activism to ensure protective policies , zoning , and permitting . Western Loudoun does not look the way it does today by accident , but rather thanks to years of active preservation leadership from our community . We owe a sincere debt of gratitude to our past leaders who are responsible for what we still have , but one only has to look at aerial maps of Loudoun over the last 30 years to see who is winning the war . Concentrated development has marched westward at a frightening pace and the situation has reached a crisis point .
The forces working against preservation can feel overwhelming , but the fight is not over , and we need all Loudoun residents , western and eastern alike , to work together in playing a role in its preservation . We are all stewards of the incredible resource that is our landscape , and it is our responsibility for each of us to participate on some level . Every voice counts and we will not succeed in saving what remains without organized and thoughtful campaigns to promote conservation easements , preservation policies , and the election of supportive officials who will nurture and protect our landscape .
My great-grandparents would have laughed at the thought of traffic lights in the countryside . My parents grew up with one traffic light between Middleburg and Washington . I grew up with one traffic light between Middleburg and Chantilly ( Blockbuster Video , of course ). Will our children be the last to grow up with no traffic lights between Middleburg and Aldie ? It is imperative that we draw a final line at Mount Zion Church on Route 50 . Otherwise , seeds of development will poison the countryside and spread at an alarming rate as landowners throw in the towel when they can no longer recognize their community . Loudoun ’ s identity , history , rural culture , and beautiful landscape are facing the chopping block and we all must act together to save it .
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BLOOMFIELD , VA
Dulany Morison is a native of Middleburg , Virginia and received a B . A . in Southern History at the University of Virginia . He went on to become a self-employed equities trader in Washington , D . C before moving his business to Stoke in 2010 and renovating the farm into a premier horse boarding facility . He serves on the Boards of the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area , Goose Creek Association , Willisville Preservation Foundation , and Piedmont Fox Hounds . He also serves on PEC ’ s Rowley Goose Creek Conservation Committee and is a member of the Orange County Hounds .
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