Banshee Reeks Needs You … Save the Date!
FOBR Annual Meeting Sunday, November 16th.
The keynote speaker at the annual meeting will be Irvine Wilson,
Natural Area Protection Specialist with the
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Due to the proposed realignment of The Woods Road through Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, interest has been generated about a unique habitat found there, a Mountain/ Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has recommended that this rare plant community be included in the Virginia Registry of Natural Areas.
The proposed Woods Road realignment controversy has made the term “mountain / piedmont basic seepage swamp” familiar to many without providing a full description of what this consists of.
Photo - on Right - of Mountain / Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp along a spring-fed tributary of Goose Creek at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in Loudoun County. This is one of a few examples of the community type found in the western Piedmont region.
Photo: Gary P. Fleming / ©“This community, of which there are only twelve examples known in Virginia, could be significantly degraded by alterations to the surface and subsurface hydrology, and by siltation resulting from road construction.”
Thomas L. Smith,
DCR Natural Heritage Director
in addressing the proposed Woods Road realignment
Irvine Wilson, who is personally familiar with this ecological community, will address members and guests on what this ecosystem consists of and why its preservation is important.
Over the next two months we will be providing the membership with more details about the annual meeting and about opportunities to become actively engaged in a number of ongoing projects such as stream monitoring, species identification, invasive plant eradication and breeding bird monitoring.
We will also be seeking your assistance in convincing the county to respect the conservation easement that protects Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, which includes conducting an open debate about the proposed Woods Road realignment.
Please save the date of Sunday November 16th to meet with fellow members of the Friends of Banshee Reeks and renew our commitment of stewardship to this special place.
David McCarthy, President
Friends of Banshee Reeks nature Preserve, Inc.
http://www.bansheereeks.org/