| Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Location | Nelson County, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°45′09″N 78°49′41″W / 37.7525°N 78.828°W[1] |
| Area | 356 acres (1.44 km2) |
| Established | 2006 |
| Owner | Private |
Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve is a 356-acre (1.44 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Nelson County, Virginia. The preserve was dedicated in 2006.[2]
It was created to protect an uncommon growth of shooting-stars (Dodecatheon meadia) and a small population of the globally rare Torrey's mountain mint (Pycnanthemum torreyi), which occupy rocky clearings on otherwise forested slopes. The preserve includes an example of a "low-elevation basic outcrop barrens", a rare natural community that grows in dry areas with thin, basic soils and outcrops of amphibolite bedrock. The forests also represent a rare community known as "mountain/piedmont basic woodlands".[2][3]
The preserve is privately owned and protected by a conservation easement held by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).[4][dead link]It is not open to the public, although organized field trips may be arranged through the DCR and the property's private owners.[2]
- ^ "Naked Mountain". ProtectedPlanet. United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ Koerting, Katrina (January 11, 2012). "Preserving native, rare parts of Virginia". Nelson County News. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ "Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve". For the Love of the Land - 100 Conservation Stories from Across Virginia (PDF). Piedmont Environmental Council. p. 60. Retrieved December 22, 2016.