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Knight-Brown Nature Preserve

Farmland farmland water resources water resources natural heritage natural heritage urban natural areas urban natural areas

Natural HeritageUrban Natural AreasWater ResourcesRockingham County - 178 acres protected

Cecilia Brown, Donation of Conservation Easement.

Cecilia Brown lives in Santa Barbara, California, but in March 2008, her partner, Paul Knight, who grew up in Stokesdale, died and left her his property near Belews Lake.  Cecilia did not want to see this beautiful property developed and searched for a suitable way to preserve it.  She found Piedmont Land Conservancy’s website on the internet and in July 2008, she donated this 148-acre portion of the land to PLC to be used as a nature preserve.

The Preserve consists of a nice wooded valley protecting a small watershed of the Dan River.  Its forested natural community is home to a diverse number of plant species, including many ferns, orchids and the rare eastern leatherwood (Dirca palustris).  There are two large streams on the property which feed into Belews Creek just before it flows into the Dan River, and there is at least one vernal pool that is prime breeding habitat for spotted salamanders and other amphibians.

In December 2011, PLC added another 30 acreas adjacent to the Nature Preserve. This area will also be permanently protected thanks to a donated conservation easement.