Recent Forestry News

The Quaker Run Fire from a Wildland Firefighter’s POV

January 5, 2024 - By Joe Rossetti, DOF Hardwood Initiative Coordinator – The Quaker Run Fire in Madison County garnered a great deal of attention, and rightly so. A fire this large, at nearly 4,000 acres, rarely occurs in Virginia. Suppressing this fire proved particularly challenging because, on top of the usual fall fire seasonal weather conditions like low humidity and gusty winds, the region was experiencing a persistent drought. It also occurred on... Read More

Meet the Interns!

July 28, 2023 - Each year, DOF hires interns for about two months to support our work and introduce students to the world of forestry. Read on to meet this summer’s interns and learn a bit about what their experience was like. Interning in DOF’s eastern region this summer was Virginia Tech forestry student Evan R. During his internship, Evan joined DOF foresters to work on projects at several eastern state forests, as well... Read More

Citizen Science? Yes, You Can!

March 17, 2023 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator and Cory Swift-Turner, DOF Communications Specialist   A middle school class documents the spring’s first dogwood and redbud blooms in their schoolyard. A family records the birds that visit their feeders in the winter. A retiree places wing tags on monarch butterflies before migration. A hunter reports sightings of sick deer to a wildlife agency.   What do all of these scenarios have... Read More

The Smell of Spring?

February 17, 2023 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator I’m on a mission to teach you that plants are cool. They may look like they’re just sitting there, but they’re hiding superpowers. Watch this blog in 2023 for more posts about amazing Virginia plants!   In the dead of winter, from the muck of a woodland seep, rises a hooded figure of mottled purple, the color of dead flesh. Undeterred by snow... Read More

Which Settled First: the Oak or the Acorn?

January 25, 2023 - By Dean Cumbia, Director of Forest Management — As the site of the first permanent English settlement and a hotbed of activity during the American Revolution and Civil War, Virginia has a rich history.  All throughout that history, trees have played a role.  Have you ever wondered whether some of the first trees settlers saw when they arrived are still standing? DOF recently tried to find out. Last December, DOF... Read More

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