Latest Posts

The Quaker Run Fire from a Wildland Firefighter’s POV

January 5, 2024 - By Joe Rossetti, DOF Hardwood Initiative Coordinator – The Quaker Run Fire in Madison County garnered a great deal of attention, and rightly so. A fire this large, at nearly 4,000 acres, rarely occurs in Virginia. Suppressing this fire proved particularly challenging because, on top of the usual fall fire seasonal weather conditions like low humidity and gusty winds, the region was experiencing a persistent drought. It also occurred on... Read More

Meet the Interns!

July 28, 2023 - Each year, DOF hires interns for about two months to support our work and introduce students to the world of forestry. Read on to meet this summer’s interns and learn a bit about what their experience was like. Interning in DOF’s eastern region this summer was Virginia Tech forestry student Evan R. During his internship, Evan joined DOF foresters to work on projects at several eastern state forests, as well... Read More

Citizen Science? Yes, You Can!

March 17, 2023 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator and Cory Swift-Turner, DOF Communications Specialist A middle school class documents the spring’s first dogwood and redbud blooms in their schoolyard. A family records the birds that visit their feeders in the winter. A retiree places wing tags on monarch butterflies before migration. A hunter reports sightings of sick deer to a wildlife agency. What do all of these scenarios have... Read More

The Smell of Spring?

February 17, 2023 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator I’m on a mission to teach you that plants are cool. They may look like they’re just sitting there, but they’re hiding superpowers. Watch this blog in 2023 for more posts about amazing Virginia plants! In the dead of winter, from the muck of a woodland seep, rises a hooded figure of mottled purple, the color of dead flesh. Undeterred by snow... Read More

Which Settled First: the Oak or the Acorn?

January 25, 2023 - By Dean Cumbia, Director of Forest Management — As the site of the first permanent English settlement and a hotbed of activity during the American Revolution and Civil War, Virginia has a rich history. All throughout that history, trees have played a role. Have you ever wondered whether some of the first trees settlers saw when they arrived are still standing? DOF recently tried to find out. Last December, DOF... Read More

Evergreens? Ever Useful!

January 13, 2023 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator In a bare winter landscape, our eyes are often drawn to any remnants of green, stirring the memory and promise of warmer days. But our native evergreens have winter value far beyond their looks. Perhaps the greatest winter benefits of evergreens go to wildlife. Plants that keep their foliage through the winter provide thermal cover, or protection from cold temperatures. Dark needles absorb... Read More

A Getaway in the Middle of It All

December 22, 2022 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Are you looking for a family day trip during the school holidays? Consider the Conway Robinson State Forest in Gainesville, where you can slow your pace and your kids can expend some year-end energy. Imagine more than 400 acres of woodland placed right next to sprawling subdivisions, near the busy junction of Interstate 66 and US Route 29. That’s the “Con Rob” (as... Read More

Fighting Bugs with Bugs

December 9, 2022 - By Cory Swift-Turner, Communications Specialist Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a coniferous tree that favors the cool and humid climate along the Appalachian Mountains. Hemlocks can grow more than 150 feet tall and live for more than 800 years. Their short, dense needles provide excellent habitat for many kinds of wildlife, from warblers to bobcats. Unfortunately, healthy hemlocks are becoming increasingly rare. In the early 1950s, an invasive insect called... Read More

Holiday DIY from the Yard

December 2, 2022 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Want to save some money during the spending season? With a little creativity, you can get a lot of holiday décor from your own yard. Decorating with what I have on hand gives me a sense of efficiency, as well as a connection with my paternal grandmother. Growing up in the rural South, she often foraged for wild foods like “creasy greens” (winter... Read More

Does Every Picture Tell a Story?

October 13, 2022 - By Scott Bachman, Area Forester This summer, my colleague Evan Richardson was asked by a landowner to prepare a Forest Stewardship Plan on a newly acquired property in southern Suffolk. One of his concerns was the management of a pond on the property. As foresters, our expertise is in trees and forests. Our officemates at the Portsmouth Office, however, work for Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). The relationship we... Read More

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