In a dramatic attempt to prevent the extinction of the red-cockaded woodpecker in Virginia, The Nature Conservancy invested $2.2 million to protect the bird's only remaining population in the state. The first purchase of 1,526 acres of woodpecker habitat in Sussex County from Hancock Timber Resource Group was completed in 1999. In 2000, a sale of 1,161 acres expanded the Preserve making it the largest privately funded project in Virginia Chapter history.