HOME » Refuges » Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck NWR
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Elizabeth Hartwell
Mason Neck NWR
7603 High Point Rd.
Lorton, VA 22079
Phone: 703-490-4979
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USFWS Photo Dewhurst
USFWS Photo Kappie
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Eighteen miles south of Washington, D.C. on the banks of the Potomac,
lies an 8,000-acre peninsula known as Mason Neck. Here
on Feb. 1st, 1969, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
created the first national wildlife refuge specifically
established for the endangered Bald Eagle.
The refuge, situated along the Potomac River on the Mason
Neck peninsula, consists of 2277 acres of oak-hickory
forest, freshwater marshes, and has 4.4 miles of shoreline.
The refuge has the largest fresh water marsh in Northern
Virginia, the largest Great Blue heron rookery in the
Mid-Atlantic region (over 1400 nests), is a designated
RAMSAR site, and hosts over 200 species of birds, 31 species
of mammals, and 44 species of reptiles and amphibians.
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Wildlife & Habitat:
This refuge is a critical site for the preservation
of plant and animal species in this rapidly developing
region of Virginia. The refuge was established because
bald eagles actively nest on the Mason Neck peninsula
and large numbers utilize the mature oak, hickory and
Virginia pine trees as they hunt for fish along the Potomac
River shoreline. The refuge also contains a great blue
heron rookery composed of 1400 nests. Large numbers of
neo tropical birds nest or pass through the mature hardwood
forest each year. Wood thrush, ovenbirds, scarlet tanagers,
northern parula warblers and prothonotary warblers are
a few of the many species readily heard and seen through
the spring and summer seasons. The 285 acre Great Marsh
contains vast stands of wild rice, and provides ideal
wetland habitat for 20 species of waterfowl, marsh wrens,
green herons, and great egrets. White-tailed deer, eastern
gray squirrel, red fox and an occasional flock of wild
turkey are encountered on the refuges two hiking trails.
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USFWS Photo Leopold |
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Directions:
Mason Neck NWR is located about 18 miles south of Washington
D.C. From the north: take I-95 south to exit 163 (Lorton).
Turn left on Lorton, right on Armistead Rd, and then right
(south) on RT 1. Go to light at top of the hill and turn
left on Gunston Rd. (242) and go about 4 miles. The refuge
shares a common entrance (High Pt. rd.) with the Mason
Neck State Park. From the south: take I-95 north to exit
161 (Rt 1, Ft. Belvoir), go north on Rt 1, turn right
on Gunston rd, go about 4 miles to refuge entrance.
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