Chotank Creek Natural Area Preserve is a

Natural Area Preserve The Washington Natural Areas Program, part of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, manages dozens of natural areas owned by the U.S. state of Washington. These areas have received funding through the state's general fund since the Washi ...

located in

King George County King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 26,723. Its county seat is the census designated place of King George. The county's largest employer is the U.S. Naval Surfa ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The preserve is situated east of Caledon State Park, and borders the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

to which the preserve's namesake, Chotank Creek, is a tributary. It is part of the larger Cedar Grove farm, which is protected by a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

. The preserve was dedicated in 2001 through an agreement with the property's private landowner. Chotank Creek Natural Area Preserve protects a variety of habitats and natural communities, including upland

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

forests,

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

lands,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

forests, and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

scrub. Large gatherings of

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s have been observed to congregate on the Potomac near the preserve, and several nests have been found on the property. The preserve is privately owned, and public access is not permitted. The site is managed with guidance from the

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is a Ministry (government department), department of the government of Virginia, United States; it oversees all List of Virginia state parks, Virginia state parks and Virginia Natural Area Pre ...

References

External links

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: Chotank Creek Natural Area Preserve
Virginia Natural Area Preserves Protected areas of King George County, Virginia {{KingGeorgeCountyVA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links