Our Mission
Photograph by Mike Belknap
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, Inc. (BRMC) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1994 to protect the Bull Run Mountains Region through education, research, and stewardship.
BRMC promotes the preservation and the improvement of natural resources on and around the Bull Run Mountains through educational, charitable, and scientific means for the benefit of the general public.
The Bull Run Mountains are the most easterly mountain chain in Virginia, and include unique ecosystems and headwaters of the Occoquan and Goose Creek watersheds.
Education.
BRMC offers educational programs to adults and children, with a strong link to local history. We served nearly 3,000 children and adults with over 4,500 impact hours in 2023 through in-person programs, volunteer activities and social media outreach. Of these, 1,000 children and adults with over 3,200 impact hours were in-person education programs. Our programs and volunteer projects provide citizens a chance to make a difference and stay active. Our participants and volunteers are geographically diverse.
Research.
Research underpins our education program. For 30 years, BRMC has sponsored and assisted numerous baseline studies that add important data to our understanding of the landscape. These studies have focused on stream/water quality, forest ecology/health, insect surveys including important pollinator populations of butterflies, moths, and beetles, American Chestnut restoration, and the impact of white nose syndrome on bat fauna populations.
Stewardship.
We have facilitated the creation and utilization of conservation lands on and around the Bull Run Mountains. BRMC's vision is for an active and healthy community, where preservation is not a hands-off policy, but and engaged and committed endeavor by people who love and care for our Piedmont landscape. When that is accomplished, we will have both a healthier environment and community.
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