Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area in Virginia. It is the second-largest WMA in the Commonwealth, covering portions of Smyth, Washington, Russell, and Tazewell counties.
Description
Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area is dominated by steep mountains and narrow valleys, with elevations ranging from above sea level to at the summit of Beartown Mountain. It is due to this difference in elevation that an unusual type of forest, containing species found in both the southern and northern United States, has developed. The land was virgin forest until late in the nineteenth century, and some evidence of logging, including portions of the former narrow gauge railroad, can still be seen. Laurel Bed Lake, a reservoir, is located within the area, in addition to Big Tumbling Creek and several of its tributaries.Given the variety of landscapes which it covers, and the range in elevation found throughout the area, it is the most biologically diverse of the holdings of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.