Dan River Bends ~ 19
acres, Stokes County
Brian and Laura Moretz. Sale of Land.
Located adjacent to the North Carolina State University’s 4-H camp, Camp Sertoma, and a mile downstream of the previously protected Historic Dan River Ford, this property was identified as being part of the regionally significant Dan River Bends Site in the Stokes County Natural Heritage Inventory (1998). The site achieved its regional significance due to the presence of habitat for several rare and uncommon plants including the cliff stonecrop (Sedum glaucophyllum), the northern cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum), and the federally endangered small-anthered bittercress (Cardamine micranthera). The site’s forested bluffs along the Dan River identified this property as a high priority for water quality protection in the Upper Dan River Corridor Riparian Design Phase I (2000).
PLC
acquired this small, yet significant parcel
in 2001 when the owners,
aware of its conservation value, approached PLC prior to placing the property on
the market. Since purchasing the property, PLC received funding through the
Virginia Office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct on-site
restoration work that included stabilization of the river access, tree planting
in the former tobacco field in the bottomland, and culvert replacement on the
access road. Currently, this preserve is only open for PLC-related events.
Project funding provided by PLC, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.