Description
Dragon Flats Preserve, though restricted to visitors, can still be seen and enjoyed by paddling down Dragon Run.
Widely considered Virginia's most pristine blackwater stream, Dragon Run meanders for nearly 40 miles through remote portions of four eastern Virginia counties. Near Saluda, the Dragon widens to form the Piankatank River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
In 1976, The Nature Conservancy joined with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to commission a Smithsonian Institute study of 232 rivers and streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Dragon Run ranked second in terms of ecological significance.
What TNC Has Done/Is Doing
Since 2001 TNC has worked closely with partners such as Virginia’s Department of Forestry and Friends of Dragon Run to help conserve nearly 9,000 acres in the forest block surrounding Dragon Run.
In 2008, TNC transferred more than 1,800 acres to the Virginia Department of Forestry, establishing Dragon Run State Forest. The state forest provides opportunities for sound forestry and public recreation, while protecting water quality in the Dragon and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.
Land conservation along Dragon Run preserves traditional land uses that have endured for at least four centuries. It’s also critical to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay downstream and its embattled species such as our native oyster.
Since 2014, The Nature Conservancy has been supporting the construction of a large-scale oyster sanctuary downstream in the Piankatank River.
