The Northern Neck Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is holding a public meeting with a presentation on the Flora of Richmond County’s Fones Cliffs on Thursday, Nov. 20thth in the Lancaster Community Library in Kilmarnock. The gathering will begin at noon with light refreshments and social time followed by the program at 12:30. The Chapter’s annual election of new officers will also take place.
Our speaker will be Sam Dutilly, a graduate student from William and Mary. Sam has spent the last few years studying the native flora and plant communities in the Fones Cliffs area. This spectacular several mile stretch of white-colored diatomaceous cliffs rises over 100 feet above the Rappahannock River in Richmond County. “This nearly unspoiled region is the ancestral homeland of the Rappahannock Tribe and is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBP) with global significance for resident and migratory bald eagles and other migratory birds by the National Audubon Society, said Kevin Howe, of the Northern Neck Chapter of VNPS. In 2022, 465 acres of riverfront cliffs were reacquired by the Rappahannock Tribe and given its original native American name, Pissacoack.” The Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge holds a conservation easement on this property.
Sam, along with Dr. Doug DeBerry of William and Mary, has been assessing the current plant diversity and the ecological community distribution at the Cliffs. Part of their research is to make recommendations to the Rappahannock tribe’s plans for restoration and conservation of their sacred land. Additionally, their research is pursuing the population status of a rare Federally listed threatened plant, Sensitive Joint-vetch, Aeschynomene virginica, also known as Virginia Joint-vetch. Their goal is to provide native American land managers and private citizens with effective tools for protecting and restoring this rare species. A portion of their research is funded by a grant from the Virginia Native Plant Society.
This program is free and open to all.
The Northern Neck Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is one of fourteen chapters in the state and holds meetings every month, sometimes in-person and other times Zoom presentations. The Chapter also holds field trips throughout the year and holds an annual fall Native Plant Sale.