Presentation

Michael Collins Presentation

Forest Easement Presentation

Dave Powell Presentation on Forest Establishment Details

Rappahannock Watershed Business Council Moves Forward

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:22:33 +0000

Last week, another step toward creation of a bioregional economy based on Rappahannock River restoration, moved forward. As proposed by staff with Conserv (Rappahannock Business Council Kickoff Presentation), working with the Rappahannock River Basin Commission, the proposed Economic Development Initiative would contain two programs; a Marketplace or Exchange 2.0, facilitating and tracking the sale of River/Bay-Friendly products and services, and a Cooperative/Utility buying “high efficiency” restoration projects throughout the basin.

Approximately 40 participants from the for-profit and not for-profit private sectors, such as Tru-Green, Southern States, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Northern Neck Building Supply, Center for Innovative Technology, Virginia Paint Center, Goodwill, and many others, met at the Jepson Alumni Center at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg for more than 3 hours to discuss issues related to the proposal to link watershed commerce with ecosystem health. The new “Advisory Council” agreed to create three program groups:

Restoration Cooperative/Utility
Restoration Economic Development Payments and Investments
Marketplace

Each of the three program groups will begin meeting in mid-summer to draft a design and testing plan for implementation beginning this fall. It is possible that Marketplace implementation will move ahead of the other initiative components. Meetings with Virginia agency secretaries and their staff for mid-summer are also now being scheduled.

Upon completion of work plans later this summer, social venture funding, primarily from private sources, will be sought.

Thanks to Kathy Harrigan for masterful facilitation assistance, Dr. Kurt Stephenson at Virginia Tech for his lunchtime commentary on markets, to Aurelia Scharnhorst with L.D. Amory Seafood for her presentation on Bay-friendly food and especially to Joe Greizka for his opening and closing thoughts and observations.

Also, earlier this week, the Rappahannock River Basin Commission convened at the beautiful Belle Isle State Park in Lancaster to discuss a number of items related to River/Bay Water Quality, including the TMDL program (TMDL Presentation) and the Rappahannock Initiative.

Virginia Ecosystem Services Initiative Prepares for Summer Bidding Program

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:20:50 +0000

Last week, the Virginia Department of Forestry, working with Conserv, hosted the first F2F Landowner Workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to provide information necessary for landowners in the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir Watershed to submit forest establishment project “bids”. Bidding opens July 12 and closes July 30. Bids will be accepted through the F2F website. The purpose of the 3 year program is to establish and evaluate a model process for the purchase of water quality and quantity ecosystem services in a water supply reservoir watershed.

A second Landowner Workshop will be held from 7-9 p.m. on July 8 at VDOF Headquarters in Charlottesville.

Information and presentations from the Workshop can be found at the F2F website.

South Fork Rivanna Forests to Faucets (F2F) Initiative Media Attention

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:24:36 +0000

Charlottesville Daily Progress Sunday Paper Commentary…

Dateline 29 Television News Story…

Continuing information is available at the F2F site.