Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
Location | Northampton County, Virginia |
Coordinates | 37°13′48″N 75°53′36″W / 37.2301°N 75.8932°W[1] |
Area | 7,356 acres (29.77 km2) |
Governing body | Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries |
Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area is a 7,356-acre (29.77 km2) Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Northampton County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The larger of its two tracts is Mockhorn Island, a 7,000-acre (28 km2) island separated from the mainland Eastern Shore and the Virginia Barrier Islands by shallow bays and consisting mainly of tidal marshland along the Atlantic coast; in addition, the area contains a 356-acre (1.44 km2) tract of marsh and upland areas on the mainland. Much of Mockhorn Island is submerged except at low tide. Although much of the island is composed of periodically inundated cordgrass, several hummocks that remain above water host loblolly pine, eastern redcedar, southern wax myrtle, greenbriar, honeysuckle, and poison ivy. The area intends to preserve the natural state of the island.[2]
Mockhorn Island WMA is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Although Mockhorn Island itself is accessible only by boat, the area is open to the public for waterfowl hunting; additional species may be hunted on the smaller mainland tract. Fishing, hiking, and primitive camping are also permitted at the area.[2] Access for persons 17 years of age or older requires a valid hunting or fishing permit, a current Virginia boat registration, or a WMA access permit.[3] A south eastern track is privately conserved as "Campo De Partida"