Remembering the Story of a Sacred Place
FrancisEmma believes that
Land is much more than a parcel of real estate to be used, bought, or sold.
Land is part of the living organism called Earth, on loan to us from the Creator.
Land is one of the primary revelations of the love, mercy, wisdom, and beauty of our Creator.

In an era in which the natural world is being relentlessly destroyed, a unique track of land on the James River is entrusted to the entire Earth community. The natural beauty of this land, manifested in its forests and wildlife, its streams and wetlands, compels us to advocate and care for the land by preserving in perpetuity its primordial wonders.

Therefore, we honor the rights of the land and the fiduciary responsibility we have to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and their mission.

Conservation Easement

 On December 17, 2006, a conservation easement was placed on 1,000 acres of the land. This historic day is marked by a sign at the entrance to Belmead. 
The Conservation Easement is a legal agreement between the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and the co-holders of the easement—the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the James River Association. An easement protects in perpetuity the open space values of 1,000 acres of land on the Mt. Pleasant and Belmead tracts of land. Among those open space values are the following:
  • to conserve the agricultural and forested resources
  • to serve the mitigation value and goals of the Virginia Aquatic Resource Trust Fund
  • to protect the water quality of the river, streams, and wetlands on the site
  • to insure that the forested portions of the land will remain in forested condition and to encourage the growth of native plants and tree species
  • to enhance and maintain quality soil
  • to protect buffer areas from degradation
  • to support agricultural activities that utilize environmentally sensitive best practices
FrancisEmma, Inc. is grateful to the following conservation groups who assisted us in numerous ways:

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation which was established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966. Its mission is “to conserve and protect Virginia’s scenic, scientific, natural, historic, recreational, and open space areas for the benefit of the public.”

The James River Association which is a member-supported, nonprofit organization, founded in 1976. It is dedicated to the protection and restoration of the James River—America’s Founding River. As guardian of the river, its mission is to provide a voice for the river and take action to promote conservation and responsible stewardship of its natural resources.

The Nature Conservancy whose mission is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The easement is part of the FrancisEmma, Inc. long range plan and affirms our commitment to continue building mutually enhancing relationships with the Earth and with all who join us in this endeavor.
(Text: Sr. Emma K. Flaherty and Sr. Franceline Malone)

The Topography of the Land
Maps

Comprehensive Land Plan
Low Lands
Gateway
Francis de Sales
Uplands
St. Emma
Boundaries 		click on links to see maps
Ecosystem Narrative

River, Stream, and Riparian Habitats
The St. Francis de Sales/St. Emma land has 2.5 miles of frontage along the James River. In addition, two perennial streams, Deep Creek and Lick Creek, course through the land, join in the northeast corner, and flow into the James River. Lick Creek supports many intermittent streams. Two other intermittent streams roughly parallel the river. These streams are near the James River between Deep Creek and the western edge of the property and close to the southern boundary. Their drainage is into Deep Creek. Wetlands occur in association with each of these streams and the James River.

Waterways and associated riparian zones and flood plains are among the most productive and important wildlife habitats on the property. The sediment created by the water currents enriches the muddy beds of both streams, which support worms, mussels, and crustaceans. The slow-moving waters of the streams encourage algae growth, which is a rich source of food for aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles, and small fish. Red-bellied and painted turtles, green and great blue herons, kingfishers, eastern phoebes, wood ducks, swallows, raccoons, and other species are lured by the complex and interconnected food and web of life.

One 3-acre pond is located west of and adjacent to the main Westside access road. The pond is surrounded on about 70% of its perimeter by trees, with an open grassy area to the east. This area allows the pond to be seen from the road. The pond is used by green and blue herons, double-crested cormorants, waterfowl, and several species of swallow; it probably also supports a modest community of fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates.

The wetland habitat of St Francis de Sales and St. Emma is a magical place, inhabited by species generally not seen in the other areas of the land. Species such as marsh wrens, common yellowthroat, red-winged blackbirds, orchard orioles, muskrats, cricket frogs, black willow, arrowhead, cattail, and other species of wildlife augment the land’s value.

An estimated 90 acres of perennial wetlands occur in the northwest corner of the property, roughly paralleling the flow of the James River. In addition, a wetland area straddles the property and adjoining land on the extreme eastern end, and a narrow strip of wet meadow habitat parallels the southwest border of the property. Since more than half of the wetlands in the United States have already been destroyed, the wetland protection of the land at St. Francis and St. Emma through the conservation easement is especially relevant at this historical juncture. The productivity of freshwater wetlands is equal to that of rainforests, and only slightly less than that of salt marshes, the most productive ecosystem on earth.

Approximately one-fifth of the land, located in the St. Emma uplands between the marshes bordering the James River and the south border, supports loblolly, eastern white, and Virginia pines. Road edges are bordered by broad-leaved species, including red maple, tulip poplar, dogwood, sweetgum, and oak. This forest area provides a habitat for indigo buntings, cardinals, mockingbirds, and small mammals, such as deer mice and cottontails.

Approximately one-third of the land remains in mature secondary hardwood forests. The St. Francis de Sales section is dominated by hardwood forests in the Lick Creek flood plain. Large forest tracks also occur on both sides of Deep Creek.

One of the most spectacular sites in this habitat type is located near Deep Creek dam. The forests, combined with the water courses they protect, are among the most important wildlife habitats on the site – a rich mosaic of microhabitats that substantially increase the abundance and diversity of wildlife on the land. Mature oak, hickory, beech, and black walnut trees provide food, cover, and frequently nesting sites for a variety of wildlife including deer, raccoons, skunks, fox, flying squirrels, turkeys, red-bellied, pileated, and other woodpeckers, red-eyed vireos, owls, broad-winged hawks, chipmunks, bats, eastern box turtles, and red-backed salamanders. Blackberries, greenbrier, persimmon, black cherry, and dogwood as well as lichens, ferns, mushrooms, and the rotting wood of the forest provide food and shelter for all of the “little” and “big” inhabitants of the forest.

The proximity of the forests to the cleared areas of the land (gradual transition from forest to fields) attracts so-called edge species: rabbits, deer, red fox, striped skunks, cedar waxwings, tufted titmice, flickers, robins, eastern hognose snakes, and box turtles.

A variety of species make extensive use of the mown areas of the land. The open areas of lawn provide proximate cover for nesting, resting, and escape from predators for robins, blue jays, morning doves, grackles, crows, meadowlarks, Canada geese, rabbits, woodchucks, and gray squirrels.

Approximately 270 acres of land are leased to area farmers and are currently under cultivation. Sustainable agricultural practices are used in all agricultural endeavors.

(Source: Wildlife Values at Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Powhatan County, VA: An Assessment and Recommendations (1999). Prepared by: Allen Rutberg & Susan Hagood)

Species of Birds

In April of 1997, a group of 15 persons from the Audubon Bird Watch trekked around the land at St. Francis de Sales. Over the course of several hours, the group saw or heard 50 species.

Flora Specimens
Michael Terry, in the spring of 2005, conducted a Floristic Inventory of St. Emma and St. Francis de Sales as a part of his Master’s Thesis at the University of Richmond. He collected 256 plant species from the site, including the James River gravel bars and mud shores accessed by canoe. Two fairly uncommon community groups which support distinct flora have been identified on the land: Floodplain Ponds and Pools -- the area to the west of the cornfields in a swampy region by the river. This area supports Paspalum bifidum, a state-listed grass.

St. Francis de Sales and St. Emma have very good representatives of Basic Oak-Hickory forest community group and Acidic Oak-Hickory forest community group. Six other species collected on the site appear on the Virginia Rare Plant list: Scutellarics parvula (Little skullcap), Scleria ciliata (Fringed nutrush), Carex conoidea (Openfield sedge), Dichanthelium ravenelii (Ravenel’s rosette grass), punus alleghaniensis (Alleghany plum), and Iresine rhizomatosa (Juda’s bush).

The most represented plant families, as collected, are: the composite family, Asteraceae (e.g., asters, goldenrods, sunflowers) and the grass and sedge families, Poaceae and Cyperaceae.

Of the specimens collected at St. Emma and St. Francis de Sales, 51 represent new records for the county. A complete list of the flora found on the land is available to any person who is interested.

Sustainable Activity Narrative

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