Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Mud flat and forest at Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve | |
Location | Mathews County, Virginia |
Coordinates | 37°24′33″N76°15′8″W / 37.40917°N 76.25222°W Coordinates: 37°24′33″N76°15′8″W / 37.40917°N 76.25222°W [1] |
Area | 105 acres (42 ha) |
Governing body | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |
Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve is a 105-acre (42 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Mathews County, Virginia, near the Chesapeake Bay. It contains beach, low dune, and salt marsh habitats, and provides a haven for rare marsh and colonial nesting birds, The preserve also protects habitat for two globally rare species, the northeastern beach tiger beetle and sea-beach knotweed. [2]
The preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and is open to the public; however the preserve is largely undeveloped with the exception of a gravel parking area for visitors. [2]
Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Natural Area Preserve is a 29-acre (12 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Northampton County, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay side of Virginia's Eastern Shore. The small preserve protects coastal beach, dune, and maritime forest habitat, preserving a home for the northeastern beach tiger beetle, listed as threatened in the United States. Coast bedstraw grows on the dunes. The preserve serves as a staging area for southward-bound migratory birds in the fall.
Cherry Orchard Bog Natural Area Preserve is a 354-acre (143 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Sussex and Prince George counties, Virginia. The preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It does not include improvements for public access, and visitors must make arrangements with a state-employed land steward prior to visiting. The preserve is located along the right of way for a power line, receiving acidic, low-nutrient groundwater.
Cleveland Barrens Natural Area Preserve is a 1,288-acre (5.21 km2) Natural Area Preserve located within the Clinch River Valley in Russell County, Virginia.
Cowbane Prairie Natural Area Preserve is a 147-acre (59 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Augusta County, Virginia, along the western slope of the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley. It preserves both mesic and wet prairie habitats, as well as a calcareous spring-fed marsh; these areas contain eleven regionally rare plants such as queen-of-the-prairie, blueflag iris, and marsh-speedwell. Although common in the Midwest, these plants occur only at a handful of sites in Virginia.
Dameron Marsh Natural Area Preserve is a 316-acre (128 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Northumberland County, Virginia. It is one in a series of protected areas lining the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, and contains one of the region's most significant wetlands for marsh-bird habitats. Its pristine beaches serve as a home for the northeastern beach tiger beetle. Some of the land had been used in the past for agriculture, however these former fields were restored to forest through the combined efforts of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, The Nature Conservancy, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
False Cape Natural Area Preserve is a 3,573-acre (14.46 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just north of the state border with North Carolina. The preserve covers a one-by-six-mile strip of largely undeveloped land located on False Cape between the Atlantic Ocean and Back Bay, and is one of the most undisturbed areas of coastal habitat remaining in the Mid-Atlantic.
Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve is a 936-acre (3.79 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The oldest state-managed natural area in Virginia, it was first acquired in 1954 to help protect views of the gorge along the Maury River. The site contains stands of chestnut oak, pine-oak-heath woodland, rocky scrub communities, regionally rare plants such as freshwater cordgrass, and habitat for the Appalachian jewelwing, a locally rare damselfly. The site was dedicated as a preserve in 2001.
Hickory Hollow Natural Area Preserve is a 254-acre (1.03 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Lancaster County, Virginia. The preserve's mixed pine-hardwood forests, ravines, and swampland form a habitat for various songbirds, wild turkeys, and a rare species of plant. The swamp is an example of a globally rare natural community known as a "coastal plain basic seepage swamp", and supports a high level of biological diversity.
Hughlett Point Natural Area Preserve is a 204-acre (0.83 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Northumberland County, Virginia. It preserves various types of habitat, including tidal and non-tidal wetlands, undeveloped beaches, dunes, and upland forests. Among the species living on the property is the northeastern beach tiger beetle, as well as other rare invertebrates. Hughlett Point is also an important staging area for various species of migrating bird.
Mark's and Jack's Island Natural Area Preserve is a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Accomack County, Virginia. The preserve supports Chesapeake Bay beach habitat, as well as various types of marsh, shrub, and forest vegetation. Many species of birds can be found in the preserve's wetlands, and numerous plant species live in the marsh, including marsh-elder. Loblolly pine and black cherry may be seen along the tops of some old dunes. The beaches provide a home for the northeastern beach tiger beetle.
New Point Comfort Natural Area Preserve is a 105-acre (42 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Mathews County, Virginia. The point is situated on Chesapeake Bay along the Atlantic Flyway, and consequently provides habitat for nesting and breeding birds, both during the migration season and at other times throughout the year; among the birds that may be found there is the rare least tern. The northeastern beach tiger beetle, listed as threatened in the United States, also makes its home in portions of the preserve.
North Landing River Natural Area Preserve is a 3,441-acre (13.93 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It almost entirely consists of wetlands, including five wetland types considered rare in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The preserve protects pocosins, an increasingly scarce type of wetland in the southeastern United States; also in the area are a number of forested swamps and freshwater tidal marshes, all found along the lower North Landing River and supporting numerous rare species. Breeding and wintering waterfowl also make their home in the area.
Northwest River Natural Area Preserve is a 2,774-acre (11.23 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia. Located along the Northwest River, the preserve protects upland forests as well as swamps and marshes along the river.
Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve is a 131-acre (53 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Frederick County, Virginia. The preserve protects a cave that carries a below-ground branch of Buffalo Marsh Run, which also flows overland through the preserve.
Parkers Marsh Natural Area Preserve is a 759-acre (307 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Accomack County, Virginia. The preserve incorporates beach habitat along the Chesapeake Bay as well as low marsh, high marsh, shrubland, and forest vegetation; the wetlands provide a home for many different species of animals and plants. About 75% of the site is saltmarsh. Marsh elder and black cherry may be found on old dune ridges on the site, as may loblolly pine. Some lower dunes support various grassland species. Peregrine falcons have nested in the area since 1998, and the rare saltmarsh sparrow has been observed nesting at the site. In addition, the beach provides a home for the northeastern beach tiger beetle, listed as threatened in the United States.
Parramore Island Natural Area Preserve is a 7,000-acre (28 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. Located on one of the barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean, it is the state's largest Natural Area Preserve. More than 7.5 miles (12.1 km) long, it features a number of beaches, dunes, scrubs, marshes, and natural communities.
Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve is a 298-acre (121 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Northampton County, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. Fifty-foot-tall (15 m) dunes within the preserve are among the highest points on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The preserve contains beach, dune, and maritime forest natural communities of various sorts, as well as habitat for migratory songbirds and northeastern beach tiger beetles. Regionally rare plants at the preserve include Engelmann's umbrella-sedge, dwarf burhead, and southern bladderwort.
The Cedars Natural Area Preserve is a Natural Area Preserve located in Lee County, Virginia. It protects rare plant and animal species adapted to the unique conditions of a karst landscape.
Wreck Island Natural Area Preserve is a 1,380-acre (5.6 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Northampton County, Virginia. One of the Virginia Barrier Islands, it protects various marsh, beach, grassland, dune, and shrubland habitats. It was designated as part of the National Audubon Society's "Barrier Island/Lagoon System Important Bird Area" for its importance as a nursery for nesting bird colonies. The island, which is slowly migrating towards the mainland, formerly featured dune-like mounds of shells which were destroyed by Hurricane Isabel.
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.
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