Category: Research

Citizen Science? Yes, You Can!

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

Which Settled First: the Oak or the Acorn?

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

A Prickly Problem

A Prickly Problem

October 5, 2022 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Did you know that one of Virginia’s State Forests was established specifically for research on a single species? That site is the Lesesne State Forest, located at the base of Three Ridges Mountain in Nelson County. The species is the iconic American chestnut (Castanea dentata). American chestnut was once so abundant and ecologically important that it was considered a foundation species. But in... Read More

Longleaf Grafting 101

Longleaf Grafting 101

April 18, 2022 - By Jim Schroering, DOF Longleaf Pine Coordinator and Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Forestry usually takes place on a landscape scale. But some forestry work requires meticulous attention to detail. Just ask the team of DOF staff who recently undertook the painstaking process of grafting longleaf pines. Grafting requires splicing a scion – a growing stem with desired characteristics – onto an established rootstock of the same species. You... Read More

Field Notes: Atlantic White-cedar Makes a Comeback?

Field Notes: Atlantic White-cedar Makes a Comeback?

March 18, 2021 - By Scott Bachman, DOF Senior Area Forester, Blackwater Work Area A number of years back, a hurricane made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and forced her way through the southeastern coastal area of Virginia on the way to dumping flooding rains on the remainder of the Commonwealth. That storm was Isabel. In her wake, she left 32 people dead and more than 1.85 billion dollars in damage. Directly... Read More

Field Notes: Protecting the Northern Source Longleaf

Field Notes: Protecting the Northern Source Longleaf

March 11, 2020 - By Senior Area Forester Scott Bachman The official start of spring may be only weeks away, but forester Scott Bachman doesn’t want to breeze past the (briefly) snowy landscape of southeastern Virginia. The scene highlights a unique landscape feature that DOF is working to protect – the northern seed source of longleaf pine. Several weeks ago, the southeastern counties and cities of Virginia received their first and only snow of... Read More

Field Notes: What's in the Woods Today? June 25, 2018

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today? June 25, 2018

June 26, 2018 - Bird’s Eye View by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Once a year, area foresters have the opportunity to fly over DOF work areas to check for forest health issues and evaluate herbicide work from the previous summer.   We meet planes and pilots from the Virginia Department of Aviation at local airports, provide them with a flying route and then take off down the runway. The hour-long flight covers several counties, so... Read More

Field Notes: A Sure Sign of Spring!

Field Notes: A Sure Sign of Spring!

March 15, 2018 - by DOF Senior Area Forester Scott Bachman It is not quite spring, but the signs of spring are abundant at the New Kent Forestry Center.  The photo below shows one of the first signs of spring.   The loblolly pine trees appear to have grown paper bags on their tips!  These contractors are placing bags on the trees to protect the soon-to-be receptive pine flowers (Strobli) from wind-blown pollen.  That... Read More