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Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, United States, between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek. The greater portion of the Crow's Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km2) and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. About 3,115 acres (12.61 km2) of the peninsula is protected as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System. Funding for the original two tracts came from a number of sources including DCR, Stafford County, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and a number other sources. Virtually the entire Crow's Nest Peninsula is forested with an impressive, mature stand of mixed hardwoods. Hardwood forests of this extent are becoming increasingly rare in the Virginia and Chesapeake Bay coastal plain due to prevalent forestry practices and fragmentation of natural areas for development and agriculture. The size and continuity of this hardwood stand enhance its viability and its value in providing a large, unfragmented natural area for diverse organisms. Within a relatively short time (50-100 years), this forest will also comprise a substantial occurrence of old-growth forest with inestimable scientific, biological, and aesthetic values. Currently, trees greater than two feet (60 cm) diameter at breast height (dbh) are common, and very large relict tree specimens are scattered throughout the site.