Fall Foliage Fun

Dear Reader,

What a wonderful time of year and a little easier to enjoy with the recent rains. I’ve noticed the tupelo leaves are nearly gone, the black walnut basically are and most of the remaining green leaves will soon dissipate and reveal the colors beneath. With the hot dry end of summer, I’d expect not quite the grandeur of autumns past but it’s always a treat to watch.

I encourage you to do more than just watch. Get out and walk among some trees, through a forest, go for a hike with a young person, enjoy the smells, sounds and sensations of this unique time of year in a unique area of the world.

Virginia Department of Forestry Fall Foliage Blog: http://fallcolorva.blogspot.com

Some coming events:

34th Annual Fall Foliage, Forestry & Wildlife Bus Tour
- Featuring Oct 15, Rappahannock/Page Counties: Join us for a different look at forestry & wildlife management from where it begins in the soils and how they change with elevation, aspect, forest types and geology. We will begin the day in the Piedmont of Virginia and end in the Shenandoah Valley - a geologic transect over the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

- Tours will also be lead through Russell/Wise Counties (Oct. 29)and King & Queen County (Nov. 10)
3rd Annual Forest Landowner Weekend Retreat: October 30-31, 2010
At Twin lakes State Park in Green Bay Virginia. Learn about forest management, fish pond health, timber sales agreements, forest fragmentation, estate planning and invasive species.
Acorns Needed!
The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) collects acorns to preserve native Virginia tree species. Growing Native is a year-round volunteer project that collects hardwood seeds and plants trees to help restore and protect rivers and streams in the Potomac River watershed. Citizens can help preserve native Virginia tree species by collecting acorns and delivering them to the VDOF nurseries.

National Forest Products Week: Oct 17-23
Compared to all other materials, nothing compares…. Wood is arguably the most versatile, flexible, strong, forgiving and beautiful raw material in the world. What else can be used to build a boat or a bridge, carve a figurine or fork, frame a house or picture or even be used to make medicines, pencils and heat? Read the proclamation…
You can celebrate by recognizing some of the ways you depend on “Goods from the Woods” everyday. It’s celebration worth because the source of the raw materials used comes from a “Treemendous” example of a renewable resource, a managed forest. The next time you see a working forest, you might wonder for a moment what many products might come from it besides the obvious.
For a partial listing of the less obvious wood products: http://www.ca.uky.edu/forestryextension/Publications/FS0202.pdf

Novice Youth Deer Hunt & Workshop: Dec. 11 - Woodbridge
The Novice Youth Deer Hunt is an opportunity for youth, ages 12-18, that have either no or very little deer hunting experience to learn about deer and deer hunting and participate in a deer hunt with a non-hunting adult companion on the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. $20 registration fee. Please see link above for more information and a registration form.

For more information, contact Ron Hughes, Wildlife Lands Manager at 540-899-4169 or ron.hughes@dgif.virginia.gov.