Virginia Natural Area Preserve System

File:Buffalo Mountain summit Virginia.jpg

View of Buffalo Mountain's nearly treeless summit within the Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve in Virginia's Floyd County

The Virginia Natural Area Preserve System is a system of protected areas in the state of Virginia. It is managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

As of 2024, there are sixty-six (66) dedicated preserves in Virginia totaling . These preserves contain examples of some of the rarest natural communities in the state; in addition, many serve as a home for locally, nationally, and globally rare species.

History

In 1986, the Virginia Natural Heritage Program was formed through a cooperative agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and The Nature Conservancy. In 1988 the program was placed under the control of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). To further the Natural Heritage Program's mission to conserve and manage sites identified as significant natural areas within the state, The Virginia Natural Area Preserve System was established in 1989.

The system's first preserve, North Landing River Natural Area Preserve, was established in 1990. By 2007, the preserve system included 50 protected areas.

Description

The Virginia Natural Area Preserve System is managed as part of the Natural Heritage Program of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, with the purpose of protecting threatened or rare plants, animals, and natural communities.

To become a part of the system, a Natural Area Preserve must be accepted by the director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, although they may be initially dedicated by other departments and agencies of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Natural Area Preserves may be acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia, or may continue to be owned by independent conservation organizations or other private landowners. Dedication itself is similar to a conservation easement, as it places certain legal strictures on future development of a given portion of land.

Access

Most properties are owned by the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation. However, some are owned by local governments, universities, private citizens, and independent conservation organizations, such as The Nature Conservancy.

Many state-owned properties are freely open to the public for low-impact uses, such as hiking and birdwatching. However, some state-owned properties with rare and/or species and habitats require that arrangements be made with a state-employed land steward prior to visitation.

Privately held properties may restrict public access, although sometimes it can be arranged in coordination with a preserve's owner.

Access to any individual Virginia Natural Area Preserve may be temporarily restricted or closed when it is determined as necessary to protect sensitive plant and animal populations within the preserve, for seasonal migration habitat, or for habitat management and ecological restoration activities, such as prescribed burns. Visitor impactful activities, such as camping, hunting, fishing, timber cutting, campfires, vegetation harvesting, and motorized trail vehicles are typically forbidden at all preserves.

List of Virginia Natural Area Preserves

The following table lists Virginia's Natural Area Preserves as of January 2025. Those listed as being accessible "by arrangement" require prospective visitors to contact either state-employed land stewards, private property owners, or both.

Preserve name	County or counties	Area	Owner	Public access?	Notes
Antioch Pines	Isle of Wight		DCR	By arrangement
Bald Knob	Franklin		DCR	No
Bethel Beach	Mathews		DCR	Yes
Big Spring Bog	Grayson		DCR	By arrangement
Blackwater Ecological Preserve	Isle of Wight		Old Dominion University	By arrangement
Blackwater Sandhills	Isle of Wight		Isle of Wight County	No
Buffalo Mountain	Floyd		DCR	Yes
Bull Run Mountains	Fauquier, Prince William		Virginia Outdoors Foundation	Yes	No dogs allowed on property. Highpoint Cliffs area is closed to the public.
Bush Mill Stream	Northumberland		DCR	Yes
Camp Branch Wetlands	Floyd		Private	No
Cape Charles Coastal Habitat	Northampton		DCR	Yes
Cave Hill	Augusta		Madison Cave Hill LLC	No
The Cedars	Lee		DCR	By arrangement
The Channels	Washington, Russell		Virginia Department of Forestry	Yes
Cherry Orchard Bog	Sussex, Prince George		DCR	By arrangement
Chestnut Creek Wetlands	Floyd		DCR	By arrangement
Chestnut Ridge	Giles, Bland		DCR	By arrangement
Chotank Creek	King George		Private	No
Chub Sandhill	Sussex		DCR	Yes
Cleveland Barrens	Russell		DCR/The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Clover Hollow	Giles		DCR	By permission	Access permitted only for the purpose of data collection and monitoring.
Cowbane Prairie	Augusta		DCR	By arrangement
Crawford's Knob	Nelson		Private	By arrangement
Crow's Nest	Stafford		Stafford County	Yes
Cumberland Marsh	New Kent		The Nature Conservancy	Yes
Cypress Bridge	Southampton		DCR	By arrangement
Dameron Marsh	Northumberland		DCR	Yes
Deep Run Ponds	Rockingham		DCR	By arrangement
Dendron Swamp	Sussex		DCR	By arrangement	Contains the Charles C. Steirly Natural Area, an essentially virgin bald cypress swamp that was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Difficult Creek	Halifax		DCR	Yes
Dundas Granite Flatrock	Brunswick		Private	By arrangement
Elklick Woodlands	Fairfax		Fairfax County Park Authority	By arrangement
False Cape	Virginia Beach		DCR	Yes
Fletcher Ford	Lee		The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Folly Mills Creek Fen	Augusta		Private	By arrangement
Goshen Pass	Rockbridge		DCR	Yes
Grafton Ponds	York		Newport News	Yes
Grassy Hill	Franklin		DCR	Yes
Grayson Glades	Grayson		DCR	By arrangement
Hickory Hollow	Lancaster		Northern Neck Audubon Society	Yes
Hughlett Point	Northumberland		DCR	Yes
Johnsons Creek	Alleghany		DCR	By arrangement
Lyndhurst Ponds	Augusta		DCR	By arrangement
Magothy Bay	Northampton		DCR	Yes
Mark's and Jack's Island	Accomack		The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Mill Creek Springs	Montgomery		The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Mount Joy Pond	Augusta		DCR	By arrangement
Mutton Hunk Fen	Accomack		DCR	Yes
Naked Mountain	Nelson		Private	By arrangement
New Point Comfort	Mathews		The Nature Conservancy	Yes
North Landing River	Virginia Beach		DCR	No	After a decade of closure due to illegal activities, this preserve was scheduled to re-open for public use in 2016 or 2017.
Northwest River	Chesapeake		DCR	By arrangement
Ogdens Cave	Frederick		DCR	By arrangement
Parkers Marsh	Accomack		DCR	Yes
Parramore Island	Accomack		The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement	Access permitted for research or educational purposes only.
Pedlar Hills Glades	Montgomery		DCR	By arrangement
Pickett's Harbor	Northampton		DCR	By arrangement
Piney Grove Flatwoods	Sussex		The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Pinnacle	Russell		DCR	Yes
Poor Mountain	Roanoke		DCR	Yes
Redrock Mountain	Smyth		DCR	By arrangement
Savage Neck Dunes	Northampton		DCR	Yes
Sweet Springs	Montgomery		Private	By arrangement
South Quay Sandhills	Southampton, City of Suffolk		DCR/The Nature Conservancy	By arrangement
Unthanks Cave	Lee		DCR	By permission	Access permitted only for the purpose of data collection and monitoring.
Wreck Island	Northampton		DCR	Yes

See also

• Template:C
• Virginia Wildlife Management Areas
• List of Virginia state forests
• List of Virginia state parks
• Template:C

External links

• Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.gov: official Natural Area Preserve System website — all current NAPS preserves.