The Rappahannock Tribe’s Return to the River

Conserving Fones Cliffs

By Joseph McCauley, Chesapeake Fellow

On April 1, 2022, 内政部部长德布·哈兰德也加入了进来, the Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia celebrated a milestone in their centuries-long quest to return to their homeland along the river that bears their name. 在威廉·道奇·安格尔家族的慷慨十大赌博正规老平台下，M.D., Chesapeake Conservancy purchased and donated 465 acres of waterfront property in what is now Richmond County, Virginia, to the Tribe, 是谁恢复了它原来的名字Pissacoack. Additional funding was made possible by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through Walmart’s Acres for America Program.

The property is located in the heart of an iconic formation of diatomaceous bluffs known locally as Fones Cliffs, famous for its outsized importance to bald eagles and other migratory birds and infamous for the battles to conserve it.

Rich History

The earliest written record of the Rappahannock Tribe and their occupation on the cliffs comes from the journals of English explorer John Smith, 他在书中描述了部落在1608年第一次有记录的保卫家园的行动. As Smith and his crew sailed up the river, Rappahannock bowmen disguised in the marsh vegetation near the cliffs fired a volley of arrows toward Smith’s shallop, 预示着几百年后即将爆发的战争. Over the remainder of the 17th century, 部落被逼得离悬崖和河流越来越远. The indignities and oppression foisted on Indigenous people by colonial and state governments in Virginia are well documented. 直到最近，这种认识才在政府政策中生根发芽, 哪些国家最终会改变，承认部落主权，并对过去的做法做出补偿.

Ironically, it was Smith’s explorations and descriptions of the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants that first made Chesapeake Conservancy aware of Fones Cliffs. An early component of Chesapeake Conservancy’s mission was and continues to be to support the National Park Service’s (NPS) Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. 全国第一条水上国家历史步道, the Chesapeake Trail (for short), 沿着切萨皮克河的支流穿越史密斯的路线, 鼓励游客探索切萨皮克的魔力，了解它的多种文化. The resilience and tenacity of the Bay’s Indigenous communities remains a focus of the NPS’s continuing research, as partners collectively seek to incorporate traditional knowledge to address current and future ecological challenges. As noted by Chesapeake Conservancy’s President and Executive Director Joel Dunn in his remarks on April 1, “分离和失去的故事正在让位于一个充满韧性的新故事, restoration and reconnection.”

Continual Threats

拯救丰斯悬崖的战斗对部落来说有了新的意义, Chesapeake Conservancy and many other conservation partners beginning in the mid-2000s and it continues today. The first alarms began to sound in 2007 when the owner of a 250-acre riverfront parcel received county approval for a 46-unit subdivision. As proposed, there would have been 22 riverfront lots looming over the cliffs and a 46-slip pier in the river below. 为保护这一遗产而进行的漫长谈判持续了数年, 同时，一个更大、可能更具破坏性的细分方案浮出水面.
In 2015, the Virginia True Corporation, headquartered in New York, 初步批准了一个大型度假村分区, complete with an 18-hole golf course, hundreds of condos and single-family homes, lodge, restaurant, stables and more. The wildlife habitat values to bald eagles and dozens of breeding species of migratory birds on this 968-acre property would have been devastated. Even more troublesome was the prospect that the unrecorded and un-researched history of the Rappahannock people’s use of this site would be lost forever.

虽然该县希望该项目能带来急需的就业机会和税收收入, 很明显，开发商缺乏兑现他们古怪承诺的能力. This realization was made painfully obvious in 2018 when the developers illegally cleared 13 acres to bare ground, in violation of state and county laws. The resulting erosion caused trees at the top of the cliffs to fall and the cliff face to slough off into the Rappahannock River. The outcry from those who love and value the river and bay was heard clearly from Virginia to New York. 2019年，该公司宣布破产，此案仍未解决. 幸运的是，度假村的提议似乎已经被否决了, 该财产仍然不受保护，因此处于危险之中. Chesapeake Conservancy, The Conservation Fund (TCF) and other conservation partners are vigilantly tracking the bankruptcy proceedings such that a conservation outcome can be brought to bear.

Partners’ Successes Turning the Tide

尽管奋力拯救悬崖，拉帕汉诺克部落还是找到了庆祝的理由. In 2017, thanks to the generosity of Ms. Virginia Warner, Chesapeake Conservancy facilitated the donation of one acre of land near the cliffs to serve as a staging area for the Tribe’s Return to the River program. This initiative trains tribal youth in traditional river knowledge and practices and conducts outreach and education for other communities interested in the Rappahannock River. At the beginning of 2018, 部落终于实现了被联邦政府正式承认的长期目标, 建立部落主权和政府间关系. 这些胜利为随后部落保护的成功铺平了道路.

In 2018, after years of wrangling, 这处受到威胁的250英亩河滨地产被TCF买下，不久又卖给了美国.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for inclusion into the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 今天，部落和避难所称这个地方为它最初的名字Wecuppom. The entire Fones Cliffs formation has long been identified by USFWS as a high priority for conservation. In 2019, 部落收到了超过1家公司的报价,在丰斯悬崖的100英亩土地上卖给部落. For so many years, issues surrounding land use, and land protection, 在悬崖上一直充满了分歧. 现在，终于有了一条由合作和善意铺就的保护之路. However, 这样规模的滨水地产很快就变成了现实, and in this beautiful and iconic location, is expensive.

拉帕汉诺克部落首领安妮·理查森(左)与内政部部长德布·哈兰德. Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program.

Chesapeake Conservancy immediately began seeking funding to assist the Tribe in purchasing the property and joined forces with TCF toward that ultimate goal. 尽管丰斯悬崖有着令人难以置信的属性，但这并不奇怪, 以及拉帕汉诺克部落的巨大利益, fundraising was difficult. 土地保护的资金竞争非常激烈，需求很大，供应不足. 似乎需要奇迹才能在土地所有者设定的最后期限前完成. 然后，在一只鹰的翅膀上，或者是一只苔原天鹅的翅膀上，一个被送到了部落.

In August 2021, Chesapeake Conservancy was approached by The Wilderness Society and members of the family of William Dodge Angle, M.D., 为了保护拉帕汉诺克河的土地, 第一个项目已经“准备就绪”.” This was an acknowledgment that land deals can sometimes take years to pull all the loose ends together, 这家人很想立即产生影响. When the Angle family toured Fones Cliffs, saw dozens of eagles, met Chief Anne Richardson and heard her share her vision of using the cliffs as a place to teach the world about the history and ways of her ancestors, 他们立即接受了眼前这个机会的重要性. 我们将永远感激他们的慷慨, 这个家族的遗产现在被永久地供奉在丰斯悬崖上.

有人说，成功会带来成功. 随着十大赌博正规老平台协会完成尽职调查的要求, 部落正在与其他潜在的资助者合作. In 2021, the Tribe was awarded a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through Walmart’s Acres for America Program. These grant funds were combined with Angle family funds to complete the purchase of 465 acres in February 2022, 在那里，皮萨萨科克的名字现在已经恢复了. 作为交易的一部分，USFWS获得了永久的保护地役权. At the April 1 ceremony, 安妮酋长在声明中赞扬了部落祖先的坚韧和韧性, “the circle is now complete.”

The story of the Rappahannock Tribe and their association with these cliffs began thousands of years ago. 对部落来说，这个地方事关重大, for the National Wildlife Refuge, for eagles and other wildlife, 水质和切萨皮克，我们必须继续努力，最终保护它. Chesapeake Conservancy is committed to standing with the Rappahannock Tribe as they continue to write the next chapters.