Dragon Run watershed facts for kids
The Dragon Run watershed in Virginia, a state in the United States, covers about 140 square miles (363 square kilometers). It's a special place filled with many different kinds of plants and animals. The main stream, sometimes called Dragon Swamp, has slightly salty water. It gets its water from underground springs, rain that runs off the land, and many smaller swamps. Experts from the Nature Conservancy and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation studied 232 rivers and streams in the Chesapeake Bay area. They found that the Dragon Run was the second most important for its amazing natural environment. People are working hard to protect the Dragon Run. For example, former Governor Tim Kaine bought a lot of land to help keep the watershed in its natural state.
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A Look Back: History of Dragon Run
The first time anyone wrote about the Dragon Run was in 1607. This was by Captain John Smith, who explored early America. He crossed the stream while on his way to meet with the Powhatan people and Pocahontas. He even put it on his map! Later, many settlers came from England to live in Virginia. Some of these families settled in the Dragon Run area. Today, some of their descendants still own land there.
Early Discoveries in Dragon Run
The name "Dragon Swamp" first appeared on a map in 1673. This map was made by Augustine Herman. People believe that the Pamunkey tribe used the swamp as a hiding place during a conflict called Bacon's Rebellion. In 1773, a botanist named John Clayton (botanist) studied the area. He found over 800 types of native plants. He even discovered two new species: Claytonia virginica and Osmunda claytoniana. You can still see plants from the Dragon Run in the John Clayton Herbarium. It's located in London’s Natural History Museum.
Dragon Run During the Civil War
During the American Civil War, a county clerk named P.T. Woodward did something brave. He reportedly hid important documents from the Confederate side. He kept them safe from Union soldiers by hiding them on an island in the Dragon Run.
Modern Efforts to Protect Dragon Run
More recently, two brothers, James V. Morgan and Harvey B. Morgan, have worked to save the watershed. They started a group called the Friends of the Dragon Run. Harvey Morgan led the way in protecting the area. He bought some land and created canoe trails. This allows people to explore the swamp and enjoy its beauty.
Where is Dragon Run? Geography
The Dragon Run Swamp is found in four counties in the Virginia Middle Peninsula. These counties are Essex, King & Queen, Middlesex, and Gloucester. The entire area covers about 140 square miles (90,000 acres). The Dragon Run eventually flows into the Piankatank River.
Amazing Plants and Animals: Flora and Fauna
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Alewife herring
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Pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda)
The Dragon Run Swamp is home to many kinds of fish. Near where the Dragon Run starts, you can find fish like chain pickerel, warmouth sunfish, bowfin, redbreast sunfish, and white catfish. Further downstream, the river has fish that travel there only in the spring to lay their eggs. These include American shad, hickory shad, alewife herring, blueback herring, and striped bass. Other fish that live in the lower part of the river all year are channel catfish, white catfish, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, different types of sunfish, yellow perch, and white perch.
The Dragon Run is also a nesting place for birds like egrets and herons. These birds build their nests together in large groups called rookeries.
Beautiful Plants of Dragon Run
The Dragon Run is full of beautiful plants. You can see violets (Viola sp.), turtlehead, mountain laurel, and wild Iris (plant). There are also bright red cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), royal ferns (Osmunda spectabilis), and pawpaw trees. Other plants include shad bushes (Amelanchier sp.), wild plum, mistletoe, and old man’s beard (Usnea sp.). In the water, you'll find bullhead lilies, pickerel weeds (Pontederia sp.), wild rice, duck potatoes (Sagittaria sp.), and cattails.
The swamp is also heavily forested. You'll see pumpkin ash, gum trees, sycamore, river birch, red maple, dogwood, and huge bald cypress trees. These trees line every bend and turn of the river.
Protecting Dragon Run: Preservation Efforts
Many efforts are underway to preserve and protect the Dragon Run watershed. Under Governor Tim Kaine, the state of Virginia and The Nature Conservancy bought about 4,188 acres (17 square kilometers) of the Dragon Run. This was done to help save the land and its wildlife.
Friends of the Dragon Run
The Friends of the Dragon Run are local people who care deeply about the swamp. They donate their money and time to help keep the swamp in its natural state. This group has bought a 203-acre (0.8 square kilometer) piece of the swampland. They work to manage this area and protect its natural environment. The Friends of the Dragon Run encourage people to use farming methods that are good for the environment. These include no-till farming (not plowing the soil), filter strips (areas of plants that clean water), reforestation (planting new trees), contour plowing (plowing along the curves of the land), and careful timbering (cutting trees). All these methods help protect the Dragon Run.
