White Oak Mountain Wildlife Management Area is a protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

 located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia

Pittsylvania County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 61,745 people, 24,684 households, and 18,216 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile . There were 28,011 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

. More a plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 than a mountain, the area's topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 contains elevations ranging from around 550 to about 900 feet (274.3 m) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. 2748 acres (11.1 km²) in size, the property is nearly two-thirds forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

, with timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 types including various examples of hardwood

Hardwood

Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...

s, such as several species of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

, and pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

s. Forest management and annual and perennial plantings combine with controlled burn

Controlled burn

Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...

s to form a management program for the area. The land is dotted with ponds ranging in size from one-half to 6 acres (24,281.2 m²), and its northwest boundary is formed by the Banister River

Banister River

The Banister River is a tributary of the Dan River, about 65 mi long, in southern Virginia in the United States. Via the Dan, it is part of the watershed of the Roanoke River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. It rises on Brier Mountain in western Pittsylvania County and flows generally...

.