Land Grabs in the Virginias

In early February the Nature Conservancy purchased 13,350 acres in Virginia’s Dragon Run Swamp. The purchase from the Hancock Timber Group resulted in the biggest conservation easement in Commonwealth history. Dragon Run is an ecologically diverse gem in the Chesapeake Bay area—a tidal cypress swamp with 90 species of birds and 55 species of fish. Just days before, the conservancy also grabbed a key 1,600 acres on the rim of the New River Gorge in West Virginia. The purchase from Greenbrier Forest Products will close a gap between the Beury Mountain Wildlife Management Area and the New River Gorge National River.