The Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve (prior to August 2020 known as the Virginia Coast Reserve) is a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

created by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

in the early 1970s. It consists of 40,000 acres across 14 of the

Virginia Barrier Islands The Virginia Barrier Islands are a continuous chain of long, narrow, low-lying, sand and scrub barrier islands separated from one another by narrow inlets and from the mainland by a series of shallow marshy tidal bays along the entire coast of th ...

along the Atlantic coast of the Virginia portion of the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia ...

, including Parramore Island,

Hog Island, Virginia Hog Island is one of the Virginia Barrier Islands located southeast of Exmore in Northampton County, Virginia, and is a part of the Virginia Coast Reserve of The Nature Conservancy. The island, then known as Machipongo Island was first settled i ...

Smith Island, Virginia Smith Island is one of the Virginia Barrier Islands located adjacent to the southern end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia in Northampton County near Cape Charles. The island bears the name of Captain John Smith the explorer who visited it in ...

, Assawoman Island, and

Metompkin Island Metompkin Island (sometimes pluralized, Metompkin Islands) is a barrier island off the east coast of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Accomack County. Metompkin Island is highly-migratory, meaning that it is moving overtime due to e ...

. These barrier islands play an important role in sheltering the mainland portions of the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is se ...

from the impact of coastal storms and are important for breeding and migrating beach nesting and colonial waterbirds, including

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...

s. It also serves as the research location for the

Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research The Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research (VCR/ LTER) project is funded by the National Science Foundation. The VCR/LTER project's research activities focus on the mosaic of transitions and steady-state systems that comprise the barr ...

(VCR

LTER The Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER) consists of a group of over 1800 scientists and students studying ecological processes over extended temporal and spatial scales. Twenty-eight LTER sites cover a diverse set of ecosystems. It is par ...

) project. The reserve was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 1979. In August 2020, the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

renamed the reserve in honor of multiple gifts by engineer Ernst Volgenau and his family over 30 years.

References

External links

Virginia Coast Reserve at Nature.orgVirginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research
Protected areas of Accomack County, Virginia Biosphere reserves of the United States Environment of Virginia National Natural Landmarks in Virginia Protected areas of Northampton County, Virginia Nature reserves in Virginia {{Virginia-stub

See also

References

External links