Editing Virginia (section)

=== Protected lands ===
{{See also|List of Virginia state parks}}
[[File:Shenandoah 2020.jpg|thumb|[[Oak]] trees produce a haze of [[isoprene]], which helps give the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] their signature color.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.ourstate.com/why-are-the-blue-ridge-mountains-blue/ |title= Why Are the Blue Ridge Mountains Blue? |magazine= Our State |first= Katie |last= Quine |date= November 2, 2015 |access-date= May 30, 2021}}</ref>|alt=Five mountain ridges in shades of dark blue below an orange and yellow sunset.]]
{{As of|2019}}, roughly 16.2% of land in the Commonwealth is protected by federal, state, and local governments and non-profits.<ref name=protectedland>{{cite web |url= https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/land-conservation/protected-lands |title= Virginia's Protected Lands |website= Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |date= 2021 |access-date= May 29, 2021}}</ref> Federal lands account for the majority, with thirty [[National Park Service]] units, such as [[Great Falls Park]] and the [[Appalachian Trail]], and one national park, [[Shenandoah National Park|Shenandoah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/state/va/index.htm|title=Virginia|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=July 4, 2020}}</ref> Almost forty percent of Shenandoah's total {{convert|199,173|acre|km2|0}} area has been designated as wilderness under the [[National Wilderness Preservation System]].{{sfn|Carroll|Miller|2002|p=158}} The [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] administers the [[George Washington and Jefferson National Forests]], which cover more than {{convert|1.6|e6acre|km2}} within Virginia's mountains, and continue into [[West Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/gwj/about-forest |title= The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests |website= United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service |date= 2021 |access-date= May 29, 2021}}</ref> The [[Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge]] also extends into North Carolina, as does the [[Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge]], which marks the beginning of the [[Outer Banks]].{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=152–153, 356}}

State agencies control about one-third of protected land in the state,<ref name=protectedland/> and the [[Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation]] manages over {{convert|75,900|acre|km2|1}} in forty [[List of Virginia state parks|Virginia state parks]] and {{convert|59,222|acre|km2|1}} in 65 [[Virginia Natural Area Preserve System|Natural Area Preserves]], plus three undeveloped parks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/fun-facts|title=Fun Facts|publisher=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation|date=May 17, 2021|access-date=May 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-area-preserves/ |title= Virginia Natural Area Preserves |website= Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |date= November 20, 2020 |access-date= May 27, 2021}}</ref> [[Breaks Interstate Park]] crosses the Kentucky border and is one of only two inter-state parks in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/2018/01/12/breaks-centuries-struggle-breaks-interstate-park/1012506001/|title=That's the Breaks: Documentary chronicles significant natural area on Virginia-Kentucky border|work=Knoxville News Sentinel|date=January 12, 2018|first=Randall|last=Brown}}</ref> Sustainable logging is allowed in 26 [[List of Virginia state forests|state forests]] managed by the [[Virginia Department of Forestry]] totaling {{convert|71,972|acre|km2|1}},<ref name=forests>{{cite web|url=https://dof.virginia.gov/about/|title=About the Virginia Department of Forestry |website=Virginia Department of Forestry |access-date=May 29, 2021}}</ref> as is hunting in 44 [[Virginia Wildlife Management Areas|Wildlife Management Areas]] run by the [[Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources]] covering over {{convert|205000|acre|km2|1}}.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.outdoorsrambler.com/post/2019/05/23/virginias-newest-wildlife-management-areas-are-shining-examples-of-howwhere-to-buy |title= Virginia's Newest Wildlife Management Areas are Shining Examples of How/Where to Buy |website= Outdoors Rambler |first= Ken |last= Perrotte |date= May 23, 2019 |access-date= May 27, 2021}}</ref> The [[Chesapeake Bay]] is not a national park, but is protected by both state and federal legislation and the inter-state [[Chesapeake Bay Program]].<ref>{{cite press release |url= https://www.cbf.org/news-media/newsroom/2020/federal/enactment-of-historic-legislation-is-major-victory-for-chesapeake-bay.html |title= Enactment of Historic Legislation is Major Victory for Chesapeake Bay |website= Chesapeake Bay Foundation |date= October 30, 2020 |access-date= May 29, 2021}}</ref>