Historic Dan River Ford ~ 41 acres, Stokes County
John and Sharon Nygren.
Bargain Sale of Land.
Identified as a regionally significant natural heritage site in the Stokes County Natural Heritage Inventory, this property encompasses an excellent quality mature hardwood forest comprised of yellow poplar, river birch, beech, oak, hickory, walnut, and scattered sycamore. The forest provides critical habitat for declining neotropical migratory songbirds and other wildlife species. Additionally, the presence of a significant forested riparian buffer led to this site’s identification as a high priority for protection of the Dan River’s water quality in the Dan River Riparian Corridor Design Phase I (2000).
Accessible only by the river,
PLC acquired the
Historic Dan River Ford in 1998. Its steep slopes and rocky outcrops add
geological interest to the site as well as provide habitat for several rare and
uncommom plants including the federally endangered small-anthered bittercress (Cardamine
micranthera), northern cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and
the significantly rare cliff stonecrop (Sedum glaucophyllum). Upon
acquisition of this site, PLC granted a conservation easement to the State to
ensure that the sites conservation values were permanently protected.
Project funding provided by the landowner and the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.