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Registration Open for Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Managers Course

Registration Open for Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Managers Course

July 6, 2021 - Prescribed burn professionals are encouraged to complete training and certification to become a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager. The VA Certified Prescribed Burn Managers Course will be offered virtually on September 21-24, 2021. Registration is open until September 9, 2021 for the Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Managers Course. Prerequisite work is required. View more information in our Event Calendar.

An Ode to Dead Trees

An Ode to Dead Trees

June 9, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Contributors: Lisa Deaton, Kenny Thomas, Chris Thomsen    Recently, I’ve received photos from several DOF staff, which I’d planned to use in a “What’s in the Woods Today?” post. This time, all the photos had something interesting in common: trees that were either going, or gone. Fortunately, a dead tree can be full of life, in more ways than one. This sassafras in... Read More

"Do You Work in the Forest or the Mill?"

“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

Witnessing a Miracle

Witnessing a Miracle

May 24, 2021 - By Sarah Parmelee, DOF Forestland Conservation Coordinator This spring I didn’t go to many tree plantings, but I was able to take part in something very important, and in a way, miraculous. I am a country mouse if ever there was one, and even though Washington D.C. is just a an hour away, it feels like traveling to another country to leave the hills of Warrenton and make the trek... Read More

Growing a Food Forest

Growing a Food Forest

May 18, 2021 - By Meghan Mulroy-Goldman, DOF Community Forester Ever wonder where the fruit in the grocery store comes from? In today’s supermarkets, you can find fruit and nuts from across the country and globe. You might find bananas from Guatemala, almonds from California, and apples from New York. Many familiar foods grow on trees and can be grown right in your backyard, in city parks, or even on street trees! While growing... Read More

The Early Caterpillar Gets the Leaf!

The Early Caterpillar Gets the Leaf!

May 12, 2021 - By Katlin DeWitt, DOF Forest Health Specialist Spring is a welcome season for many living things, signaling the end of cold weather and resurgence of color through plants blooming and leafing out. This period of awakening also means that insects emerge and utilize tender foliage for their own development. Forests support many insects throughout their life cycle, but some Lepidopteran species (butterflies and moths) are called early season defoliators, meaning... Read More

Woodland Weirdos

Woodland Weirdos

May 7, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator There’s a lot going on underfoot in Virginia’s forests, from wild to wonderful to just plain weird. Some of our strangest plants break all the rules we learned back in elementary school. They aren’t green, they don’t photosynthesize, and they don’t even look like plants. At first glance, these odd growths emerging from the leaf litter appear to be mushrooms. A closer look... Read More

Arbor Day in Pandemic Times

Arbor Day in Pandemic Times

May 4, 2021 - By Molly O’Liddy, DOF Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator Despite these uncertain times, communities across the Commonwealth have continued to celebrate their love of trees in Arbor Day celebrations. In Virginia, Arbor Day is annually recognized as the last Friday in April. Traditionally, cities and towns have held parades, concerts and festivals that bring the whole community together. During the first Arbor Day, held in Nebraska in 1872, one million trees... Read More

Goshen Wildfire Shines a Spotlight on Cooperation

Goshen Wildfire Shines a Spotlight on Cooperation

May 4, 2021 - April 30 is the last day of Virginia’s spring fire season, and it typically goes out like a lamb. Not this year. DOF personnel were on high alert all day last Friday, after the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning, meaning low humidity and high winds would create conditions ripe for wildfires. In fact, on Friday and Saturday, DOF personnel responded to eighteen fires which burned more than... Read More

Take Action! May is Wildfire Awareness Month

Take Action! May is Wildfire Awareness Month

May 1, 2021 - May 1, 2021 is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day and the entire month of May is considered National Wildfire Awareness Month. The Virginia Department of Forestry is joining in to dedicate May to prevention and preparedness.  Prevention and suppression of wildfires is a key part of the Virginia Department of Forestry’s (DOF) mission; the agency achieves this through education, as well as responding to and suppressing wildfires.  DOF responders suppress more... Read More