James River Face Wilderness

James River Face Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
James River Face, from Va 130 looking southeast

Location	Bedford, Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States
Nearest city	Buena Vista, Virginia
Coordinates	37°35′19″N 79°26′42″W / 37.588524°N 79.444885°W / 37.588524; -79.444885
Area	8,907 acres (3,605 ha)
Established	1975
Administrator	U.S. Forest Service

The James River Face Wilderness is an 8,907-acre area located near Natural Bridge, Virginia that is protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, it helps to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contributes to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools. Over half of the ecosystems in the United States exist within designated wilderness.^[1]

The wilderness contains many contrasting features. A short distance separates scorched hillsides, stark rockpiles and dry forest on one side and exceedingly rich vegetation on the crest of the Blue Ridge on the other.^[2]

The area is part of the Glenwood Cluster.

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Location and access

James River Face Wilderness is located in the Jefferson National Forest several miles from Natural Bridge Station, Virginia. It is bounded on the northeast by the James River, on the west by Forest Service Road 35, and on the south by the Blue Ridge Parkway.^[3]

There are several well maintained trails giving access into the wilderness. Among these are:^[3]^[2]^[4]

Appalachian Trail, 9.9 miles, 2400 feet elevation change, trailheads on US 130 and FS 35^[5]
Balcony Falls Trail, 4.1 miles, 1850 feet elevation change, trailhead on FS 3093
Belfast Trail, 2.8 miles, 1700 foot elevation change, trailhead on FS 35
Gunter Ridge Trail, 5.1 miles, 1560 foot elevation change, trailhead FS 54
Piney Ridge Trail, 3.5 miles, 1720 foot elevation change, trailhead on FS 54
Sulphur Springs Trail, 2.7 miles, 1050 foot elevation change, trailhead on FS 35

Natural history

The forest cover includes chestnut oak and various types of yellow pine. Northern red oak and hickories are found near Highcock Knob. The wilderness has sheltered coves with white oak, basswood and tulip poplar. Old growth trees are found in the watershed of Matt’s Creek and along the James River where the Appalachian Trail goes into the drainage of Matt’s Creek.^[6]

The Allegheny woodrat has been observed in the wilderness at the rock outcrops of the Devils Marbleyard.^[7]^: 127 The population of the woodrat is in decline. Among the hypotheses being considered for the decline are the loss of food sources, loss of habitat and mortality from parasites introduced by raccoons.^[7]^: 25–30

The lower elevations of the wilderness have a long history of mineral development and logging. The area contains the former Francis T. Anderson's Glenwood Estate, regarded as one of the finest principalities in western Virginia. Anderson operated the Glenwood Iron Furnace, an enterprise that required thousands of acres of timber to produce the charcoal used in the iron furnace. The area was stripped of its timber, and then operators returned to log second and third-growth timber.^[2]

Topography

The wilderness has a complex topography with a peak Highcock Knob towering at an elevation of 3100 feet over the James River at 650 feet, a rock outcrop Devils Marbleyard composed of quartzite boulders the size of a schoolbus, many creeks with rapid descents and waterfalls, and the tall ridges Piney Ridge on the east and Gunter Ridge on the west.^[8]^[2]^[4] ^[6]

Management

This wilderness was designated by congress in 1975 and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service as a part of the Glenwood-Pedlar Ranger Districts of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests.^[8] There are some regulations to maintain the integrity of the area. For example, motorized equipment, motor vehicles and mountain bikes are prohibited, group size is limited to ten people, and limits are placed on camping.

The wilderness is being monitored for clean air, with special concern for visibility, water quality and vegetation. Sulfur compounds produce a haze reducing visibility, an acidification of streams and a leaching of nutrients from the soil, and ozone creates visible injury to plant leaves reducing plant growth. Pollutants are created by many sources over a large geographic region.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Nearby wildlands

Nearby wilderness areas and wildlands recognized as one of Virginia's "Mountain Treasures" by the Wilderness Society are:^[12]

References

^ "Why Wilderness?". Retrieved October 18, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bamford, Sherman (October 2014). 18 Wonders of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. ISBN 978-0-926487-79-6.
^ ^a ^b "Lexington, Blue Ridge Mts [George Washington and Jefferson National Forests]". www.NatGeoMaps.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Steven Carroll and Mark Miller (1995). Wilderness Virginia. Lexington, Virginia: Old Forge Productions. p. 145. ISBN 0-9646692-1-8.
^ "James River Face Wilderness Hike". www.HikingUpward.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "James River Face Wilderness". Virginia Wilderness Committee. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Peles, John D.; Wright, Janet (2008). The Allegheny Woodrat. New York, N. Y.: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-36050-8.
^ ^a ^b "James River Face Wilderness - General Information". Wilderness.net. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
^ Revised Land and Resource Management Plan, Jefferson National Forest, Management Bulletin R8-MB 115A. US Department of Agriculture. January 2004. p. 2-44.
^ "- Forest Service Air Resource Management Program". www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ "James River Face Wilderness". webcam.srs.fs.fed.us. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ Virginia's Mountain Treasures, report issued by The Wilderness Society, May 1999

External links

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP Fort Monroe NM George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS
National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP
National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VAMC Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Music Center Mabry Mill Peaks of Otter Rocky Knob Recreation Area) George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT
National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Glenn Martin Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts
Wilderness Areas	Barbours Creek James River Face Mountain Lake Priest Ramsey's Draft Rich Hole Rough Mountain Saint Mary's Three Ridges
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Claytor Lake Clinch River Culpeper Battlefields Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Machicomoco Mason Neck Mayo River Middle Peninsula Natural Bridge Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Powhatan Sailor's Creek Battlefield Seven Bends Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Sweet Run Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Widewater Wilderness Road York River
State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Charlotte Chesterfield Chilton Woods Conway Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run First Mountain Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Old Flat Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point South Quay Whitney Zoar
Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bald Knob Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Cave Hill The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crawford's Knob Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Lyndhurst Ponds Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlar Hills Glades Piney Grove Flatwoods Pinnacle Poor Mountain Redrock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Big Woods Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Doe Creek Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mattaponi Mattaponi Bluffs Merrimac Farm Mockhorn Island Oakley Forest Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Robert W. Duncan Saxis Short Hills Smith Mountain Cooperative Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Ware Creek Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks

This page was last edited on 9 May 2024, at 12:59

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