Documenting the surviving pieces of Historic Savannas and Prairies of the Virginia Piedmont!
2026 Piedmont Grasslands Assessment Fundraiser
We cannot do this without you!
Fragments of an ancient biome, once thought to be lost, survive. They are being rediscovered in forgotten and overlooked places, and the story they tell is astonishing. These priceless fragments of land host some of the most biologically rich ecosystems in the world, and yet, shoved to the edges and squeezed from all sides, they are disappearing one by one. If they do vanish, the Monarch Butterfly, North American Bumblebee, Northern Bobwhite, Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, and thousands of other animals that rely solely on grasslands will also be lost.
The conservation community has arrived at the fight of its life. We must act now. There will be challenges. There will be losses. But, thankfully, there is still time. With a sense of urgency and purpose, we must dedicate ourselves to the discovery, documentation, and protection of the remaining old-growth grasslands of the Piedmont.
We need your help!
Grassland textures and colors once blanketed half of the Piedmont region. Imagine birdsong and bee-buzz, complex smokey smells, and the setting sun kissing vast expanses of flowers, grasses, and widely spaced oaks, pines, and hickories. Thriving Indigenous cultures honored the fires that were once a hallmark of the Piedmont. We have witnessed the loss of fire, bison, elk, and the thousands of acres of savanna that supported them. The following images are glimpses of the survivors; bits of ancient savanna that are between 2,000 and 2 million years old! Piedmont Discovery Center staff have taken thousands of photographs during the last 5 years of research. Please enjoy these selections. They are what inspire us every single day!
This past year, PDC embarked on its fourth season of the Piedmont Grassland Assessment. With the support of donors, the research team was able to survey a significant geographic area and found dozens of newly discovered rare ecosystems and plant species.
2025 Piedmont Grassland Assessment in Numbers
- Counties Covered: 7 (Arlington, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Halifax, Lunenburg, Pittsylvania, Prince William)
- Number of old growth Piedmont grassland sites discovered: 582
- Number of remarkable sites prioritized for further study: 72
- Number of grassland indicator species in the 2025 grassland sites: 581
- Total reconnaissance miles driven: 4,598
- New county record plant discoveries: 90
Highlights: In 2025, the PDC crew documented many exciting finds, including several new occurrences of rare plant species. Some of the most noteworthy finds include the rediscovery (by Gray Catanzaro) of earleaf false foxglove (Agalinis auriculata), last seen in VA in the 1980s; the first Virginia Piedmont population of wand blazing star (Liatris virgata); a new record for the most sites found in a day (40); breaking the project record for the Floristic Quality Index (FQI) three times (62.06, 58.39, 57.06); the discovery of an extremely high density of sites in areas of Lunenburg and Dinwiddie Counties; the discovery of an enormous new population of globally imperiled Torrey’s mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum torreyi); the discovery of two new populations of state critically imperiled southeastern bold goldenrod (Solidago jacksonii); and the discovery of several populations of the remnant grassland obligate insect, prairie meadow katydid (Conocephalus saltans) in remnant sites.
What’s Next? In 2026, we will venture into 6 new counties (Bedford, Brunswick, Franklin, Greensville, Loudoun, Mecklenburg) plus the cities of Lynchburg, VA and Washington, D.C. and scour the backroads, powerlines, and other overlooked places for remnants of these forgotten ecosystems. We will drive the highways and back roads of these counties in search of remnant ecosystems previously unknown. Later in the summer and fall, we will return to the most remarkable examples to gather in-depth vegetative data. These thorough assessments will allow us to advise landowners about how best to manage these irreplaceable ecosystem remnants, and educate the general public of the region about the diversity, beauty, and value of these rare grasslands. The assessments also help us understand the different mixes of native plants that associate with different types of landscapes. That empowers our design, restoration, and propagation initiatives. Once we have accomplished these plots, we will have covered 38 Virginia Piedmont counties with the 2021-2026 Piedmont Grasslands Assessment!
We cannot do this alone! We need your help.
We are asking you to chip in and help support us so we can continue locating, studying, and protecting some of Virginia’s most ecologically significant and imperiled places in 2026 and beyond. Every cent will go toward funding research and conservation efforts in 6 Southern Virginia Piedmont counties in the heart of the historic “Grand Savanae” mapped by the early European explorers. We expect to find between 300-400 new grassland sites, 80-100 new county records, and several new occurrences of state and globally imperiled species. We also expect to discover at least one or two new grassland types not documented before. We are aiming for a goal of $110,000 which will cover the cost of wages for several highly experienced field techs, lodging over several weeks between July – October, fuel for the crew’s vehicles, and the important step of data analysis and publication. Every contribution brings us one step closer to making this a reality.
THANK YOU!
– Drew Chaney (Senior Field Technician), Emily Luebke (Senior Field Technician), Matt Smith (Data Curation and Analyst), Ezra Staengl (Data Analyst), Charlie Aller (Stewardship Manager), Joanna Currey (Restoration Steward), David Bellangue (Conservation Nursery Researcher), Dr. J. Leighton Reid (Co-P.I.), Devin Floyd (PDC Executive Director and Co-P.I.), Rosie Green (Grasslands Research Intern), Gracie Catanzaro (Grasslands Research Intern), Phoebe Draper (Grasslands Research Intern), Caroline Bollinger (Grasslands Research Intern).
We cannot accomplish this work without your support.
Donate with a Check
Please send a check to:
Piedmont Discovery Center
PO Box 107
Schuyler, Virginia 22969
Or visit this page to donate online