April 28, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator As a botany enthusiast, I spend a lot of spring hikes looking down, seeking out flashes of white and pops of color from early spring wildflowers. Fortunately, when I get tired of staring at the forest floor, there are blooms to be seen at eye level and above, thanks to our spring-blooming native trees and shrubs. I should first note that all of... Read More
April 26, 2021 - By Scott Bachman, DOF Senior Area Forester, Blackwater team Now that it’s April I will declare that spring is officially here in southeastern Virginia! Earlier this month, I was traveling a back road in Southampton County when ahead I saw a line of small objects on the highway. As I got closer, I could see they were birds. The lead bird was larger than the four that followed. My first thought was... Read More
April 23, 2021 - By Lori Chamberlin, DOF Forest Health Manager Hemlock trees have been under attack since the introduction of the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that was first discovered in eastern North America in the 1950s. These small insects settle at the base of hemlock needles, feed on plant sap, and surround themselves in soft, white ovisacs that resemble cotton balls. They may look harmless, but the hemlock woolly adelgid has... Read More
April 20, 2021 - By Todd Groh, DOF Forest Resource Management Program Manager The Reforestation of Timberlands (RT) Program is turning fifty years old this year. This program, managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), is a good example of what can be done when people come together for a common goal. More than fifty years ago, Virginia looked a lot different than it does today. Although forests were still prevalent across the state,... Read More
April 19, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Pleasant Grove Park in Fluvanna County offers a nature-rich experience for visitors and a variety of habitats for wildlife. Behind the scenes, it’s also a model for collaboration between county government and a plethora of partners. DOF has been a part of several education and stewardship projects at the park, including establishment of a tree identification trail, providing trees for planting, and most... Read More
April 15, 2021 - By Deya Ramsden, DOF Middle James River Forest Watershed Project Coordinator A newly expanded riparian forest buffer in Nelson County is not only protecting the Rockfish River, but also enhancing wildlife habitat and beautifying a local trail. Last winter, Rockfish Valley Foundation President Peter Agelasto met with Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) staff to discuss improving the Rockfish Valley Trail. His idea was to expand the existing buffer, to better... Read More
April 12, 2021 - By Meghan Mulroy-Goldman, DOF Community Forester Photography by Amanda Shields, The Mariners’ Museum and Park Right in the heart of Newport News, you will soon be able to see a shortleaf pine forest. On a perfectly sunny March day, 700 shortleaf seedlings from the Virginia Department of Forestry’s (DOF) nursery found a new home at the Mariners’ Museum and Park. With an historic range covering parts of twenty-two states and... Read More
March 31, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator With recent warm weather, Virginia’s woods are greening fast. After a dormant winter, plants gear up for photosynthesis again, using carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight to make food. You might be familiar with some early spring wildflowers that emerge on the forest floor, taking full advantage of the leafless canopy to gather some sun of their own before being shaded out by trees.... Read More
March 26, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator The woods are alive, with the sound of … frog calls? Yes, it must be spring in Virginia! Beginning in late winter, ponds, swamps, sloughs and vernal pools become concert halls for breeding choruses of frogs and toads, known collectively as anurans (nerd-word of the day). Joining them are the much quieter – but no less numerous – salamanders. These amphibians spend most... Read More
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
