January 31, 2018 11:41 am
Published by Janet Muncy
by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Those Hidden Roots Homeowners often contact our local Department of Forestry or Virginia Cooperative Extension offices when they are worried that a yard tree might be diseased or dying. This loblolly pine (above) is located on the shore of a tidal creek that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The needles and branches in the top of the tree have been dying for the past several months. We... Read More
January 10, 2018 9:51 am
Published by Janet Muncy
by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Snack Bars for Birds Winter is a time of year when people start to notice damage to their trees. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are a member of the woodpecker family, and they can drill an alarming number of holes into a single tree in search of sap and insects. This is a large yellow-poplar in Gloucester County. While the holes are... Read More
December 27, 2017 11:45 am
Published by Janet Muncy
by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Creek Treasures An important skill for foresters is hopping across creeks without falling in, especially during cold weather. Last week, I was mapping creeks alongside a cutover to assist a landowner with a Riparian Buffer Tax Credit application. Wooded buffers along streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay are called riparian forests and help protect our water quality. Virginia landowners can receive a tax credit for... Read More
December 19, 2017 9:15 am
Published by Janet Muncy
by Urban Forest Conservationist Jim McGlone While leading a forest hike with a landowner and group of her friends, I was brought to a small group of pin oaks that had many of the growths pictured here. The landowner was concerned that it was a disease that would spread and kill all her trees. This growth, and others like it, are called galls. Galls form when an insect, usually a small... Read More
