Proposed resort in eagle habitat stirs anger

Area is one of the most important places on the US East Coast for bald eagles

Twice a year, bald eagles from as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida flock by the thousands to a stretch of the Rappahannock River in Virginia for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

They perch in trees atop pale cliffs rising along this river to the Chesapeake Bay and dive bomb the waters for shad, catfish, stripers and even waterfowl.

The gatherings of migratory eagles and the hundreds of nesting pairs nearby make this one of the most important places on the East Coast for bald eagles, according to conservation officials.

Threatened

Yet this bucolic scene is now threatened, they say, by a massive luxury resort proposed for nearly 405 hectares atop cliffs where eagles wheel in the skies above.

The planned resort on Fones Cliffs has angered land preservation advocates, property owners and the researcher who chronicled the remarkable recovery of the bald eagle, once seemingly bound to follow the dodo into extinction.

Bryan D. Watts, one of the nation’s top eagle experts, said the river stretch where the birds feed is a national “sweet spot” that offers the perfect menu and environment for nesting and migratory eagles alike. The luxury resort, he said, would drive eagles away.

“That level of human activity just isn’t compatible with the amount of eagles that use that site,” Watts said.

The developer of Fones Cliffs Resort and Spa, opponents add, has moved this environmental saga into the personal, attacking opponents as conservation extremists and baronial land owners intent on preserving the view from their vast holdings.

The developer denies that, and counters that the opposition is thwarting economic development and jobs the resort would bring to Richmond County, a rural locality of less than 10,000, two hours south of Washington and 90 minutes northeast of Richmond.