Red-winged blackbirds perch atop a tree at the Rappahannock River Valley Wildlife Refuge. (suzanne carr rossi) ------ 5 col color View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Wildlife preserve continues to grow

Relatively unknown Rappahannock wildlife refuge nearly halfway to its land-preservation goal

Date published: 10/23/2009

By RUSTY DENNEN

There's a nature preserve near Fredericksburg as large as the region's four Civil War battlefields combined.

Yet the 13-year-old Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge--two dozen parcels totaling about 8,500 acres along 65 miles of the river below Fredericksburg--is still relatively unknown.

Refuge Manager Joseph McCauley is trying to change that as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service continues to acquire land and conservation easements toward its goal of 20,000 acres. The refuge is the newest of four that constitute the Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

"We did have a good amount of support coming in. People realize what a special place the Rappahannock River is, especially those who live and grew up here," said McCauley, who has been in charge of the refuge since it opened.

He acknowledges that some landowners were skeptical initially, thinking the government would use eminent domain to obtain land (it doesn't, only acquiring land or easements from willing sellers) and that it would hasten the loss of agricultural land along the river.

A group of Northern Neck farmers in 2003 raised concerns about the latter point, adding that refuge lands were becoming havens for crop-devouring deer.

McCauley said he's sensitive to those issues while keeping the larger goal of the refuge front and center. Farmers, he said, often come to the point where they opt for preservation rather than selling their land to developers.

"There were some challenges getting people to believe what we're saying, and we've done what we said we're going to do."

He added, "When we first got here people were saying that we're just locking up the land" without opening any public-use areas.

Now there's fishing, hunting, canoe and kayak launch areas, an education center and trails on some parcels, with more on the way. Some tracts are closed to public use.

"We have six priority uses: environmental education, fishing and hunting, interpretation, wildlife observation and nature photography," he said. "We now offer [access] opportunities for all six priorities."

CRITICAL CHOICE

McCauley said that before any land was acquired, biologists studied the watershed to identify the most valuable areas for wildlife, habitat and natural resources.

President Theodore Roosevelt set aside the nation's first wildlife refuge--Pelican Island in Florida--in 1903. Since then the refuge system administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has grown to 550 sites covering more than 150 million acres. There are 14 national wildlife refuges in Virginia. The Rappahannock River Valley refuge, Presquile refuge on the James River south of Richmond, James River refuge near Hopewell and Plum Tree Island refuge in Poquoson make up the Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=51622 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, fws.gov

Follow us on

Date published: 10/23/2009