Carters Run Wetland
Registered | Location | Sponsor |
December 1992 | Fauquier County | Piedmont Chapter |
Carters Run Wetland, with areas that are swampy year-round, contains a rich and diverse wetland flora dominated by native plants. Such areas are becoming rare as development increases.
In April 1993, the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors recognized the county-owned property as a VNPS Registry Site when a VNPS Registry plaque was presented to the Board by VNPS President Nicky Staunton.
From the March, 1993 VNPS Bulletin:
Known as Carters Run, this rich wetland area extends over 245 acres. In some parts, swampy expanses persist year around. Among the more interesting and unusual species found there are rough avens, Geum laciniatum, which is ranked S2 (state, rare) by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program; purple fringeless orchid, Habenaria peramoena, a beautiful plant infrequent in the region; green fringed orchid, H. viridis, also infrequent in the area; and cursed crowfoot, Ranunculus scleratus, an interesting buttercup which was first recorded in Fauquier County in this wetland. A remarkable expanse of green dragon, Arisaema dracontium, an unusual wooded wetlands species related to Jack-in-the-pulpit, also occurs there.
Rich and diverse wetlands, such as Carters Run, are becoming extremely scarce in this region of the Piedmont. As they vanish, the ecosystems which support numerous wonderful plant and wildlife communities are also being lost. Many areas have been permanently ruined or altered by development or agricultural practices.
VNPS Registry of Carters Run has already created a new awareness in the community of the existence of a valuable county-owned natural area, the responsibility for its stewardship, and the exceptional educational potential of the site.
The Carters Run watershed includes about 35,000 acres in Fauquier County and flows into the Rappahannock River.