Category: Public Information

Drone lifting off from red landing pad to monitor active prescribed fire with smoke in background

Prescribed Burning with Dragon Eggs!

July 16, 2021 - By Lisa Deaton, DOF Area Forester; contributor: Rod Newlin, DOF Water Quality Engineer The Virginia Department of Forestry has many tools for prescribed burning, from bulldozers that pull fire plows, to UTVs with water tanks, to drip torches, fire rakes, shovels and more. The following two photos are from a dormant season burn of loblolly pine stands at Sandy Point State Forest, with a combined goal of wildlife habitat improvement... Read More

(Don’t) Pick Your Poison

July 9, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator  Walking along a forest path this time of year, it’s tempting to reach out and touch all those lush, green leaves. That’s not always a good idea, because Virginia has three species of plants in the genus Toxicodendron. When the botanical name translates to “poison tree,” it’s best to look, not touch. The most familiar of Virginia’s poisonous plants is poison ivy, Toxicodendron... Read More

In Memory of Page Hutchinson

February 4, 2021 - The Virginia Department of Forestry is mourning the loss of Page Hutchinson, Virginia’s Project Learning Tree Coordinator and member of the DOF family, after she passed away unexpectedly this week. Page was a leader in the environmental education community. Beyond the work she did to build Virginia’s PLT program, Page worked with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Master Naturalists, and the Virginia Association for Environmental Educators. In... Read More

Field Notes: Fruits of Fall

October 13, 2020 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator With the autumn foliage season getting underway, it’s easy to miss a key feature of Virginia’s fall landscape: fruits. First, a disclaimer: Don’t eat wild fruits unless you can identify them positively and know they are safe. Many can be eaten by wildlife but are toxic or even deadly to humans.   In wildlife circles, fleshy or squishy fruit eaten by critters is known... Read More

People working in the forest on a controlled burn

Fired Up about Camp

February 28, 2020 - Did you know there’s a camp where teens get to fight fire? Not a scary western wildfire, but a well-behaved one that actually improves the environment?  Last summer, a group of teenagers at Camp Woods & Wildlife learned firsthand how to manage a prescribed fire. These intrepid campers donned fire-retardant gear and set about preparing for a small understory burn. First, they raked a fire line down to bare soil... Read More