ABOUT RLEP
Celebrating 50 Years!
Who We Are
At its core, the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection is a group of connected, informed and engaged citizens who care deeply about protecting the natural resources and rural character of Rappahannock County.
Staffed by volunteers and open to all, RLEP is a local, non- profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation. Donations are tax- deductible to the extent permitted by law.
We are non-partisan and do not support political candidates. RLEP collaborates with state and regional conservation groups, including the Piedmont Environmental Council, Scenic Virginia and the Virginia Conservation Network.
A Board of Directors, comprised of county residents, local landowners and enthusiasts, steers the organization.
A Sense of Values
In all RLEP’s activities, a sense of values – rooted in the conservation of Rappahannock County’s priceless natural resources, farmland, scenic beauty and rural character – guides the organization. RLEP supports policies and actions that protect and enhance these treasures and opposes those that threaten to destroy or degrade them.
RLEP Priorities
RLEP’s programs emphasize a comprehensive approach:
- RLEP was instrumental in the formation of Rappahannock County’s first Comprehensive Plan and encouraged County Supervisors to create the position of County Administrator. John McCarthy was hired the following year, and the Comprehensive Plan was implemented.
- Over the years, RLEP has fought power lines; produced four years of Alternative Energy Expos in Warrenton; enhanced public areas; offered written additions to the Comprehensive Plan; and held educational seminars on forestry, creation of meadows, Lyme disease and more.
As unchecked growth in surrounding counties continues to threaten our rural landscape, it is more important than ever for Rappahannock County citizens to support an agenda of preservation and conservation.
- RLEP works for the conservation of open space and scenic beauty through scenic river and road designations; use-value taxation; protection of wildlife habitat and ecosystems; and conscientious stewardship of public and private lands. Protection of the county’s scenic ridge tops and erosion-prone mountain slopes is critical to maintaining the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the quality of water throughout our watersheds and beyond. Conservation of dark skies is a more recent RLEP priority and aligns with the county’s stated goal of promoting agriculture and tourism.
- RLEP recognizes that farmland generates more property-tax revenues than its occupants receive in county services, while subdivisions generate high-cost needs for schools, sewers, streets, and services in excess of tax revenues received. RLEP supports lower assessments for farm and forest land that reflect this reality. We also favor the continued establishment of agricultural and forestal districts and the county’s purchase of development rights program for farmers. Conserving farms helps conserve our scenic vistas, rural lifestyle and tourist appeal.
RLEP Board of Directors
Rick Kohler
President
Rick Kohler has lived in Rappahannock since 1989, served on the RLEP Board for 16 years and was elected president 10 years ago. He is interested in biodiversity, preserving open spaces, dark skies, clean water and creating strong links with other conservation organizations and the entire Rappahannock community.
Rick is on the County Planning Commission and is also a real estate broker in Washington, VA. He and his wife Kaye (a huge force in RLEP!) started the Saving Dark Skies program which is now guided by Board Member Torney Van Acker.
Clare Lindsay
Vice President
Clare Lindsay, a lifelong champion for the environment, started her career as an energy and environmental lawyer in private practice.
Clare then moved to USEPA headquarters where she spent 20 years as senior policy analyst on resources and materials management, specializing in electronics recycling and greener products certification.
Clare and her husband built a home in Sperryville 15 years ago and moved here permanently in 2020 where they enjoy returning old pasture to vibrant forest, meadow and grassland.
Nina McKee
Treasurer
Nina McKee is a CPA and lifelong equestrian whose office is in her horse barn at Oronoma, the farm in Woodville which she shares with husband Dan Avery, daughter Lily McKee, 20 horses, 3 poodles, 3 barn cats, and 3 honeybee hives. She moved from New England to Virginia in 1995 – and never looked back. Nina is dedicated to RLEP, Rappahannock and conservation.
Other local boards on which she has served include Citizens for Fauquier County, Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, Partnership for Warrenton, Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area (formerly Mosby Heritage Area Association), and Rappahannock County Conservation Alliance.
Her newest passion is breeding and training Freiberger horses from Switzerland, and Oronoma is home to the only ones in North America. Nina spends her spare time foxhunting with Thornton Hill Hounds and Old Dominion Hounds, playing polo, golfing or skiing.
Jeff Christie
Secretary
Jeff Christie (Secretary) has visited Rappahannock County regularly for over 30 years to enjoy hiking and the outdoor.
He has owned a house in the county with his wife, Paula, since 2002. Jeff is interested in preserving Rappahannock’s natural beauty, open spaces and vistas.
He was a transactional attorney, specializing in energy and infrastructure projects with a major international law firm until his recent retirement.
He is our point person on eminent domain issues with power and pipeline companies.
Claire Cassel
Claire Cassel made her first forays to Rappahannock in the mid 1970s with hikes up Old Rag and White Oak Canyon. Now decades later, she and her husband have made their home in view of Red Oak Mountain.
Claire retired in 2014 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with 30+ years of experience in natural resources communication, environmental education and public/private partnerships.
An enthusiastic advocate for connecting children to nature, native plants and dark skies, Claire loves the vibrant community life of this beautiful county.
Robert Ford
Born and raised in central California, Bob moved to Virginia with his wife Denise in 1980. He enjoyed a 25-year career in IT consulting and management in the Northern Virginia area and then ran his own garage renovation business for 12 years.
Son Tyler, 32, and daughter Kacey, 26, were raised in Vienna, VA. When Kacey was born, Bob and Denise bought their house “Windstone Ridge” in Flint Hill from the Foster family and have been restoring it ever since. They have lived in Rappahannock full time since 2016.
Bob’s hobbies include old work restoration, conservation, motorcycling, building computers, landscape photography and video editing/production.
Bob Hurley
Bob Hurley served as president of Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of Our Watershed (RappFLOW) and subsequently joined the RLEP board after the two organizations consolidated in 2023.
Now retired, Bob has been deeply involved in environmental policy issues holding positions at the National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee where he was a lead negotiator on the enactment of numerous environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and wildlife conservation programs. He later became a government relations consultant specializing in environment, energy, and sustainability.
Bob and his wife, Heather, have had a home in Rappahannock County since 2006. Both are full time residents and are involved in a number of volunteer activities with several of the county’s nonprofit organizations.
Marshall Jones
Marshall Jones first lived in Rappahannock in 1990 and commuted to his job with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in DC for many years. This is his tenth year on the RLEP Board.
Marshall is with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal and has a strong personal and professional interest in biodiversity and conservation, locally and internationally.
Marshall chairs RLEP’s Government Committee and is an integral member of our Education Committee.
Sara Loveland
Sara Loveland is the grateful steward of 50 stunning acres of protected pastures and forest farm in Rappahannock County. Prior to moving to the county, she spent 12 years in Washington, D.C., where she worked on innovative green building technologies and urban infill development projects.
Sara has always sought to serve her community through projects that maximize environmental and economic impact for stakeholders. She has previously served on the board of organizations, including the Sustainable Business Network of Washington, DC Greenworks, the Green Infrastructure Foundation, and the Rappahannock Trails Coalition. She has also served as an elected commissioner for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in DC.
Sara earned a BS in marketing from Arizona State University and a MBA in environmental policy & management from The George Washington University.
Jeanette Murry
Jeanette Murry served on the RappFLOW board until it aligned with RLEP in 2023. She had visited Rappahannock in 1994 before she immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 and fell in love with its rolling hills, lively villages, and beautiful streams.
She worked with the World Bank in a number of roles and was most recently with the Climate Change Group. Jeanette has volunteered with the Virginia Master Naturalists and is a keen wildlife advocate and observer. She has master’s degrees in Sustainability Sciences and Business Management.
Joe Svatos
Joe Svatos has been active in commercial real estate development in the Washington, DC-Baltimore metropolitan area and in North Carolina for over 40 years. He has been involved with the entitlement and development of many award-winning office, life science and mixed-use projects. He has also restored several historic structures including a 1790’s cabin in Sperryville.
Joe is affiliated with several professional organizations and is also a Trustee (and Treasurer) of the DC History Center.
He earned a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Virginia.
Joe has been a resident of Rappahannock County since 1998.
Torney Van Acker
Torney Van Acker is a retired electrical engineer and capital projects development manager who has owned farm property in Rappahannock County since 2002 and became a full-time resident in 2016.
Torney grew up on a dairy farm in northwest NJ, an area that closely resembles Rappahannock County. His passion is organic farming and gardening, sustainable land use and dark skies preservation.
Mike Wenger
Mike Wenger came to live in the forest in Bean Hollow after a career that took him all over the world with stops in the Air Force, academe, industry and a consulting practice. There he, and his wife, Joyce, pursue their passion for forest ecology, native plants and wildlife habitat preservation.
Mike is an active volunteer with the Old Rag Master Naturalists, a long-standing member of the Virginia Native Plant Society, an avid hiker and an out-spoken evangelist for controlling non-native invasive plants in Rappahannock County.
As a long-time educator, Mike sees education, particularly of young people, as central to protecting the natural environment of Virginia.
Larry Wohlers
Larry Wohlers recently retired as Ambassador to the Central African Republic.
He was the driving force in the creation of the Rappahannock County Solar Cooperative and is responsible for its success.
Larry moved to Rappahannock with his wife, Ann, and together they created a huge wildflower meadow, added native plant species to protect their pond and installed solar for their home and aeration of their wonderful swimming pond.
A Short History of RLEP
In 1970, 85 conservationists formed a young environmental group and challenged a giant utility’s plans to erect huge towers and 138,000-volt transmission lines through the heart of Rappahannock County. RLEP led a 15-month fight that forced the utility to withdraw its plans.
In the years since, RLEP has confronted other threats to the rural community it serves. Now one of the region’s senior conservation groups, RLEP is a strong voice for environmental protection and carefully planned growth—a voice heard well beyond the county’s borders.
See RLEP – Celebrating 50 Years for a short video of RLEP’s history, and Why RLEP? for an interview with Phil Irwin, RLEP founder, who played a major role in the conservation and gentle growth of Rappahannock County.
We’d love to hear from you!