More than 500 Schweinitz’s sunflowers, an endangered plant species native to the Piedmont, are now protected at the Catawba Bend Preserve, according to a press release.
In collaboration with York County staff, the Catawba Nation, the York County Natural Gas Authority, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the flowers were transplanted from the site of a future gas line into their new home, the release said.
In August 2025, Melissa Chaplin, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, was emailed by Marvin Bouknight, the natural resources program manager of the Catawba Nation. He explained the presence of survey flags among the sunflowers’ original location, and his conversations with Marc Fronter, the project manager for the pipeline.
“Marc was nothing but supportive of the entire effort to conserve the sunflowers. You could not have asked for a better partnership – the gas authority was on-board from the get-go and worked with us to conserve the plants. Without their cooperation, it never would’ve happened,” Bouknight said.
Around this time, Bouknight joined the York County Parks and Recreation Department as a superintendent of the Catawba Bend Preserve, with Courtney Skeldon, a tribal biologist, taking over his tribal role. This allowed Bouknight to contact Chaplin and involve the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, specifically the South Carolina branch administering the Endangered Species Act.
“What we saw unfold in York County to protect those endangered plants was a model of imperiled species conservation. Those sunflowers are part of what makes York County unique, and the community showed up in a tremendous way to take care of them,” Chaplin said.
With teams from York County Parks and Recreation, the Catawba Nation, and the Wildlife Service working together, the flowers were transported over four days in late spring and early summer this year.
“Nothing like this happens because of one person,” Bouknight said.
“It reminds me that there are still good people and organizations out there that care about our natural resources.”
