Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve

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]

Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve
Location	Nelson County, Virginia
Coordinates	37°45′09″N 78°49′41″W[1]
Area	356 acres (1.44 km2)
Established	2006 (2006)
Owner	Private

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] It is not open to the public, although organized field trips may be arranged through the DCR and the property's private owners.^[2]

See also

• List of Virginia Natural Area Preserves