Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve

Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve
Map showing the location of Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve
Location within Virginia
LocationIsle of Wight County, Virginia
Coordinates36°48′34″N 76°51′32″W / 36.80944°N 76.85889°W / 36.80944; -76.85889
Area1,157 acres (4.68 km2)
Governing bodyVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

The Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve is a 1,157-acre (4.68 km2) Natural Area Preserve located along the Blackwater River near Zuni, Virginia. It contains growths of loblolly pine and turkey oak, and supports various species that are rare in Virginia, including Plukenet's flatsedge, sandy-woods chaffhead and viperina; in addition, swales support various species of wildflowers, including orchids, trilliums, bellworts and lilies. Also on the property are a pair of longleaf pines which represent some of the last of the species in Virginia; they are currently the subject of a breeding program by the Virginia Department of Forestry designed to restore the pines to their former habitat.[1]

The preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and is open to public visitation only through prior arrangement with a state-employed land steward.[1]

Antioch Pines is located adjacent to the Blackwater Ecological Preserve run by Old Dominion University, being located to its north.

  1. ^ a b "Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved February 18, 2024.