People You Should Know: Abigail Zurfluh

Abigail Zurfluh: Historic Preservation Director, Waterford Foundation Inc.

What happens if several months into your first professional job after college you are thrown into the middle of an exceedingly complex, technical, and emotional public policy issue?

If you are Abigail Zurfluh, Historic Preservation Director, Waterford Foundation you handle the situation with aplomb.

With her brand-new Bachelor of Arts degree in Historic Preservation and Geography from the University of Mary Washington University in hand, Abigail started working for the Waterford Foundation in August 2023. By December of ‘23 the controversy over the route of the 500 kV transmission line, known as the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), was beginning to boil. Where exactly would the line cross Loudoun County? How close to historic Waterford would the line come and most importantly what would the massive towers and the associated route clearing necessary to support 500kV lines do to the local economy, agriculture, communities, and preservation/conservation efforts.

While virtually all of the environmental / conservation organizations in Western Loudoun, including Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains have become active in efforts to minimize the impacts of the MARL on the environment and the economy, the Waterford Foundation, and the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), have taken the lead in organizing the efforts. Abigail has been the point person for the Waterford Foundation.

In early 2024 the Waterford Foundation hosted a series of community meetings to acquaint people with the MARL issues and to help organize and focus the concerns into productive action. One result of these meetings has been the formation of the Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance (LTLA).

The Waterford Foundation and Abigail remain exceedingly active in the LTLA and are providing much of the staff support.

The LTLA’s position is that all transmission lines should be built within existing power corridors. It has prepared a formal declaration of this position which has been signed by many conservation / environmental / community organizations including Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The declaration calls upon NextEra Energy – the company that will build the MARL – “…. to avoid building a new power corridor through rural Loudoun County in view of the negative impacts of such construction on the agricultural community, local economy, heritage and natural resources, and residents of the region.”

The Waterford Foundation is maintaining an email list for those who would like to stay informed about the MARL issues and efforts to minimize the negative impacts. In addition, one can pick up a “No New Lines in Loudoun” yard sign while supplies last at the Waterford Foundation Offices (40222 Fairfax Street, Waterford VA 20197) during office hours T-F 10am-2pm.

As important as it is, managing the Waterford Foundation’s effort regarding the MARL is not Abigail’s main job. As Historic Preservation Director she is responsible for managing the Foundation’s 11 historic buildings and 3 open spaces.

Abigail, who lives in Leesburg invests her spare time in Blue Ridge Mountain day hikes, building historic buildings in Sims and line dancing.