Should you ever have a question about anything avian, Dr. Bob Reilly is your man.

Because Reilly is an economics professor by trade, it may seem a little odd at first that he can while away a pleasant summer morning discussing the migratory patterns of the Northern Saw-Whet Owl . But when he starts applying that knowledge to the environmental welfare of Powhatan, that’s when it really gets interesting.

For the past two years, Reilly has been part of the Land Use and Land Preservation Citizens Working Group (see sidebar), one of four groups formed to assist county officials with the ongoing comprehensive plan revision process.

The CWG’s mission? Figure out a way for Powhatan to move forward in an environmentally responsible way, welcoming change but preserving the rural character so many people value.

On July 17, after countless volunteer hours, the group presented the county with their 47-page report.

To Reilly, the amount of time they spent was well in keeping with the importance of the work.

“This comprehensive plan is really the one where, if the county [is] going to shape its future, it is going to be now,” said Reilly.

In addition to his work with the CWG, Reilly has been studying birds, trying to determine just how the recent boom in population has affected the county’s environmental health. Concerning the amount of wildlife habitat already affected, Reilly said the CWG’s findings are gloomy but not hopeless: “We’ve lost a lot already,” he said, “but we haven’t lost it all.”

From their formation in August 2006, the group’s focus was on providing the comprehensive plan consultants hired by the county with strategies for preserving the environmental quality of the county.

“If we’re going to grow, we need to do it in a smart way,” said Maureen Moslow-Benway, an active member of the group from day one.

One of the most pressing needs Benway and others saw was that no one could be sure, exactly, what they were dealing with in terms of the county’s environmental makeup.

“It’s one thing to say you want to protect this [kind of] habitat but unless you know where that is, it’s difficult,” said Reilly.

Making use of an extensive collection of aerial images loaned to the group by Senator John Watkins, the CWG members spent countless hours mapping out the different areas of the county such as wetlands and areas that had already been clear cut. From there they identified areas for possible river and creek protection zones, and conservation corridors.

The group also recommended that the county adopt a Transfer of Development Rights program, which would essentially offer incentives to landowners to place land in conservation easements. In a nutshell, developers would pay landowners in certain areas—called sending areas—in exchange for the county’s permission to build more homes in a given area—called the receiving area—than is typically allowed by the zoning ordinances.

The developer gets to make more money from a smaller piece of land, while at the same time ensuring that a piece of land elsewhere remains untouched.

The program has been a success in a number of areas across the county, says Reilly, including in Montgomery County, Md., where the locality saw around 49,000 areas preserved in easements.

The BWG looked at not just the natural environment in the county but also at the historic resources available to residents.

To that end, they offered a list of 85 sites in the county that should be considered targets for preservation efforts. Some, like the historic Belmead property in central Powhatan, are already on the National Resister of Historic Places, while others, like the Ballsville historic district, are potential sights to examine.

Reilly says that, while preparing their report, the group tried to be mindful of the fact that growth presents many opportunities as well as challenges, and that any decisions would have to be made with that in mind.

“It’s a trade off,” he said. “One thing we were sensitive to is that we’ve got to go with something everyone can live with.”

To Moslow Benway, the past two years have been about nothing less than the environmental health of the county and the legacy Powhatan residents will leave their children.

“I think we made a tremendous amount of progress,” she said, and she’s looking forward to seeing the group’s work pay off. “We have a much better handle on what we are working with now,” she said. “We’ve identified what we need to preserve, so now let’s work together to get this done.”

What is a Citizens Working Group?
The Citizens Working Groups ere formed to gather resident input in four main areas: Route 60, Economic Development, Land Use and Preservation, and Infrastructure

Recently, their completed work was brought forward to be integrated into Phase Two of the Comprehensive Plan revision process.