page_title: Beartown Wilderness Addition B
section_title: Natural history
hierarchical_section_title: Beartown Wilderness Addition B / Natural history
context_page_description: Beartown Wilderness Addition B, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a “Mountain Treasure”.The area. adjacent to the Beartown Wilderness, is proposed as an addition to the wilderness.
  The Forest Service classifies about 82 percent of the area as having high scenic integrity. It is easily accessed on a section of the Appalachian Trail, passing along a ridge with excellent views of Burkes Garden..
  The area is part of the Garden Mountain Cluster.
context_section_description: The area is part of the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Coniferous Forest-Meadow Province. Most of the vegetation is broadleaf.  Yellow poplar, northern red oak, white oak, basswood, cucumber tree, white ash, eastern hemlock and red maple are found in colluvial drainages, toeslopes and along flood plains of small to medium-sized streams. White oak, northern red oak, and hickory dominate on the north and west, while chestnut oak, scarlet oak and yellow pine are found on the north and west.
  Turkey and bear are the featured species in the area.  Wildlife populations are supported by the presence of two artificial waterholes.  With time, the waterholes are gaining a natural appearance.
  Arthrophycus tracks can be found on gray sandstone along the Appalchain Trail. Looking like long, finger shaped branches, they are the remains of an ancient worm trail.
  The varied topography of the area includes a wide variety of ecological types with hot, dry, windswept ridges to cool, moist coves.  Most of the area is in the Dry Mesic Oak ecological community type.  
  The area contains about 307 acres of potential old growth forest.  These acres include the community types Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak-Pine(4 acres),  Dry Mesic Oak (266 acres) and Mixed and Western Mesophytic (37 acres).
caption: American Turkey
exif: {}