Latest News
THE BULLETIN: National Academies to study potential impacts of gold mining in Virginia
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will conduct an independent study of the health, safety and environmental impacts of gold mining in Virginia as part of a state review that lawmakers agreed to undertake in 2021.
Press Release: National Academies of Sciences to study impacts of potential industrial gold mining in Virginia
Buckingham, VA – Groups from around the state expressed optimism today that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) has agreed to study the potential impacts of industrial gold mining on water resources, public health, and the environment...
Updates on Gold Mining in Buckingham (and the rest of the Commonwealth)
This article, published recently in Newsletter #132, is by Stephanie Rinaldi, directly impacted neighbor, FoB Gold Committee Co-Chair. In March, Governor Northam signed our bill (HB 2213) into law, and that law took effect July 1. Thank you to all those who...
Virginia Gold Rush: Residents fear dangerous open pit mine will open in Buckingham County before General Assembly acts
It should have been a time for the Buckingham County, Virginia, environmental community to celebrate and recuperate from a bruising but successful battle to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and a compressor station planned for Union Hill. “We were elated and exhausted...
News
Join Us!
Membership is free. Support us by adding your name and make a contribution, as you wish. United we can be effective. We stopped the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. We supported the ban on cyanide in metalic mining. We can’t do with without you!
The mission of the Friends of Buckingham is to protect the natural environment and cultural heritage of Buckingham County.
Our Friends
Virginia Environmental Coalition
The Virginia Environmental Coalition is hyper focused on bringing awareness to the Valley Link Joshua Falls to Yeat 765 kv Transmission Power Line.
Piedmont Environmental Center
Protecting and restoring the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities.
Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a team of more than 120 legal and policy experts working in nine offices across six states and in Washington D.C.
Problems with Industrial-scale Solar
Solar News
Watch the webinar from Friends of Buckingham, recorded April 25, 2025, to learn from a panel of experts about the Dark Side of Industrial-Scale Solar. Please share this widely.
Earth Month –
The Dark Side of Industrial-Scale Solar
Industrial-Scale Solar in Spotsylvania County, VA
(Photo by Hugh Kenny. The Piedmont Environmental Council)
Solar energy must not come at the expense of nature or communities. But that is what is happening in Buckingham and across Virginia as industrial solar projects replace our forests and working lands.
- Deforestation and bulldozing that forever changes the land.
- Wildlife destroyed and habitats lost.
- Waterways harmed.
- Erosion and sediment to wetlands and waterways.
- Largest land-use change ever.
- Enormous industrial projects inserted into rural communities.
- Forestry and forestry dependent jobs lost.
We must change course. We must save our forests and working lands by putting large-scale solar projects in the built-world. Places like parking lots, rooftops, brownfields, and already developed lands. Read more about the solar issues of our times.
Scott Flood, president of Friends of Buckingham, speaking at our 10th anniversary celebration.
Celebrating 10 Years of Successes
The Friends of Buckingham
10-year anniversary celebration and annual meeting
November 16, 2024
Use this link to watch the slide show of our many accomplishments from the past year.
(The show has many photos and may load slowly.)
Stopping the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
After more than seven years fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, we WON!
Read about our successful efforts to protect the natural wonders of Virginia.
Media Center
Chris Landry’s documentary, Not On This Land, focuses on bout the remarkable people who stopped the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from being built.
Ben Price presents to the Buckingham Board of Supervisors 11/15/22: Adopt both a rights-based ordinance to protect our freedom from toxic trespass and a land-use ordinance. Start at 16:50. Stay on for our awesome public comments.