Virginia Wilderness:
Keeping It Like It Is
Brush Mountain - Proposed Wilderness Area
Montgomery County
©SELC
The attraction of Brush Mountain as a candidate for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation system lies in its proximity to the large and rapidly growing population of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. The 4,794-acre area extends for about 8 miles along the northwest slope, bounded to the east by a power line, to the northwest by Craig Creek and private property, and to the southeast by FR 188.1 along the crest of the mountain.
Brush Mountain displays the typical characteristics of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. It is capped by a resistant layer of Devonian sandstone, with the underlying shales giving rise to a series of steep ridges and deep coves along the northern slope. The lower slopes are well forested with a great variety of species—tulip tree, sugar maple, northern red oak, white oak, basswood, red maple, cucumber tree, white ash, and white pine. On the higher parallel ridge slopes Virginia pine and Table Mountain pine predominate on the southwestern sides, while chestnut oak and scarlet oak are found on the northeastern sides. The area was largely cut over about 100 years ago, but the forest is rapidly returning to old growth status.
Despite its location adjacent to the suburbs of Blacksburg, Brush Mountain is surprisingly remote. The area looks out across Craig Creek to the slopes of Sinking Creek Mountain in the Jefferson National Forest, offering hunter and hiker a feeling of true wilderness solitude.
