Recent Forestry News

Reforestation of Timberlands Program - 50 Years Strong!

Reforestation of Timberlands Program – 50 Years Strong!

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

Field Notes: Partnerships at Pleasant Grove

Field Notes: Partnerships at Pleasant Grove

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

Field Notes: Buffer Benefits for River and Trail

Field Notes: Buffer Benefits for River and Trail

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

Field Notes: Restoration Planting at the Mariners' Museum and Park

Field Notes: Restoration Planting at the Mariners’ Museum and Park

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

Field Notes: The Early Shrub Gets the Sun

Field Notes: The Early Shrub Gets the Sun

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

Field Notes: Spring Break for Salamanders

Field Notes: Spring Break for Salamanders

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

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: Wandering the Winter Woods

Field Notes: Wandering the Winter Woods

March 16, 2021 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator A few weeks ago, on a cold but sunny day, I visited Paul State Forest in Rockingham County for the first time. It was a great place for a winter woods walk. The Paul became a State Forest in 1962 – a gift to the state from a local judge, John Paul. The forest is included in the Department of Wildlife Resources’ (DWR)... Read More

An Exciting Mass Timber Project in Charlottesville

An Exciting Mass Timber Project in Charlottesville

March 15, 2021 - During a sunny March morning, a team from the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) and the Virginia Department of Agricultural Consumer Services (VDACS) toured an exciting mass timber construction project in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. The building will eventually house the headquarters office of Apex Clean Energy – a locally-based wind and solar energy company – as well as headquarters for Hourigan Development and Riverbend Development. Architects at William McDonough + Partners... Read More

Field Notes: EAB-Killed Ash - Use It or Lose It!

Field Notes: EAB-Killed Ash – Use It or Lose It!

March 9, 2021 - By Joe Lehnen, DOF Forest Utilization & Marketing Specialist, and Katlin DeWitt, DOF Forest Health Specialist The emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that has decimated native ash trees. It has been present in the U.S. since the late 1990s, feeding on and killing ash in Virginia since initial detection in 2008. This insect is native to Asia and most likely arrived on imported wood packaging material. While named... Read More