Visit Redlair Preserve at our Annual Meeting
Saturday October 7, 2023
Redlair Plant Conservation Preserve: A case study in protection of natural land and biodiversity
Saturday October 7, 2023
Redlair Plant Conservation Preserve: A case study in protection of natural land and biodiversity
Location: Hickory Grove Baptist Church, 3717 Hickory Grove Road, Gastonia, NC 28056, and the adjacent Redlair Plant Conservation Preserve.
Time: 9:15-9:30 am Sign-in. You are not required to be a member to attend
9:30 am -1 pm Business meeting and program(in person or via Zoom).
1:00-1:45 pm Lunch break Please bring your own lunch. There are no lunch places near the church.
2:00 pm. Hikes in the adjacent Redlair Preserve
Zoom option – This will be a hybrid meeting and you can attend in person or by Zoom.
https://unc.zoom.us/j/93161967...
Meeting ID: 931 6196 7752, Passcode: 628632
Or, One tap mobile: +16469313860, 93161967752# US
Or, Dial: +1 646 931 3860 US, +1 929 436 2866 US
Meeting ID: 931 6196 7752, Passcode: 628632
RSVP is not required but would help us ensure that we can provide the best possible experience. Please use this form to let us know if you plan to attend, but feel free to attend even if you have not submitted a form.
Time: 9:15-9:30 am Sign-in. You are not required to be a member to attend
9:30 am -1 pm Business meeting and program(in person or via Zoom).
1:00-1:45 pm Lunch break Please bring your own lunch. There are no lunch places near the church.
2:00 pm. Hikes in the adjacent Redlair Preserve
Zoom option – This will be a hybrid meeting and you can attend in person or by Zoom.
https://unc.zoom.us/j/93161967...
Meeting ID: 931 6196 7752, Passcode: 628632
Or, One tap mobile: +16469313860, 93161967752# US
Or, Dial: +1 646 931 3860 US, +1 929 436 2866 US
Meeting ID: 931 6196 7752, Passcode: 628632
RSVP is not required but would help us ensure that we can provide the best possible experience. Please use this form to let us know if you plan to attend, but feel free to attend even if you have not submitted a form.
Complete Schedule
The Redlair Preserve. The Redlair Plant Conservation Preserve is a 732-acre site located in Gaston County west of Charlotte. In 2013, the NC PCP acquired the Preserve, which lies within the Catawba River basin and is situated between the South Fork of the Catawba River to the west and Hickory Grove Road to the east. The initial purpose in acquiring this land was to preserve the largest known population in North Carolina of the state-listed Bigleaf Magnolia and one of a very few natural habitat occurrences of the Federally endangered Schweinitz’s sunflower. The relatively large size of this property, its excellent examples of typical Piedmont upland communities including several hardwood forest types, and its contributions toward water quality for the region were also factors of significance in the protection of this site. The topographic and edaphic diversity of the site allows regional coexistence of many species and migration across the landscape in response to variation in climate and disturbance events. To have such a large and intact forested landscape in this portion of the Piedmont is truly exceptional and should lead to long-term preservation of many critical species.
Learn more about Redlair.
http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/redlair/RedlairPlants_2022.xlsx.
- Introduction and FoPC Updates: Milo Pyne
- Welcome & Introductions of Officers and Board members
- Current membership, renewal campaign and fund raising. Events and activities
- Financial Update
- Introduction of Julian Wilson, the new Director of Plant Conservation Program
- Milo Pyne Update on Plant Conservation Program
- Julian Wilson Update on management & research activities across the Preserves
- Katherine Culatta Annual Awards ceremony
- Nominations and Election of Board Members (President-2yrs, Vice President-2yrs, Secretary-3yrs, Treasurer-3yrs and 2 At-Large Members-3yrs
- New business and discussion
- Short break (10 min)
- Program: 10:40-1:00:
- 10:40 Milo Pyne Acknowledgement of connection of the land to the people of the Catawba Nation.
- 10:45 Robert Peet The Redlair Preserve: History and biodiversity.
- 11:05 Fisher Stines Magnolia macrophylla: The distribution and health of the Redlair population.
- 11:25 Justin Robinson The distribution of Piedmont prairies: How cotton doomed an ecosystem.
- 11:45 Haywood Rankin The many tasks and challenges confronting the Redlair Land Steward.
- 12:05 Geoff Austin PCP Management activities at Redlair: Open lands and forest change
- 12:25 Missy Eppes The Redlair Observatory: an initiative for multidisciplinary environmental research.
- 12:45 Nora Vaughan Hillslope and soil evolution in two watersheds at Redlair Observatory.
- Lunch break: 1:00-1:45 BYOLunch. The speakers will be available during this period for you to ask additional questions one-on-one.
- Hikes: 1:45 Walk from the church to Redlair Preserve. See the botanical highlights of Redlair including a diversity of habitats, abundant Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) and the local endemic Schweinitz’s Sunflower (Helianthus schweinitzii).
- Short hike 1:45-3:15 Will move relatively slowly but over moderately steep terrain.
- Long hike 1:45-4:00 Will show more of the diversity of Redlair and move a bit more rapidly with less concern for topography
The Redlair Preserve. The Redlair Plant Conservation Preserve is a 732-acre site located in Gaston County west of Charlotte. In 2013, the NC PCP acquired the Preserve, which lies within the Catawba River basin and is situated between the South Fork of the Catawba River to the west and Hickory Grove Road to the east. The initial purpose in acquiring this land was to preserve the largest known population in North Carolina of the state-listed Bigleaf Magnolia and one of a very few natural habitat occurrences of the Federally endangered Schweinitz’s sunflower. The relatively large size of this property, its excellent examples of typical Piedmont upland communities including several hardwood forest types, and its contributions toward water quality for the region were also factors of significance in the protection of this site. The topographic and edaphic diversity of the site allows regional coexistence of many species and migration across the landscape in response to variation in climate and disturbance events. To have such a large and intact forested landscape in this portion of the Piedmont is truly exceptional and should lead to long-term preservation of many critical species.
Learn more about Redlair.
http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/redlair/RedlairPlants_2022.xlsx.
