CROW’S  NEST , our region’s environmental jewel, may soon be crushed in a concrete vise. At a celebration of the election of Stafford County’s Bill Howell as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, an attorney watched Howell’s wife and me distributing “Save Crow’s  Nest ” bumper stickers. He joked, “You know what I think we should do-pave the  nest , not save the  nest .”

Were this to happen, we’d all lose. This realization is what spurred Democrats and Republicans alike to labor tirelessly to save the land. While working on the Crow’s  Nest  conservation effort since 2000, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to create the Accokeek Creek National Wildlife Refuge there, I’ve learned a few lessons.

(1) Crow’s  Nest  is an environmental jewel with historical significance.

The 3,800-acre Crow’s  Nest  peninsula is in southern Stafford County, 15 minutes from downtown Fredericksburg.

Along the shores of the peninsula canoeists can see bald eagles, heron, foxes, neotropical songbirds, and diverse plant communities. In the tidal marshes, one has spectacular views of the steeply rising peninsula and its giant trees, stands of wild rice, arrow arum, and yellow pond lily, as well as glimpses of beavers, otters, and osprey.

Federal and state biologists call the place “pristine.” While there are endangered species on the property, experts explain that it is the total Crow’s  Nest  ecosystem that is truly unique and wholly imperiled.

The area also holds historical treasures. Off the shores of Crow’s  Nest , a young Indian girl named Pocahontas was lured onto an English ship by a tricky local chief named Japazaws, kidnapped, and taken to Jamestown.

(2) Virginians care about conservation.

Increasingly, citizens view conservation as an essential public service, good for our quality of life and for economic prosperity. In November 2002-a tough economic time-seven of 10 Virginia voters approved the State Parks and Natural Areas Bond referendum. These resources provided a critical part of the Crow’s  Nest  conservation package.