September 13, 2019 9:00 am
Published by Janet Muncy
By Project Learning Tree Coordinator Page Hutchinson Look A Little Closer… Although I work for the Virginia Department of Forestry, my job doesn’t actually allow me much time in the forest. Being a tree hugger from way back, I take as many opportunities as I can to get in the forest. On the recent Labor Day holiday, my friend Karen and I went for a hike on the Graves Mill... Read More
September 11, 2019 11:00 am
Published by Janet Muncy
By Area Forester Lisa Deaton Dung Beetles A local farmer asked me to examine a 40-year-old stand of loblolly pines to see if they were large enough to harvest. A corn field was located in the center of the property and we noticed some very fresh deer scat along the field edge. On the way back to the truck we saw something moving on the ground. It was a dung... Read More
September 10, 2019 8:59 am
Published by Janet Muncy
By Emerald Ash Borer Coordinator Meredith Bean It was August 27, very late in the season to be treating ash for protection against the emerald ash borer (EAB), and we were about to do just that. With the state’s most active “Big Tree hunter” as our guide through the swamps of Cypress Bridge Natural Area Preserve, we hopped into canoes to find the largest Carolina ash trees on record in... Read More
August 16, 2019 9:50 am
Published by Janet Muncy
by DOF Forest Health Specialist Katlin Mooneyham The Virginia Department of Forestry is taking forest management to new heights! The agency has recently purchased three drones and certified three drone pilots (with three more taking the test soon!) thanks to a U.S.D.A. Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration grant. The use of drones in forestry is a newer field and DOF is investigating exactly how we can use these tools in... Read More
August 15, 2019 9:00 am
Published by Janet Muncy
By Intern Marissa Ardovino As the summer comes to an end, I’ll recall one day I spent in Conway Robinson State Forest… I walked quietly down the blue trail at Conway Robinson State Forest, rounding a bend in the path when suddenly a small branch shot backwards and retracted upon itself into the depths of a thorny blackberry bramble. I stopped and listened to soft rustling in the shadows of... Read More
