Heart of the Potomac
Knitting together the lands that sustains our river
As Northern Virginia’s regional land trust, we are committed to protecting our region's lands and waters for habitat, recreation, and healthy communities. The Potomac River pumps life into our region, but unsustainable development is eliminating the land that sustains it.
The central Potomac region is the heart of the Potomac River. The land in this region has qualities essential to the river's survival and our way of life.
It is our shared responsibility to ensure everything that makes the heart of Northern Virginia beat stays protected forever. Explore our Story Map to see what we are protecting in Northern Virginia.
From the rocky bluffs of the Potomac gorges…
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The River that Binds
What are we Protecting?
The Potomac is the river that binds us together. Whether we’re picnicking on its banks or paddling past an Osprey nest, the river holds memories and history of our shared connection to it. The Potomac is also vital to life in this region, providing water for millions across the region, and providing habitat for native plants and wildlife. Explore the various aspects of life the river is repsonsible for!
Ecology & Wildlife
Northern Virginians have more than an iconic river; we also have beautiful flora and fauna that need this river and the land surrounding it to survive. Bald eagles, osprey and great blue herons all nest along its banks. The native plants and wildlife that rely on this river just as much as we do aren’t just magnificent additions to the landscape, they also do their part to sustain the river.
Our beautiful landscape is spread across two distinct ecoregions, separated by the Fall Line, a distinct drop off in terrain where the rocky upland of the Piedmont meets the flat sandy sediment of the Coastal Plain, marked by rapids and waterfalls on the Potomac.
Northern Piedmont
Stretching west of the Fall Line to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Northern Piedmont region is characterized by picturesque, rolling hills and fertile valleys that transition into the rugged ridges and foothills of the mountains. Its clay-rich soil and layers of metamorphic and sedimentary rock provide vital nutrients that are responsible for hosting a variety of plant and animal species.
Tricolored Bat
The tricolored bat can be found roosting among White Oaks on the banks of the Potomac in the warm summer months.
These bats, named after their three distinct colors of banded fur, act as natural pest controllers.
Every evening, these bats consume thousands of insects; by regulating the insect population, crops are protected and the need for chemical pesticides that pollute drinking water is reduced.
Meet the Wild Residents of the central Potomac
One of the smallest bat species in North America, measuring only 2 to 3 inches in body length.
Tricolored bats are classified as a state-endangered species due to habitat loss and White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease they pick up in the caves where they hibernate in the winter.
Wood Turtles
Wood turtles are another endangered species that face extinction due to habitat loss, invasive plants, and polluted water.
Coming up from hibernation in the winter, wood turtles leave the waters of the Potomac to meander the surrounding woods of White and Northern Red Oaks in the summertime.
These hungry critters consume a wide variety of berries, mushrooms, and insects.
Coastal Plains
The Coastal Plains fall east of the Fall Line and extend towards the coast. Millenia of rising sea levels, shifting sediment, and erosion have shaped the region into the sprawling, flat, sandy landscape it is today. Its wetlands and marshes support a diverse range of plant and animal life.
Atlantic Sturgeon
Dubbed a "living fossil", the Atlantic sturgeon has graced the Earth for over 200 million years. It serves as an important study into the evolutionary history of vertebrates, as well as an important source of food historically.
Indigenous tribes, such as the Patawomeck, relied on the Atlantic sturgeon and long harvested it sustainably.
After European settlement, their existence supported fisheries until they were unfortunately overharvested, and their waters polluted, leading to their spot on the Endangered Species list today.
These behemoths can grow up to 14 feet long and weigh over 800 pounds, living up to 60 years.
The Atlantic sturgeon travels from the Atlantic Ocean through the Potomac River to lay and fertilize their eggs in fresh, inland water. Due to this unique habit of spawning in fresh water, their presence indicates when a river is clean.
Green Floater
Buried 15 inches deep in the sandy, gravel bottoms of the Potomac River, Green Floaters are a small, freshwater mussel that play a huge role in protecting our region.
These creatures clean water through filter feeding, during which they draw water into their shell, filter out algae, bacteria, and organic debris, then expel clean water.
A single green floater mussel filters between 8 and 15 gallons of water per day.
Though they try their best to clean our waters, Green Floaters are still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Development of the land surrounding the Potomac has destabilized and altered the rivers, including dumping in inorganic chemicals and particles the waterways can't filter.
Public Access
The Potomac River holds memories for many of us. These activities are possible because of stewardship and work to improve accessibility to the river.
Historically, there has always been an unequal distribution of access to outdoor, open spaces. With this inequability, comes the inherent deprivation of the numerous health benefits nature provides.
"Living in greener urban areas is associated with lower probabilities of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.”
Distance to protected land was a category used to determine land NVCT should conserve in the Central Potomac Region. Protecting land close to other protected land creates habitat connectivity and could increase public access opportunities.
By decreasing the distance between people and protected, urban green spaces, people have reliable areas for recreation and exercise. In fact, when people exercise outside, they exercise for longer and more intense durations, leading to lower blood pressure and heart rate.
Along with improving our physical health, being in nature is proven to “provide relief and healing for those who suffer from acute and chronic mental illness, including depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and dementia”. Taking even a 30-minute walk along the Potomac’s shores stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation, rest and recovery in the body, therefore lowering stress levels.
Access to green spaces also heals our sense of community with one another. As we occupy the same space and share in the beauty of nature, we can all come closer and understand we’re not all that different. We all have a love for this land and the home it provides.
Drinking Water
The Potomac provides drinking water for more than 5 million residents across the region. The health of this river is directly tied to the quality of water we drink. Water treatment centers can get overwhelmed by high demand from population growth and heavy pollution from the surrounding land. An easier and more sustainable solution to providing clean water to Northern Virginia is to take care of the land surrounding our river.
NVCT identified land with qualities needed for watershed protection. This land lies in the Potomac watershed and has features related to watershed health, such as a stream, a wetland, and riparian buffers. When land is developed, it is often converted into impervious surfaces, made of materials that can't absorb water. Instead, these massive amounts of water run off these surfaces and are dumped straight in the river, not allowing any absorption of pollutants such as fertilizers, car oil, and more. Rainfall is channeled here and filtered through the soil before entering the river, and then our glasses.
Soil & Sediment
Soil is our first line of defense.
As water passes through the soil, larger contaminant particles are trapped, preventing them from reaching the river.
Further layers, such as sand, gravel, and rock, further refine the water by picking up fine particular matter.
Trees & Vegetation
Trees and other vegetation also play a key role in water filtration via their root systems.
Plants are able to absorb excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, that otherwise make the water too dangerous for human consumption.
Additionally, the extra water absorbed by vegetation prevents the soil from getting over-saturated; when over-saturated, the soil starts to erode and is transported to the river, where it settles, further polluting the water and disrupting aquatic ecosystems.
Mature oak trees absorb and filter about 100 gallons of water per day, totaling around 36,000 gallons per year.
Organisms
There are various animals and microorganisms that also play a key role in natural water filtration.
Bacteria and fungi in the soil and water can break down organic pollutants, consume them, and release non-harmful byproducts.
Freshwater mussels, such as our Green Floater, can also consume and convert polluted runoff.
Development Vulnerability
Northern Virginia is a rapidly expanding region, due in part to the explosion in data center and other technology/energy infrastructure. Once this land is lost, it’s gone forever. Our job is to ensure that land can be protected to prevent any future siting that would erase the land from existence.
Our land of rocky gorges and rolling hills is being converted into housing developments, strip malls, packing garages, and digital infrastructure, erasing the beauty of our region. As the fish and wildlife of the Potomac lose their habitats to deforestation and pollution, we also fall out of balance with nature, losing vital protections.
Over 250+ data centers exist in Northern Virginia, with dozens more on the way.
Our wetlands, trees, and other plants provide a source of air purification. Trees and other vegetation absorb gaseous pollutants, such as carbon dioxide. They convert these storages of carbon into glucose via photosynthesis, which they use for energy, and release pure oxygen back into the atmosphere.
As urbanization expands, not only are we losing the vegetation that purifies our air, but we are producing massive amounts of carbon dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen oxides. Data centers alone produce tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide annually.
A single mature tree can absorb around 50 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
Impervious surfaces also do not absorb the sun’s heat and instead re-emit it. Concentrated areas of these surfaces, such as urban zones, with little green spaces are referred to as heat islands, as they can increase the temperature up to 7 degrees during the day, creating deadly conditions.
In 2022 alone, there were 1,578 heat related deaths, out of only 32 states that reported.
Trees and other vegetation prevent heat islands by providing shade that blocks the sun’s rays from hitting asphalt and concrete, common impervious surfaces that re-emit the sun’s heat. Conserving trees also reduces heat islands through evapotranspiration, during which plants pull water from the soil and release it as water vapor, drawing heat and cooling the air.
History
The Potomac River shaped the history of our region. It has sustained life in Northern Virginia since early indigenous peoples began building cultures, traditions, and a way of life tied to it. Before the development of our modern world, the Potomac served as an important trade route for colonists; before that, indigenous hunting trails followed the river's flow. Preserving these historical sites not only preserves our shared history.
Indigenous Origins
The Patawomeck Tribe settled along the Potomac River around 1300 AD, creating villages that surrounded farming, fishing, hunting, and gathering. The tribe practiced sustainable practices such as rotational farming, controlled burns, and diverse planting strategies to achieve balance with the land and maintain biodiversity.
The Patawomecks were a part of the larger Powhatan Federation, an alliance of over 30 Algonquian speaking tribes whose territory stretched the entire Coastal Plain of Virginia. The Patawomecks paid tribute to Cheif Powatahn, head of the Federation chiefdom, for protection.
In an effort to maintain independence, the Patawomecks traded corn and other food provisions with English settlers in exchange for tools and weapons; they later formed a defensive alliance with the English against the Powhatans, refusing to help the Powhatan when they attacked the English.
As the English continued to expand, taking land for farming, the English and Patawomeck’s relationship started to deteriorate. In 1666, the General Council of Virginia declare war against the Patawomeck tribe, slaughtering all of the men of the tribe and selling the women and children into slavery.
The descendants of the survivors of this massacre make up the existing Patawomeck tribe today, who operate in Stafford and King George country, working to preserve their lineage and history, and reconnect with the land.
European Settlement
European settlers moved further inland, traveling and settling along the Potomac. Northern Virginia’s vast oak-hickory forests were cleared to establish large tobacco and wheat plantations in the region’s fertile soil. Enslaved Africans and indentured servants were made to tend the land continuously, draining the soil of its nutrients and enhancing erosion, which caused sediment to flow in the Potomac, disrupting aquatic ecosystems.
Cattle, pigs, and sheep were transported across the Atlantic, where they overgrazed on and trampled native plants.
Native species like white tailed deer, wild turkeys, cougars were hunted for food, pelts, and livestock protection, disrupting local food chains.
European settlers established a profitable empire and changed the landscape of Northern Virginia forever.
American Independence
As the Virginia colony grew in wealth, status, and claimed land, they chafed under British rule and taxation.
Citizens across North Virginian towns signed pledges to defend American liberties. When the American Revolution began, cities such as Fredericksburg and Alexandria served as vital logistical and agricultural hubs.
After the war, George Washington, born and raised along the Potomac River, seized the chance to revolutionize Northern Virginia, ordering the creation of man-made canals to facilitate transportation of goods up the river and establishing fisheries. The fall line facilitated waterpower for factories and mills.
Cities like Alexandria and Fairfax thrived on the banks off the Potomac, where trade and industry bloomed. Soon Northern Virginia was the heart of innovation it is today.
Civil War & Population Expansion
When the country broke apart and the Civil War ensued, Virginia became a bloody battleground.
Once the war was over, emancipated people used the Potomac to flee north, looking for opportunities and freedom.
Cities like DC, Alexandria, and Fairfax became beacons of opportunity. Soon, the populations of these cities almost tripled. The region was continuously urbanized and embraced technological evolution.
Over time though, improper water treatment facilities and excess pollution from factories and mills turned the Potomac, once the heart of the region, into a cesspool that could barely support the once flourishing land and aquatic life.
In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed to start regulating water quality, catapulting the conservation movement in Northern Virginia.
Get Involved!
Join NVCT in the movement to create a stronger, healthier future for the Potomac and protect nearby nature for generations to come!
Make a gift today and become a member, or reach out to NVCT's Membership Manager, Abby Knipp, to learn more at: aknipp@nvct.org.
Join our volunteer team today and be a part of preserving Northern Virginia’s clean water, land, and character!