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Attend Spotted Lanternfly First Detector Training

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Fairfax County Government Center
12055 Government Center Parkway
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

The spotted lanternfly, a pest that poses significant risk to many agricultural crops and some trees, was found in Frederick County, Virginia in January 2018.  It is commonly associated with the invasive tree-of-heaven.  This pest has not yet been found in Fairfax County, but you can help find it!

Fairfax County is seeking volunteers to help find and identify areas of the county with established tree of heaven.

Join us to learn more about spotted lanternfly and how you can help control it before it infests Fairfax County. The training is a joint effort with Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Department of Forestry.

Please register

 

A Preview of Upcoming Virginia Tree Events

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SAVE THE DATES – February to April, 2019

Tree Farm Dinner

February 21 – King & Queen County, VA

“One-stop shop” for woodland owners wanting to better manage their land and citizen scientists desiring to expand their applied knowledge base! 

Details and registration  

Landowner’s Woods & Wildlife Conference(s)

February 23 – Culpeper, VA (15th annual)

February 23 – Roanoke, VA (new)

This popular event is different every year with diverse topics and speakers throughout the day for you to choose from.  Geared toward woodland owners, and great for citizen scientists desiring to expand their applied knowledge base! 

Details and registration

On-line Woodland Options for Landowners

March 4 – May 24 – from anywhere you can “connect”

Self-paced, with “coach/mentor” interactions.

More information and registration https://forestupdate.frec.vt.edu/landow

Free Seminar:  A Primer on Pruning

March 27 – Fredericksburg, VA

Hosted by the Master Gardener Association of the Central Rappahannock Area

Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Main Branch (1201 Caroline Street,  Fredericksburg, 22401). Free and open to public. 

More information: [email protected]

Virginia Forestry Summit

April 30 – May 3  – Norfolk, VA

For Forestry professionals and Forest landowners organized by VFA, SAF (Virginia Division) and ACF(Virginia Division)

Details and registration forthcoming  

Virginia Forest Health Conference

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Each year the Virginia Association of Forest Health Professionals (VAFHP) holds a conference for professionals and other interested community members who want to learn more about forest health and ecology of the Mid-Atlantic. The 2019 Conference will be held in Blacksburg, VA January 28-29.

Attendees include local, state and federal officials, independent contractors, consultants, horticulture and forest industry representatives and students. We encourage anyone interested in the ecology of the Mid-Atlantic to participate. VAFHP is committed to developing and providing education and training for natural resource professionals. 

This year they will be offering a scholarship which will provide free registration to the conference. Note that the deadline to apply is December 31.  The application for this is available on the VAFHP website.

Agenda and registration 

Review of Virginia Department of Forestry website

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Photo:  Barbara J. Saffir (c)

By Janet Quinn

Want to see beautiful fall-tinged leaves without the crowds? Read on!

While on a wandering web surf, I chanced upon the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) website. The dramatic photo headlining the “Wildfire Situation Report” link caught my eye, and I was hooked.

Under the Current News and Events tab is a Most Requested Information and Services tab. It provides links to contact my local forester, shop for seedlings, or learn about being a wildland firefighter. My favorite, however, is the amazing link to Fall Foliage in Virgina.

Having just spent a weekend near Shenandoah National Park where I saw more rain than colorful leaves, I was eager to learn where and when I might find fall hues. The October 6th Weekly Fall Foliage report had my answers. Well written and informative, its poetic language spoke of “nature’s big wardrobe change,” discussed the impact of weather on leaf color and which trees will change first. It even provided a review of colorful wildflowers to see. The next section is a chart of Virginia Trees and Colors, which appealed to the naturalist in me, and then, best of all, a guide to the first ever VDOF Fall Foliage Driving Tours. The described routes are “off the beaten path,” avoid traffic, and still provide beautiful views of autumn’s trees.

The foliage section of the website provides even more, including up-to-the-minute phone hotlines, places to visit, and a scientific description of why leaves change color.

This gem of a website deserves to be discovered. Give it a try!

Janet is a graduate of the Fall 2015 Fairfax Master Naturalist cohort.

Want to review a resource? We’d love to hear from you. Instructions for submission await your click and commitment.

Register for 14th annual Woods and Wildlife Conference, 24 February, Culpepper

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The 14th Annual Woods & Wildlife Conference will be held on February 24, 2018 at the Daniel Technology Center, Germanna Community College, Culpeper.  On-line and mail-in registration are open.

Pre-registration is due by 14 February. $45/person. $80/couple

Topics:

  • Scientific and social challenges of timber harvesting on private lands
  • Early successional habitat: Why and how?
  • Invasive species update
  • Forest pollinators
  • Case study: The Shenandoah National Park Fire
  • Selling timber: Panel of practitioners
  • Snags: Dead trees are good
  • Introduction to wild edibles
  • Pine savannahs: Where wildlife and pine production intersect
  • Habitat triage and congnitive mapping
  • Frogging by ear
  • Coyotes in Virginia: Here today and here to stay

View presentations from previous conference.

This conference counts toward continuing education credits for master naturalists.