Technical Abstract: Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus L.), a perennial cool-season grass native to the northeastern USA, grows in moist bottomland areas and could be useful in revegetating riparian areas. In this field study, we compared nine populations of Virginia wildrye originally collected from Maryland, New York, and Vermont with a commercial ecotype and a cultivar (‘Omaha’) on wet soils at three locations. All entries were transplanted into single-row field plots of 17 plants per plot at Wye, Maryland; Klingerstown, Pennsylvania; and Big Flats, New York in April 2004. Rows were oriented perpendicular to the slope so that each accession was evaluated at the top, middle, and bottom slope positions. Survivorship, tillers per plant, and plant dry weight were assessed in 2007. Survivorship after 3 yr ranged from 46 to 77% for the nine populations and averaged 80% for the ecotype and cultivar. Populations of wildrye from Maryland and Vermont had poorer survival than the commercial ecotype or cultivar. Averaged across locations and wildrye entries, survivorship was nearly 80% at the top slope position and 60% at the bottom slope. Biomass and tillers per plant also decreased from the top to the bottom of the slope; however, the change was much greater at the Maryland site compared with other sites. Significant variation exists among wildrye populations in adaptation to riparian areas, which could be exploited in developing new plant material for conservation programs.