Recognizing landowners & managers who have demonstrated a commitment . . .
Venus Flytrap Champion Recognition
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Michael Fuller
In a ceremony in late 2021, Michael Fuller was recognized as the first Venus Flytrap Champion for his outstanding efforts to manage and restore Venus Flytrap populations and habitat at the Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point (MOTSU) in Brunswick County, NC. During his time as a forester at MOTSU, Fuller has supported multiple efforts to manage habitat and monitor populations of Venus Flytrap to ensure the species thrives at MOTSU. Frequent prescribed fire helps reduce competition for light and resources and encourages Venus Flytrap to flourish, flower, and set seed in its natural habitat. By managing the longleaf pine ecosystem at MOTSU with prescribed fire, staff ensure that the Venus Flytrap and other rare and endemic species are thriving in their natural habitat. Fuller has also supported multiple years of rare plant surveys at MOTSU. Monitoring data collected by contract biologists is used by installation personnel to ensure the species populations remain viable. These data are also shared each year with the NC Natural Heritage Program, allowing the observations to be assimilated into a statewide dataset. Biologists are thus able to assess site-level trends and review the overall status and distribution of the species to help make sure the most robust populations continue to thrive in North Carolina. When Venus Flytrap was petitioned for Federal Listing, Fuller secured funding for US Army Corps of Engineers personnel to conduct standardized annual monitoring of certain MOTSU populations. Fuller’s contributions to Venus Flytrap conservation at MOTSU represent one node of a larger network of biologists, land managers, and landowners who each do their part to ensure the survival of this unique and iconic species in its natural longleaf pine ecosystem.  Photo by Sudie Thomas
Horry County Conservation Foundation--
First Landowner to Be Recognized as a Venus Flytrap Champion! In 2020 Sudie Thomas, a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wildlife Biologist in South Carolina, found pixie moss at the McDowell Preserve in Horry County. Excited by the find—pixie moss is a state-tracked species in South Carolina—she sent her finding to SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Natural Heritage Botanist Keith Bradley. Coincidentally, Bradley had been in a webinar where someone had pointed out a 1988 record of Venus flytraps in Horry County. “Keith said the aerial map and location of where I found the pixie moss looked just like the place where the flytrap occurrence had been recorded,” Thomas explains. Thomas went back to the site, which she was monitoring because it is under an NRCS Wetland Reserve Program easement. It was late summer, well past flytrap bloom season when the plants are easier to find. But Thomas didn’t give up. “Every time I visit this site, I keep saying this has great potential for lots of neat plants,” she explains. In late spring 2021, Thomas and Bradley revisited the site with a group to search for flytraps. They found them—lots of them in bloom, their green stalks topped with tiny white flowers rising from the sandy floor, confirming a third known protected population of flytraps in South Carolina. Thomas credits the protection and management efforts of the Horry County Conservation Foundation (HCCF), which owns the property, for the flytrap and other rare plant findings on the property, which lies not far from the busy Grand Strand. HCCF, recognizing the unique and highly biodiverse Carolina bays and longleaf savannas on the property, had accepted the land donation and placed it under a WRP easement in the early 2000s. The tract is currently being restored with technical assistance from NRCS, SCDNR, and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). With the finding of a federal At-Risk Species on site, additional federal funds can come into play through the USFWS Partners Program, the Longleaf Alliance, and the American Forest Foundation. Habitat management to improve conditions for flytraps is underway with much assistance from Bret Beasley with USFWS Partners Program. Because the site contains natural communities and features that were historically maintained by recurring fire, management plans include regular controlled burning. Years of fire suppression and resulting dense woody competitive growth meant that it was necessary to mulch about 200 acres of the site and to thin some pines. The site is being prepared for a controlled burn during winter 2022–23. Sam Ward, who works for the Horry County Soil and Water Conservation District, says he the find is a bit “unbelievable.” A native of Horry County, Ward remembers a time not so long ago when he and his boyhood friends had no problem riding their bikes on US 17—something few people would attempt today, as the road is lined with development and clogged with traffic. “To have this many flytraps is very neat,” he says. “This is a place where they won’t be disturbed.” And that is why Thomas, Ward, and others descended on the property in late May 2022 when the Foundation received a Venus Flytrap Champion award. It was a hot day but that didn’t daunt attendees as they looked for flytraps. “This is thrilling for those of us who love this plant,” said Julie Moore in presenting the award. “This is a great example of protecting habitat that results in a wonderful outcome.” And isn’t just about flytraps. Bradley says the site just keeps giving. “This place has been an undiscovered hot spot for rare plant diversity,” he explains. “This is just an incredible place.” --Submitted by Debbie Crane, The Nature Conservancy |
Michael Fuller (R) receives recognition as a Venus Flytrap Champion from Julie Moore (C), Southern Conservation Partners, while David von Klontz, MOTSU Environmental Compliance Support Contractor, looks on. Photo by Mollie Mason.
Roughleaf loosestrife, a federally endangered plant species benefitting from management of the longleaf pine ecosystem at MOTSU.
Sam Ward (Horry Co, Soil & Water Cons.), holding plaque, Kemp Floyd (Horry County Conservation Fn.), Julie Moore (S. Conservation Partners), Bret Beasley (USFWS). Photo by Debbie Crane.
Pixie moss, one of several additional rare plants found on the site. Photo by Sudie Thomas.
Savanna indigo-bush, one of several rare plant finds on the site. Photo by Keith Bradley.
Standing, L to R: Sudie Thomas (NRCS), Kemp Floyd, Julie Moore, Keith Bradley (SC Natural Heritage Pgm.). Kneeling: Sam Ward and Bret Beasley. Photo by Debbie Crane.
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