Tucked within The Nature Conservancy’s Piney Grove Preserve just west of Wakefield in Sussex County,
Piney Grove Flatwoods Natural Area Preserve supports several rare species, including the endangered
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, two amphibians, two plants and a fish. The preserve is part of an extensive
conservation area encompassing the greater Piney Grove Preserve, Big Woods State Forest and Big
Woods Wildlife Management Area. The Nature Conservancy and key agency partners – DCR,
Department of Wildlife Resources, Department of Forestry and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – are
working to restore much of this 10,000-acre area to resemble the pre-Colonial forest landscape of
southeastern Virginia. Through the use of prescribed fire, selective cutting and reintroduction of longleaf
pine, a patchwork of open pine savannas, isolated wetlands and swampy bottomlands is taking shape
and supporting a suite of species on the brink of disappearing from the region.
VISITATION:
Piney Grove Flatwoods Natural Area Preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. For
visitation information, contact The Nature Conservancy, Southern Rivers Program, at (804) 644-5800.
CONTACT: Darren Loomis, SE Region Steward
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Natural Heritage Suffolk, VA
(757) 925-2318.