The Cedars Natural Area Preserve

Nature preserve in Virginia, US

36°40′N 83°10′W / 36.667°N 83.167°W / 36.667; -83.167^[1]Area2,265 acres (9.17 km²)Governing bodyVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

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.

History

The Cedars Natural Area Preserve began as a 50-acre (0.20 km²) procurement by The Nature Conservancy in 1996. The following year, the land was transferred to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to be managed as a Natural Area Preserve. Additional lands were added to the preserve in the ensuing years.^[2] In 2015, a state grant provided $317,711 to expand the preserve through purchase of an additional 150 acres (0.61 km²), including 6,170 feet (1,880 m) of frontage along the Powell River.^[3]

Description

The Cedars Natural Area Preserve is located in Lee County near the Powell River, within a 30-to-40-square-mile (78 to 104 km²) region of karst landscape that is known as "The Cedars". The limestone bedrock in such karst regions is easily eroded, leading to thin soils, sinkholes, caves, and losing streams. The 2,265-acre (9.17 km²) preserve's glades and woodlands comprise a rocky and rugged landscape that serves as a haven for numerous rare plants adapted to the habitat.^[4] The preserve also protects habitat for the loggerhead shrike, a rare bird within Virginia,^[2] and the endangered Lee County cave isopod, Lirceus usdagalun.^[5]

Regionally rare plants found within the preserve include:^[6]

Wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)
Crawe's sedge (Carex crawei)
Mullien Foxglove (Dasistoma macrophylla)
Ringed panic grass (Dichanthelium annulum)
Flattened spikerush (Eleocharis compressa var. compressa)
Northern rattlesnake-master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium)
Pink thoroughwort (Fleischmannia incarnata)
Canada bluets (Houstonia canadensis)
Rattlesnake-master (Manfreda virginica)
Pitcher's stitchwort (Minuartia patula)
Yarrow-leaved ragwort (Packera millefolium)
White blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium albidum)
Tall dropseed (Sporobolus compositus var. compositus)
Ozark dropseed (Sporobolus ozarkanus)
Running glade clover (Trifolium calcaricum)

Public access

The preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. It does not include improvements for public access, and visitors must make arrangements with a state-employed land steward prior to visiting.^[4]

References

^ Copenheaver, Carolyn A.; Kyle, Kevin H.; Stevens, Glen N.; Kamp, Matthew H. (October 2005). "Comparing Juniperus virginiana tree-ring chronologies from forest edge vs. forest interior positions in the Cedars Natural Area Preserve in Virginia, USA" (PDF). Dendrochronologia. 23 (1): 39–45. doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2005.07.002.
^ ^a ^b Winegar, Deane; Winegar, Garvey (2002). Highroad Guide to the Virginia Mountains. John F. Blair, Publisher. p. 82. ISBN 9780895872777.
^ "State grant to secure addition for The Cedars in Lee". Kingsport Times-News. September 23, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "The Cedars Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
^ "The Cedars Natural Area Preserve" (PDF). Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
^ Dingwell, Suzanne (October 3, 2015). "Adding Land to Cedars Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Native Plant Society. Retrieved December 14, 2016.

External links

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: The Cedars Natural Area Preserve

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP Fort Monroe NM George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS
National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP
National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VAMC Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Music Center Mabry Mill Peaks of Otter Rocky Knob Recreation Area) George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT
National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Glenn Martin Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts
Wilderness Areas	Barbours Creek James River Face Mountain Lake Priest Ramsey's Draft Rich Hole Rough Mountain Saint Mary's Three Ridges
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Claytor Lake Clinch River Culpeper Battlefields Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Machicomoco Mason Neck Mayo River Middle Peninsula Natural Bridge Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Powhatan Sailor's Creek Battlefield Seven Bends Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Sweet Run Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Widewater Wilderness Road York River
State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Charlotte Chesterfield Chilton Woods Conway Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run First Mountain Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Old Flat Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point South Quay Whitney Zoar
Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bald Knob Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Cave Hill The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crawford's Knob Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Lyndhurst Ponds Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlar Hills Glades Piney Grove Flatwoods Pinnacle Poor Mountain Redrock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Big Woods Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Doe Creek Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mattaponi Mattaponi Bluffs Merrimac Farm Mockhorn Island Oakley Forest Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Robert W. Duncan Saxis Short Hills Smith Mountain Cooperative Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Ware Creek Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks