Rappahannock Tribe rematriates additional 704 acres at Fones Cliffs

The Rappahannock Tribe on June 12 rematriated 704 acres of historic land at Fones Cliffs on the Rappahannock River (in Richmond County). Fones Cliffs is part of the ancestral homeland of the Rappahannock Tribe and has been designated by the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area with global significance for bald eagles and other migratory birds.

The acquisition of these 704 acres increases the Tribe’s stewardship of land at Fones Cliffs to a total of 2,391 acres. This includes land the Tribe co-stewards through partnership with the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, as well as land that has been regained between 2017 and 2026, totaling 2,391 acres. The newly acquired land, mostly comprised of forest and deep ravines, was purchased from the Chesapeake Conservancy with support from federal funding, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and The Conservation Alliance.

The rematriated land is protected in perpetuity through conservation easements held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with the Tribe serving as co-steward incorporating traditional ecological knowledge. Within this landscape, two parcels have easement exceptions totaling approximately 38 acres, allowing the Tribe to build structures for tourism and tribal use.