Category: Marketing and Utilization

The Bike Shack

June 22, 2022 - By Joe Lehnen, DOF Forest Utilization & Marketing Specialist Sometimes a chance meeting leads to multiple connections, with wonderful results. In the early fall of 2021, Nick Brinen, James Madison University (JMU) Professor of Architectural Design, and Jeremy Harold, Harrisonburg’s Greenspace Manager and Urban Wood Program Coordinator happened to cross paths and chat about a project idea. The result was an amazing collaboration on a very meaningful project…and the birth... Read More

New Life for Old Trees

March 9, 2022 - By Meghan Mulroy-Goldman, DOF Community Forestry Specialist Spend some time in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and you will probably notice that there is a lot of water. Where there’s a lot of water, there are also a lot of boats. In Hampton Roads, this means everything from small kayaks to massive aircraft carriers and everything in between. In fact, Hampton Roads is home to Newport News Shipbuilding, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and... Read More

The Benefits of a Live Christmas Tree

December 3, 2021 - By Cory Swift-Turner, DOF Public Information Specialist — Every holiday season, thousands of Virginians carry on a family tradition by loading up in their car and driving to one of the state’s nearly 500 Christmas tree farms, to find the tree that will be the centerpiece of their Christmas decorating. Whether you are selecting a pre-cut tree, or cutting one down yourself, there is something exciting about finding the special... Read More

Grand SLAM! (Slowing Ash Mortality)

August 23, 2021 - By Lori Chamberlin, DOF Forest Health Manager, and Joe Lehnen, DOF Forest Utilization and Marketing Specialist The emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive insect that attacks and kills ash trees in North America. It became established in Virginia in 2008 and has wreaked havoc, killing ash trees throughout the state. In 2019, DOF was awarded a federal Landscape Scale Restoration grant titled Grand SLAM (Slowing Ash Mortality) in the... Read More

Urban Forestry Comes Full Circle

July 29, 2021 - By Joe Lehnen, DOF Forest Utilization and Marketing Specialist, and Molly O’Liddy, DOF Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator Trees may have a lifespan, but wood is a renewable resource. Since trees are made of wood, is there truly an end to their useful lives? The answer, of course, can be “no,” if we consider the continuous carbon storage capability of durable wood products. Trees can also continue to be of service... Read More

“Do You Work in the Forest or the Mill?”

May 27, 2021 - By: Rachel Harris, DOF Utilization & Marketing Specialist Every so often, loggers emerge from the woods and sawmill operators shake off the sawdust to join together at an industry event and catch up on the latest news. The fourth weekend in May was a beautiful choice for the 37th East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Exposition, allowing members of the forest industry to gather once again in person and see... Read More

An Exciting Mass Timber Project in Charlottesville

March 15, 2021 - During a sunny March morning, a team from the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) and the Virginia Department of Agricultural Consumer Services (VDACS) toured an exciting mass timber construction project in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. The building will eventually house the headquarters office of Apex Clean Energy – a locally-based wind and solar energy company – as well as headquarters for Hourigan Development and Riverbend Development. Architects at William McDonough + Partners... Read More

Field Notes: EAB-Killed Ash – Use It or Lose It!

March 9, 2021 - By Joe Lehnen, DOF Forest Utilization & Marketing Specialist, and Katlin DeWitt, DOF Forest Health Specialist The emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that has decimated native ash trees. It has been present in the U.S. since the late 1990s, feeding on and killing ash in Virginia since initial detection in 2008. This insect is native to Asia and most likely arrived on imported wood packaging material. While named... Read More

Field Notes: Out of the Ashes

August 20, 2020 - By Joe Lehnen, Forest Utilization & Marketing Specialist Until about two years ago, the fate of trees removed from the urban forest in Harrisonburg, Virginia was predetermined. The trees, no matter how large they might be, were either destined for the firewood pile or had a future as mulch via a giant tub grinder. Like many other municipalities across the Commonwealth, urban trees that were removed due to natural mortality... Read More

Virginia’s Forests and Forest Economy Continue to Grow

July 13, 2018 - Virginia set a new record for the volume of timber harvested with slight increases in both hardwood and softwood volume compared to the previous year, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry’s (DOF) analysis of the Virginia Forest Products Tax receipts from Fiscal Year 2017. “The rate of forest harvest is still well below forest growth in Virginia each year,” explained State Forester Rob Farrell. Across Virginia in 2015, the... Read More