Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Virginia’s working farms and forests, battlefields and other historic sites, natural areas, parks and rivers are critical to its economy, culture and quality of life. In 1999, the assembly and governor established the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) to fund protection of these resources. The interactive map below depicts VLCF-grant projects funded since 2000.
| Name: | Rappahannock Tribe's Return to the River, Phase II |
|---|---|
| Category: | Forestland Preservation |
| Grant Round: | FY23 |
| Acres: | 703.09 |
| Locality: | Richmond County |
| Management Agency: | US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Owner: | Tribe |
| ConserveVirginia: | Natural Habitat & Ecosystem Diversity, Cultural & Historic Preservation, Protected Landscapes Resilience, Water Quality Improvement |
| Amount Awarded: | $500,000.00 |
| Applicant: | Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia |
| Latitude: | 38.067196 |
| Longitude: | -76.900502 |
| Description: | The Rappahannock Tribe is seeking to add 703 acres to 465 riverfront acres they acquired in 2022, to create 1,168 acres of contiguous lands to be under a perpetual conservation easement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This project will protect irreplaceable archeological resources, protect migratory bird habitat, protect nesting, roosting, and migration habitat for bald eagles, and end commercial logging operations. The property is rich in cultural significance, having been mapped by John Smith in 1608 as a Rappahannock town called Pissacoack. It contains a northern coastal Mesic mixed hardwood forest, including loblolly pine, with a thriving population of breeding and migrating bald eagles, songbirds, and resident wildlife. Mature stands are found along the extensive, deep network of ravines that bisect the property and that protect the headwaters of Garlands Creek and Mud Hole Swamp. Conservation will expand the area of contiguous protected properties and link with two previously unconnected parcels owned in fee and protected by the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. |
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