Latest Posts

Field Notes: WTREX: Newly Discovered Dinosaur, Latest Workout Craze or Something Better?

May 8, 2019 - by Area Forester Sarah Parmelee What is TREX? TREX is a prescribed fire training (TR) exchange (EX) held by the Nature Conservancy as part of their North American Fire Initiative. WTREX is a training exchange, for women. These two-week events bring fire practitioners together to share experience and get training. Ideally, those two weeks feature a lot of fire. This will give attendees the opportunity to apply learned techniques and... Read More

Field Notes: White Pine Monitoring in Western Virginia

April 29, 2019 - By Forest Health Specialist Katlin Mooneyham Eastern white pine is a species commonly found in forests in the western part of the state. In Virginia, eastern white pine is grown for wood production, Christmas trees, holiday garland and ornamental plantings. In 2006, former DOF Forester John Wright noticed that white pines were declining in his work area in Highland County. He called the forest health program manager at the time,... Read More

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today? April 22, 2019

April 22, 2019 - by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Two Snake Day! Last week the sun was shining, and the fresh spring foliage and flowers were lovely. The road in the photo above was a Gloucester County state road until Beaverdam Reservoir was built in 1989, submerging a section of this road. Pawpaw blooms (Asimina triloba) Eastern redbud blooms can resemble tiny hummingbirds. (Cercis canadensis) Then I almost stepped on a copperhead snake heading... Read More

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today? March 18 2019

April 11, 2019 - By Area Forester Lisa Deaton Parasitic Plants American or eastern mistletoe, Phoradendrum leucarpum, is a common parasite of oaks and maples in the Coastal Plain of Virginia. Birds carry the sticky white mistletoe seeds from tree to tree. The seeds sprout and their roots grow into the host tree to extract water and nutrients. In our eastern deciduous forests, winter provides a clearer view into the woods. The deciduous leaves... Read More

Centipede-shaped Galleries, Made by a Beetle!

March 13, 2019 - The southern pine beetle typically gets all the attention, but there are other native bark beetles in our forests that often go unnoticed. One such beetle is the hickory bark beetle, Scolytus quadrispinosus. Adults are black, stout, and small – about 1/5 inch long. They fly to the tops of trees and feed on terminal growth, and then bore into the bark of trunks and branches to lay eggs. Females... Read More

National Invasive Species Awareness Week

February 26, 2019 - National Invasive Species Awareness Week kicked off this week. A series of events and webinars offered throughout the week aim to raise awareness and identify solutions to invasive species issues at local, state, tribal, regional, international and national scales. Invasive species are plants, insects, pathogens or other animals intentionally or accidentally introduced into a region where they did not evolve. Their introduction causes, or is likely to cause, economic or... Read More

Forest Health: A Small But Mighty Pest

February 22, 2019 - The southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) (SPB) is a small, seemingly innocuous beetle that brings new meaning to the phrase “small but mighty.” These beetles are known as the most destructive native forest insect in the Southeastern United States. While a single adult beetle is only about 1/8 inch long, the ability to aggregate quickly means these tiny insects can overtake a pine tree’s defenses in a short period of time.... Read More

Field Notes: What’s In The Woods? February 14, 2019

February 14, 2019 - Kissing Trees! by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Valentine’s Day seems like an appropriate time to share these images of “kissing” trees. A tree, bark first, will slowly grow over stationary objects it encounters, such as nails, signs nailed to the tree, or ropes or chains. I am guessing that these formations started when the branch of one tree encountered the trunk of the other tree. A sweetgum and a loblolly... Read More

Forest Health: A Winter Pest Survey

January 24, 2019 - Each month, Field Notes will bring you news from our forest health team. We kick off 2019 with a focus on winter activities and the hemlock wooly adelgid. What do forest entomologists do in the winter? We look for hemlock woolly adelgid! The Forest Health program staff at DOF surveys for many forest pests throughout the year, but the hemlock woolly adelgid is unique in that it is most active... Read More

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today ? December 21, 2018

December 21, 2018 - by Forester Lisa Deaton Surprises We expect to see Christmas trees at Christmas tree farms, but this decorated eastern red cedar is located on the edge of a 2-year old pine plantation. On a recent rainy day, the bald eagle below appeared to be hunting in a clearcut. One of my favorite things about this time of year on the Middle Peninsula is hearing the tundra swans fly overhead. A... Read More

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Virginia Department
of Forestry