“You can’t just sit there and hope. You gotta do something.” The Back Creek Conservation Corridor has gained over 840 unbroken acres of permanently protected land—and it’s all thanks to locals like John Gavitt.

john gavitt on a conservation easement in the back creek corridor

Frederick County, VA's development boom has shown no signs of slowing, sparking concerns among locals about the risk of the region’s rural roots being lost forever—and leading some to take action for wide open spaces they treasure.

843 acres of pristine forests and freshwater streams are now linked as permanently protected easements in Virginia’s Back Creek Corridor, one of the most biologically significant stretches of the Potomac River region. A central force in this grassroots conservation success story is John Gavitt, the Back Creek landowner whose appreciation of the bounty in his backyard led to conversations with neighbors about the remarkable legacy they could leave by working together.

view of back creek in frederick county, Virginia

The last, integral piece of an 843-acre conservation puzzle

Over the past two decades, conservation easements have become increasingly common in Frederick County as residents like John Gavitt have committed to protecting their local lands and waters.

John has recently transformed his property into a pivotal parcel of connective tissue for Back Creek’s growing conservation corridor: a narrow, 50-acre forested strip that will bridge two larger easements. Now, wildlife will be able to freely roam between a 619-acre easement formed by a coalition of his neighbors and a 175-acre property nearby.

For John, a 20-year resident of Back Creek and lifelong outdoorsman with a storied career in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, placing his 50 acres into an easement was an easy choice. “Animals like birds, deer, and reptiles have a path to another 175 acres,” he remarked, “and that’s a much more powerful message to send than simply having one easement surrounded by subdivisions.”

Unlikely alliances forged by shared values

How does a collaborative easement between neighbors come to fruition? According to John, who finalized his first conservation easement with Potomac Conservancy in 2006, a delicate balance of “talks, meetings, and leaving them alone” is required.

John began striking up conversations about easements with members of his community–families from across the political spectrum who, despite their differences, had a shared vision for the future of Back Creek.

“Most of the time we can sit down and talk about it, and then respect each other’s wishes,” John stated. “I just think people need to listen to others… and try to get their perspective.”

When it came to the lands and waters they love, common ground wasn’t too hard to find after all.

“It’s the people that have to speak up and make changes while they can”

“We can save all the land we want, but if we don't have water that’s clean and available to everybody, that’s a major, major issue.”" - JOHN GAVITT

In 2023, we announced our plans to collaborate with Back Creek landowners to permanently protect and restore 70 percent of streamside forests in the headwaters region. One of our primary aims is to conserve as many unbroken acres as possible. Thanks to John and his neighbors, that goal has taken a big step forward.

“We are immensely grateful to John for his lifelong commitment to conservation, culminating in his third conservation easement,” Avery Siler, Potomac Conservancy’s Senior Director of Land Conservation, remarked. “This property provides wildlife habitat, protects water resources, and creates a large connected corridor of conserved lands in the Back Creek watershed—Potomac Conservancy’s focal conservation geography.”

John sees conservation easements as a way to continue supporting the environment in his retirement while protecting precious outdoor spaces for future generations of nature lovers: “It’s time to try to make a bit of a difference. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s a bit of a difference.”

To us and to the wildlife that thrives in Back Creek, people like John are making all the difference in the world.