Recent Forestry News

Field Notes: Virginia Wildland Fire Academy 2018

Field Notes: Virginia Wildland Fire Academy 2018

June 13, 2018 - by Fred Turck Prevention – Program Manager- Emergency Response Branch  The Virginia Wildland Fire Academy 2018 is now just a memory for more than 320 folks. Students, instructors and staff put in many hours of work in the classroom and field to better prepare themselves and those they were instructing to be safer and more effective emergency responders. Smokey Bear knows all too well that we cannot prevent every wildfire... Read More

DOF Employee Earns 2018 National Smokey Bear Award

DOF Employee Earns 2018 National Smokey Bear Award

May 23, 2018 - The 2018 National Smokey Bear Awards were recently announced and Fred Turck (wildfire prevention program manager), along with other prevention specialists from the Mid-Atlantic Forest Fire Compact, were awarded the highest honor, the Gold Smokey. This award program is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council. Since 1957 this prestigious award program has recognized organizations and individuals for outstanding service of at least... Read More

DOF in the Spotlight at Project Plant It! Event

DOF in the Spotlight at Project Plant It! Event

May 11, 2018 - by Suyapa Marquez, Senior Community Affairs Representative for Dominion Energy DOF representatives visited Oak Grove Elementary  (Richmond Public Schools) on April 24 to support an interactive Arbor Day event with the third-graders. The students were culminating their study of Project Plant It!, the free environmental education program created by Dominion Energy to teach kids about the importance of trees and how to plant trees. The rainy day didn’t dampen the enthusiasm... Read More

DOF Headquarters Named

DOF Headquarters Named

May 10, 2018 - Virginia Department of Forestry Dedicates Building to Former State Forester Jim Garner The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) dedicated and named its headquarters office the James W. Garner Building. Jim Garner served DOF for more than four decades. He was appointed Virginia State Forester in 1984 and held that position for 21 years. During Garner’s tenure with DOF, the agency enjoyed significant success and under his leadership, Forestry grew from... Read More

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today? May 9, 2018

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods Today? May 9, 2018

May 9, 2018 - by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Flowers, Birds and Bugs When the songbirds and wildflowers reappear each spring, it feels a bit like a reunion with long lost friends.  The migratory songbirds fill the air with familiar songs.  The month of May brings many beautiful wildflowers, including its namesake, the Mayapple (below). Golden ragwort (top photo) is a common wildflower in cutovers, and this large patch of ragwort (below) provides some... Read More

Petersburg Third-Graders Boost Science Skills With Project Plant It!

Petersburg Third-Graders Boost Science Skills With Project Plant It!

April 24, 2018 - by Suyapa Marquez, Senior Community Affairs Representative for Dominion Energy Page Hutchinson, DOF’s forest education specialist, gave a special forestry presentation to all third-graders in Petersburg public schools on March 19. Students from the area’s four elementary schools came in two shifts to Walnut Hill Elementary School for an educational field trip that will help boost their science skills when the SOL testing period begins. The field trip is part of... Read More

Field Notes: Hope for Hemlocks?

Field Notes: Hope for Hemlocks?

April 19, 2018 - by DOF Forest Health Specialist Katlin Mooneyham Since its introduction to the United States in the 1950s, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) has been an unwanted resident in our hemlock forests. Feeding on eastern and Carolina hemlocks, this tiny sap sucking insect has established itself throughout most of the native range of both species. Unlike most insects, this tiny insect is active in the winter months, feeding on the stored nutrient... Read More

DOF Sends Help to TX and OK

DOF Sends Help to TX and OK

April 18, 2018 - A very long siege of wildfire activity, which shows no signs of coming to an end, is taking its toll on firefighting resources in Texas and Oklahoma. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, homes have been lost and there have been several injuries and fatalities over the last several weeks. Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) Chief of Operations Ed Zimmer said, “Our friends in the Southwest are on their... Read More

Virginia Department of Forestry Warns of Increased Fire Danger

Virginia Department of Forestry Warns of Increased Fire Danger

April 11, 2018 - In response to weather forecasts for Thursday, April 12, the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) urges people to help prevent wildfires by postponing open-air fires until conditions improve. The combination of strong winds, increased temperatures and low humidity will create extremely dangerous fire weather conditions Thursday. Fire Weather Watches have already been posted by the National Weather Service (NWS) covering northern and western Virginia for Thursday afternoon. Temperatures are expected... Read More

Field Notes: Everyone's Happy When the Dozer Shows Up

Field Notes: Everyone’s Happy When the Dozer Shows Up

April 11, 2018 - by DOF Forester Sarah Long On March 2, most of Virginia experienced a prolonged period of high intensity winds at speeds of nearly 70 MPH. This was a long day for all volunteer and career first responders, beginning for some at 5 a.m. and not ending until well after dark. The Virginia Department of Forestry was very active during that day. This is my second spring fire season and I... Read More