| Fast Facts |
location
3 hours west of Washington, D.C.
ecoregion
Central Appalachian Forest
project size
120,000 acres
preserves
Panther Knob, Pike Knob, Little Creek
public lands
Monongahela National Forest
partners
U.S. Forest Service, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, private landowners
conservancy initiatives
Fire, Freshwater, Invasive Species
natural events
raptor migration, September–November; maternity colonies of Virginia big-eared bats gather, summer; prairie plants in peak bloom, late May–early July | |
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| Gaining popularity as a weekend retreat, this rare pocket of isolated Eastern wilderness risks being spoiled by those who come to enjoy it. |
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Moonrise over North Fork Mountain.
© Skip Brown |
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On its northeast course through the rolling mountains and valleys of West Virginia, the South Branch of the Potomac makes an abrupt turn, squeezing between Cave and North Fork mountains and carving a half-mile-deep canyon called Smoke Hole. A misty fog often covers the river, resembling smoke leaving a hole as it drifts out of the narrow gorge. Some believe the name may derive from the days when these corrugated hills concealed moonshiner’s stills, or when Native Americans made smokehouses of the limestone caves that pockmark the region.
In the hills above the gorge, true prairies, not unlike those found on the high plains, display such towering grasses as little bluestem, Indian grass and side oats gramma. Tundralike summits and other subalpine plant communities include botanical specimens that were described by science only in the past 15 years. And, at the higher elevations where cold winds prevail, rare fire-dependent pine barrens survive. Many pine barrens have endured because local residents burned the heaths to stimulate the growth of blueberries. |
Peregrine falcon.
© Jeff Lepore |
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Beneath the forest floor, a subterranean community of life thrives. One limestone cave alone supports the largest concentration of mammals in the ecoregion, accommodating more than 100,000 hibernating bats every winter. In warm months, throngs of the fluttering furry mammals—including one-third of the endangered Virginia big-eared bat population—emerge from the gaping hole into the dusk. | |
Smoke Hole and North Fork Mountain partially overlap with the Monongahela National Forest and other popular wilderness and recreation areas. All are within a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population and a few hours from Washington, D.C. In response to an alarming increase in vacation-home development, The Nature Conservancy is negotiating voluntary protection agreements with private landowners and establishing preserves at critical locations.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in West Virginia. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
pine barrens, prairies, cedar glades, Virginia big-eared bat, bobcat, black bear, peregrine falcon, bald eagle, migrating raptors
stresses
incompatible residential development, limestone quarrying, invasive species
strategies
acquire land, secure conservation easements, combat invasive species, restore ecosystems through fire management, encourage conservation management of public land, engage community in natural resource management, prevent or minimize impact of limestone quarrying
results
initiated first successful private landowner protection program in the state; more than 5,000 acres in conservation management | | | | |
