Venus Flytrap Champions
recognizing & assisting landowners with Venus Flytrap on their property
WHY WE ARE HERE Help us to defend populations of the amazing Venus Flytrap! |
Surveys of known populations of Venus Flytrap in the Carolinas in 2019 and 2020 documented a continuing decline due to urban/suburban development and a lack of burning where appropriate habitat for this rare, charismatic plant species still exists.
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Venus Flytrap Champions recognizes and assists landowners and land managers in the Carolinas who want to care for populations of this rare carnivorous species. We believe landowners can play a significant role in maintaining and increasing the remaining habitat for
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Frog in pitcher plant. Photo by Larry Mellichamp.
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Venus Flytrap and the other insectivorous and uncommon plant species that grow with it. We are collaborating with the following agencies and nonprofit organizations to create a support network for people managing Venus Flytrap habitat on private property:
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Flytrap License Plate Approved for NC
North Carolinians have a new specialty license plate to choose from at the NC DMV, thanks to a bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in late June and signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper on July 3, 2024. LEARN MORE |
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A team from the NASA DEVELOP program, in partnership with the North Carolina Botanical Garden and North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, used remote sensing data and population records to produce maps that predict where in the Venus flytraps’ historical range the plants might continue to grow best, and what sites in that range are most at risk for development. Results are informing seed-banking and reintroduction efforts and are helping to prioritize new sites for protection.
Explore this fascinating STORY MAP.
Explore this fascinating STORY MAP.
Think you might have Flytrap habitat on your land? Here's what to look for.
Keep up with Flytrap NEWS
We are always adding articles & videos to our RESOURCES page. Please check there too. . . .
For example, HERE is a story about using remote sensing (courtesy of NASA)
to identify suitable habitat for Venus Flytrap.
For example, HERE is a story about using remote sensing (courtesy of NASA)
to identify suitable habitat for Venus Flytrap.
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March 14, 2025— A story from the Southern Environmental Law Center highlights women, including Julie Moore of Venus Flytrap Champions, who are leading efforts to protect wetland plants and animals. READ.
August 20, 2024— The U.S. National Science Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced a $946,768 grant to Kansas State University, Duke University, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden to study how climate change may affect the optimal fire management strategy for Venus flytraps and act as an indicator for other rare species. READ more.
June 2024— The Flytrap Forum held in Boiling Spring Lakes May 30 was a success. About 55 people--local residents, Flytrap relocation volunteers, land owners, scientists, and Waccamaw Siouan tribal members--came to hear updates from agencies, organizations, and individuals working with Venus Flytrap populations. Covered topics included Flytrap rescue efforts, recent and ongoing research (reproductive ecology, insect relationships, genetics and seed banking, etc.), Fish & Wildlife Service status review, and a panel discussion on current and future threats to Flytrap populations. The day began with a recognition ceremony for new Flytrap Champions: four NC Wildlife Resources Commission officers--Captain Brandon Dean, Sergeant Matthew Criscoe, Master Officer Bradley Jordan, and Senior Officer Jason Munson--for their continued efforts to apprehend Venus Flytrap poachers in southeastern North Carolina (see March 2024 news item, below) .
March 2024 — Officers with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission obtained arrest warrants for two people accused of stealing nearly 600 Venus flytraps from Nature Conservancy land in the Boiling Spring Lakes area. READ about it.
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December 2023 — An article in Mother Jones examines the decision not to list Venus Flytrap as a federally threatened/endangered species and profiles the work of Venus Flytrap Champions.
November 2023— Venus Flytrap is featured in a blog about about the people and programs of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. READ "Venus Flytraps: Homegrown North Carolina Wonders" by Michael Manganello.
August 30, 2023 — Boiling Springs Lakes, NC:
Under a permit with the City of Boiling Spring Lakes from the NC Plant Conservation Program (NC Dept. of Agriculture), a total of at least 1100 flytraps were relocated by energetic volunteers from wet roadside ditches to appropriate habitat on a safe site on city property. Local residents were assisted by volunteers from the NC Native Plant Society, North American Sarracenia Conservancy, and summer interns with TheNature Conservancy. The following article in Coastal Review profiles this rescue and relocation: Coastal Review article An earlier effort in the Boiling Spring Lakes area (September 2022) is profiled in this article by Patty Langer in Southport Magazine: 
Check out our News Archive HERE.
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Introducing our poster about Venus flytrap. . . learn more on our RESOURCES page.
