Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area, also known as Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge, is a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. Within a few miles of one of Virginia's busiest and most populated regions is the Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area, a largely unspoiled area of marshland and scattered woody hummocks. It includes unspoiled brackish marsh and small pine islands adjacent the south bank of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. The area is dominated by vegetation such as marsh mallow,

smartweed ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

saltmarsh cordgrass ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

, and black needlerush, with loblolly pine as the most common tree species. Impenetrable areas of

wax myrtle ''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and missing only from Australi ...

and greenbriar are also found on the property. The area is known in particular for its wide range of waterfowl. Ragged Island WMA is managed by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The area is open to the public for hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking. A boardwalk allows access for viewing the marsh and its wildlife. The WMA may accessed from two parking areas on

U.S. Highway 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Co ...

just south of the James River Bridge. Access for persons 17 years of age or older requires a valid hunting or fishing permit, or a WMA access permit.

References

External links

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area
Wildlife management areas of Virginia Wetlands of Virginia Protected areas of Isle of Wight County, Virginia Landforms of Isle of Wight County, Virginia {{IsleofWightCountyVA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links