Preserving Clarke County’s Land, Legacy & Future

It is official. Valley Link North has dropped the southern route that would have directly impacted a huge swath of Clarke County. So are we done? Not yet, but this is a massive positive step for Clarke.

We have been given a bit of grace and now is the time to truly get ourselves organized to ensure that we will be able to protect and preserve Clarke County for future generations. Let us not forget as a county we still have a dog in this fight. What was the middle route coming through Frederick County still clips a parcel held by Clarke County Easement. To ensure the integrity of our easements, we must not relent. The reality is that Loudoun County alone is projected to require over 20 Gw of power in the next few years. We are directly in the pathway to get power from the Ohio Valley to Loudoun. We have been given this beautiful opportunity, so let us not squander it.

Thus, let us have a moment of celebration and then gather ourselves retrenched to push forward to ensure we have sufficient protections around the sole source aquifer and recharge area at the county and state level. Let us shore up our easements and advocate for ways to ensure generation closer to the demand.

We might have forced a retreat for this particular skirmish, but the battle hasn’t been won yet.

This significant development reflects the dedication and collective efforts of Clarke County residents, local leaders, and organizations committed to protecting our county’s natural and historic resources.

We are pleased to share the following statement from Tom Yannucci, Chair of Unlink Clarke, recognizing this important victory and the many individuals who helped make it possible.

Statement from Tom Yannucci, Chair of Unlink Clarke

On behalf of Unlink Clarke, I am delighted to announce that Clarke County has been “Unlinked.” Today, Valley Link has removed from consideration two proposed lengthy and invasive routes that would have caused irreparable harm to Clarke County’s heritage and its future. Unlink Clarke is a non-profit entity that has standing to represent the interest of private citizens who are opposed to the routes published by Valley Link in the summer.

Clarke’s Board of Supervisors is the best. We thank Chair David Weiss, Vice Chair Terri Catlett, and Supervisors Douglas Shaffer, Doug Lawrence, and Bev McKay for standing united and fighting on behalf of their constituents. From the very beginning the Board understood how much was at stake and its opposition was always clear and unambiguous. We also thank county staff for their work supporting this effort, especially County Administrator Chris Boies.

I also want to thank my co-directors of Unlink Clarke: Mark Jacobsen, Joe Henderson, George Ohrstrom, Alison Teetor, Dave Morris, Jeff Weiss, Mary Shockey, Celeste Borel, Jerry Buckley, and Zelicia Read. These individuals spent innumerable hours and incurred significant personal expenses to ensure that we could substantiate the merits of our case and retain the best legal talent available.

To that end, we retained Richard Cullen and Torridon Law to provide the legal expertise needed to present a compelling case. Richard is highly respected as both a private practitioner and public servant. And we readily consented to the County’s separate retention of Richard which insured a uniform and streamlined legal strategy.

Finally, when we formed Unlink Clarke we pledged we would never play neighbor against neighbor or county against county. I am pleased to report that we have been true to that pledge throughout all of our efforts.

Let’s keep Clarke County a special place!

Warm Regards,

The Clarke County Preservation Society