| Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
  | |
| Location | Rockbridge County, Virginia |
| Nearest city | Goshen |
| Coordinates | 37°56′24″N 79°26′02″W / 37.9399°N 79.434°W[1] |
| Area | 936 acres (3.79 km2) |
| Established | 2001 |
| Governing body | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |
Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve is a 936-acre (3.79 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The oldest state-managed natural area in Virginia, it was first acquired in 1954 to help protect views of the gorge along the Maury River. The site contains stands of chestnut oak, pine-oak-heath woodland, rocky scrub communities, regionally rare plants such as freshwater cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and habitat for the Appalachian jewelwing, a locally rare damselfly. The site was dedicated as a preserve in 2001.[2][3]
Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The preserve is open to the public; however, as it is contiguous with the Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a WMA access permit is required for parking.[2]
- ^ "Goshen Pass". ProtectedPlanet. United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ a b "Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Middleton, Leslie (October 6, 2016). "Preserve walks celebrate VA Natural Heritage Program's 30th year". Bay Journal. Retrieved December 21, 2016.