From the trickling of time, the creek that runs through our Hunt Country carried the Indian name Cokongoloto and Gohongarestraw, meaning the "river of swans or geese." While the Indians have been gone for the last 300 years, the name Goose Creek remains.

The abundance of waterfowl moving in concert with the ebb and flow of the water cutting through our land has been a time-honored tradition of stewardship. As my mother and father once told me, "The cultivation of soil and character are two of the greatest joys in life. In each case, we invest in the greater good. While the cultivation of soil anchors us, the cultivation of character elevates us."

We fortunately live in an area that values both.

Building equity back in the land continues today. Recently, the John Marshall Soil and Water Conservation District honored several conservationists for their achievements. Both Locust Hill Farm of Middleburg and the Gray Horse Farm of Warrenton received the Conservation Farm Award, while Sky Meadows State Park received the Conservation Award. In total these three honorees have protected over 35,000 feet of stream banks. Barbara Dennee of PB Smith Elementary School was honored for her innovations on bringing the outdoors to the classroom.

The top recipient, George Thompson received the 2010 Clean Water Farm Award for his stewardship across several farms – Clover Hill, Waveland, Wright and Payne Farms. Across these farms, Mr. Thompson installed 7650 feet of stream protection fence, protected 10,600 feet of stream banks, created 15 acres of riparian buffers and installed solar power for alternative source of water for cattle. Over the last two years, Mr. Thompson has protected a total of 70,000 stream bank feet, for a total of 13 miles of stream banks under protection.

While performing an environmental evaluation on Mr. Thompson's farms, biologists found rare freshwater mussels in Carter's Run. This treasure find is very symbolic. Through the footsteps of history, the name and meaning of Goose Creek carries the distinction of mother nature's abundance when we act as stewards of the land, putting more back into nature than we take out. Hopefully today's measures by Mr. Thompson and the other honorees will lead to more and more fresh water mussels returning to our creeks and cleaner water for us all. Whether we call our creek Cokongoloto and Gohongarestraw or simply Goose Creek, the link to our past remains vibrant as long as our actions today insure the River of Swans will be cleaner and more abundant than we took possession for our brief moment in time.

In the famed book A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean writes, "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs."

Their words are etched in the actions taken today by our fellow farmers, neighbors and friends.