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The Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve, featuring the highest point of Floyd County, has recently expanded by 975 acres.
Through a partnership with The Conservation Fund, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has acquired land surrounding the three sides of the existing preserve, nearly doubling its size to 2,121 acres.
The expansion further protects rare grasslands found nowhere else on Earth and forested streams and wetlands at the headwaters of Buffalo Branch and Burks Fork.
The elevation at Buffalo Mountain’s rounded summit is 3,971 feet. At least 18 rare species make their home in the preserve’s forests, wetlands and grasslands. Two of these plants found on the cooler treeless summit are more common further north: three-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldia tridentata), and Mountain sandwort (Minuartia groenlandica), which are both low-growing perennials with white flowers.
In November 2023, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation awarded a $3.6 million grant to DCR for the project.
In 2024, the Virginia General Assembly approved spending $750,000 to protect and expand the preserve.
With gratitude, we celebrate this huge step with the partners who helped make it possible and look forward to expanding future public lands in the New River region.
Buffalo Mountain is one of 21 natural area preserves that currently provides public access for low-impact recreation activities.
The limited parking spots – available on a first-come, first-served basis – are intended to prevent overcrowding that would harm the sensitive natural resources the preserve must protect. When the parking lot is full, the preserve is full, and visitors will need to wait for a spot to open or come back another time. The most crowded times tend to be midday on weekends.
To learn more about Buffalo Mountain or to start planning your visit, please go to https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-area-preserves/buffalo.
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