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–Contributed by Donna Cottingham, VMN-James River Chapter.

​While many people find it difficult to coexist with beavers on their property, others are interested in ways to live peacefully with the engineering mammals. Skip Lisle was in Virginia recently to lend an expert hand to several landowners in the area who decided killing  beavers was not their best option for coping with them.
    Lisle, with a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Conservation, has spent most of his life working on beaver conservation by helping landowners, National Parks and various government agencies overcome issues with beavers. His interest in beavers first began when he was a teen living in Vermont, where he created several devices to help his parents prevent a road from flooding on the family property after beavers dammed a culvert. 
   “Beavers are very adaptable creatures and many people don’t realize how beneficial they are,” said Lisle. He explained that beaver dams can create fertile wetlands that can support quality wildlife habitats for other animals. In Nevada, beavers turned an area of the desert into a wetlands oasis that now supports mule deer, Sandhill cranes, and other wildlife. In fact, many states are re-introducing beavers back into the wild. 
    Beavers build dams to protect their lodges, and the vegetation that grows in the newly flooded area becomes food and building materials for them. Wetlands created by beaver dams can increase biodiversity, replenish drinking water aquifers, trap and store carbon, and store ground water in dry areas. One small town in Alaska even gets its drinking water from a large reservoir created by a beaver dam.
    Scientific studies prove beaver ponds are also beneficial to fish. Not only do the ponds support insects and invertebrates for fish food, they also provide a safe nursery to protect young fish from predators. Additionally, beaver ponds also provide refuge, food and cover for a wide variety of ducks.  
    Although they were once a thriving species in the hundreds of millions in North America, beavers nearly went extinct as settlers trapped and killed them. On the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journals about waters everywhere teeming with beavers. In fact, he even wrote that the men enjoyed hearty meals of cooked beaver tails.  
    Realizing the benefits that eco-engineering beavers bring to the environment, Lisle has spent years advocating for beavers and perfecting the device that he first created as a teenager. Today he calls his device the “beaver deceiver,” and travels the U.S. helping to settle human – beaver conflicts by installing his flow device.

Editor’s Note: Katie Martin, biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, reviewed this article and noted that DWR uses a similar device on many of its Wildlife Management Areas where there are issues with beavers flooding the roadways, as they too want to keep the beavers there for all their amazing wetland benefits! 

–Contributed by Jerry Nissley, VMN-Fairfax Chapter

Recently, several members of the Fairfax Chapter (FMN) collaborated with colleagues of Friends of Accotink Creek in Fairfax County to create educational outreach films that emphasize the importance of vernal pools. FMN volunteer Kathryn Pasternak volunteered to film and produce the video. The team brought in vernal pool expert Mike Hayslett as the subject matter expert. Mike is the Principal of Virginia Vernal Pools, LLC, as well as a Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer. The finished product beautifully illustrates the coordinated efforts of concerned citizens and passionate master naturalists to educate others about vernal pools in Fairfax County. The newest version of the video was released at the end of March 2023.

Kathryn Pasternak became an FMN in 2021. She is also a veteran of wildlife, conservation, and cultural films and recipient of two National Emmy Awards for ‘Best Science and Nature Program’. She spent 15+ years at National Geographic Television working on high-end television programs for international distribution. Since 2007, she’s been producing media independently both as a freelancer and small business owner.

This version of the video is targeted for school aged learners, cleverly using a teen as a primary host. But do not let his young years fool you – he already knows his stuff because he has been to “frog school”. FMN volunteers that helped Kathryn with the project are: Beverley Rivera, Sarah Glassco, Kim Schauer, Ana Ka’ahanui, Tammy Schwab, and Ashley Zywusko (now in Central Rappahannock chapter).

This quarter, we share some timely news from an agency that is not one of our VMN sponsors, but is a trusted source of information on a subject that greatly affects Virginia Master Naturalists – ticks!

Lone Star Ticks and the Heartland Virus
–Contributed by David Gaines, State Public Health Entomologist, Virginia Department of Health

Last Friday (March 24th) three members of our vector-borne disease team at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) spent an hour doing a tick survey at a park in Henrico County where we were able to collect 10 adult-stage, and six nymph-stage lone star ticks.  Therefore, it appears that the season for tick-borne disease transmission is already upon us here in Virginia.  Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), are, by far, the most common cause of tick bites to people in areas of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge and in any areas of Virginia that are below 1,400 ft elevation.  Furthermore, lone star ticks may remain active in the field fairly late into the season, as one of our epidemiologists identified Virginia’s first recorded case of Heartland virus in November of 2021.   This illness resulted in the hospitalization and death of a man in his late 60s, and we believe that he was exposed to Heartland virus through the bites of infected larval-stage lone star ticks, or possibly to the bites of larval-stage Asian long-horned ticks, while he was hiking on his Piedmont farm in late October.  We found both species of ticks to be present when we surveyed for ticks around the hiked area on his farm the following June.  

The Heartland virus has probably been in Virginia for as long as lone star ticks have been here, but was not recognized as a human pathogen until 2012 when the CDC identified its first Heartland virus case in a Missouri patient.  Since then, Heartland virus cases have been identified in numerous midwestern states surrounding Missouri, as well as in Virginia’s neighboring states of Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina.   A Heartland virus illness produces many of the same symptoms that are associated with ehrlichiosis, but as it is a viral infection, patients do not respond to the antibiotic therapy prescribed for ehrlichiosis.  As symptoms of Ehrlichiosis can also have some similarities to those of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the attending doctor decided to test the patient for Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and as this test was positive, and RMSF is a reportable disease, it was reported to our Epidemiology program at the Virginia Department of Health.  That same day, on seeing the report, one of our astute vector-borne disease epidemiologists requested that the hospital put the remnant RMSF-positive serum sample in a -80 freezer, and then send it on dry ice to the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch for Heartland virus testing.  Note:  Lone star ticks commonly carry a non-pathogenic Rickettsial agent called Rickettsia amblyommatus which causes patients to test positive on testing for RMSF.  
 
Unfortunately, the following day, the patient died of his illness, and when the CDC received the remnant serum sample requested by our epidemiologist, it tested positive for the Heartland virus.  Therefore, in addition to ehrlichiosis, alpha-gal syndrome, tularemia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Virginia citizens and doctors now have one more recognized illness associated with lone star tick bites that they need to be aware of.   The Heartland virus is mainly associated with lone star ticks, but laboratory evidence has shown that Asian long-horned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis) can also be infected with the Heartland virus.  Furthermore, Asian long-horned ticks are known to transmit a related virus to people in Asia that is known as the “Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome virus” (SFTS virus).  The SFTS virus is known to annually result in a number of fatal illnesses in older-aged patients in East Asia.    

Additional Resources

• Tick Borne Disease in Virginia Flyer from the Virginia Department of Health – This fact sheet contains images for identifying different species and life stages of ticks as well as information on the various diseases they can transmit.
• Virginia Tick Survey by the Virginia Department of Health – See county-based results from the VDH tick survey
• Bugs and Human Health – This section of the VDH website has helpful information on tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases and how to prevent them.
• HB2008 – This legislation was enacted in 2023. It directs the VDH to convene a multi-stakeholder working group to study and make recommendations for reducing the occurrence and impact of tick-borne diseases in Virginia. Their findings are to be reported by November 1, 2023.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tick Information – This site contains lots of useful educational resources.

Each year, VMN chapter leaders work hard on annual reports that compile their membership and volunteering statistics and describe some of their most impactful projects from the year.  It’s exciting for us to hear about their accomplishments, and it is clear that Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers are continuing to make important impacts in their communities and to benefit Virginia’s waters, woods, and wildlife.

Below, we present some of the 2022 data through a table of quantitative outputs and an impact statement that will be submitted to Virginia Cooperative Extension and other sponsors.  To learn about more stories of volunteers and their projects, check out our 2022 VMN Program Awards announcement.

​2022 Virginia Master Naturalists contribute to natural resource education, citizen science, and stewardship across the Commonwealth

Relevance

Americans’ interest in nature is growing. There is a large constituency of people, from both urban and rural communities, engaged in non-consumptive uses of natural resources such as wildlife viewing, and studies show this population is growing. Parks and natural areas in Virginia are experiencing record visitation, and people also seek new ways to connect with nature at home. Research also shows, however, that Americans still face a significant gap between their interest in nature and their ability and opportunities to pursue that interest. Individuals need opportunities to be actively involved in exploring, caring for, and observing nature in their local communities. Furthermore, because the most impactful experiences in nature are deeply social, opportunities to connect people with nature through social groups are needed.  

At the same time, Virginia is facing difficult natural resource challenges, such as loss of forestland, sea level rise, and pollution of our waterways. State and local natural resource agencies need help to accomplish their missions, address these natural resource challenges, and reach more sectors of our population. Public engagement is critical to successful conservation and management of Virginia’s woods, wildlife, and waters.

​Response

The Virginia Master Naturalist (VMN) program addresses these needs by supporting a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities. With 30 chapters across Virginia, the program aims to extend the capacities of both state and local natural resource agencies and organizations to be able achieve their missions in new ways, engage new audiences, and work towards creating a citizenry more informed about and involved in natural resource conservation and management. The program, because of its chapter-based structure, also promotes learning about, exploring, and stewarding natural areas through social groups.  
 
Every year, hundreds of Virginians become new VMN volunteers through training and service. The process for becoming a Certified VMN typically takes 6 to 12 months. One starts by completing a 40-hour basic training course offered by one the local chapters of the program. An additional 8 hours of continuing education and 40 hours of volunteer service are also required to become certified or recertified. Volunteer service hours are recorded in four primary areas: education, stewardship, citizen science, and chapter leadership. At the statewide level, the program is sponsored by seven state agencies, and on the local level, chapters partner with dozens of conservation and education organizations.

​Results

The VMN program currently has 2,400 volunteers who reported service in 2022. These volunteers completed more than 43,000 hours of basic training and continuing education in 2022. They also contributed significant volunteer time in the areas of education, citizen science, stewardship, and chapter administration, amounting to more than $6.5 million in contributions to natural resource conservation in Virginia (based on IndependentSector.org value of a volunteer hour.) Since the program’s inception in 2005, VMN volunteers have contributed more than 1.8 million hours of service with a value of $49 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

In 2022, VMN volunteers contributed more than 53,000 hours of stewardship, valued at $1.6 million, to improve local natural resource conditions on more than 500 sites through invasive plant management in parks, management of habitats for pollinators and other wildlife, maintenance of hundreds of miles of trails, and creation of more than 60 new habitat sites through planting and restoration projects. Volunteers also improved public lands through sustained efforts to clean up litter. For example, VMN volunteers in the Southern Piedmont Chapter organized regularly scheduled public events to pick up litter along area trails and waterways in Mecklenburg County. Along with removing several tons of litter, these events engaged other members of the community, and the VMN volunteers shared information about conservation and stewardship with attendees. The Historic Rivers Chapter conducted cleanups at more than 25 different parks, roads, trails, and shorelines in James City and York counties, and they were recognized for their work with the “Adopt A Trail Group of the Year” award from the Capital Trail Foundation. To increase the impacts of their work, the volunteers collected over 1,000 pounds of soft plastic and used it to earn durable plastic benches made by Trex, which the chapter has dedicated to the memory of three deceased volunteers. Their work has not only removed harmful plastics from the environment, but also honored beloved friends and provided more resting spots for people to enjoy local parks and trails. 

​Volunteers also contributed more than 75,000 hours of time, valued at $2.3 million, to more than 100 nature-based citizen science, community science, and crowdsourcing studies. For example, VMN volunteers in Arlington launched a local phenology project to monitor seasonal changes in native plants and investigate how habitat influences plant development. Their data also are part of a national database used to learn about climate change impacts. Volunteers in nearly every VMN chapter conducted biological and chemical monitoring of Virginia’s streams and rivers, resulting in data used by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other partners to identify potential stream health issues and alert communities to health risks posed by bacterial contamination. VMN chapters also adopted 32 of 65 loops on the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail, conducting quarterly visits at hundreds of sites to report on site conditions and wildlife observations. Their data helped the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources promote publicly-accessible places to watch wildlife in communities all over Virginia and to document species that visitors are likely to observe at those sites.

​In addition, volunteers made more than 288,473 direct contacts through educational programs in their communities that totaled 42,300 hours of service, valued at $1.3 million. In one new program launched in partnership with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, VMN volunteers helped educate members of the public about changes they can make to reduce conflicts with black bears. They made more than 8,500 contacts with their “Living With Bears” booths at the Virginia State Fair, GoFest in Roanoke, and several local community events. Based on the questions and comments received, it was clear that their message was impactful. Volunteers also made specific efforts to connect with underrepresented audiences. For example, VMN volunteers in the Middle Peninsula Chapter partnered with local bird club and NAACP chapters to host a bird walk for Black Birders Week. Volunteers in the Rivanna Chapter collaborated with partners to train young people in one of Charlottesville’s most diverse urban neighborhoods to become Green Ambassadors, promoting tree plantings to reduce urban heat island effects. Fairfax Chapter volunteers reached out to Spanish-speaking audiences with information about stream health and other nature topics at events in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods and during Latino Conservation Week. 

​On top of their contributions to these many conservation projects, VMN volunteers also contributed 40,000 hours of time, valued at $1.2 million, leading and managing our local chapters. The unique structure of the VMN program relies on volunteers to lead the day-to-day local operations of the program, including recruiting new volunteers, organizing training courses, developing local projects and partnerships, and tracking volunteer activities. Several hundred VMN volunteers provide this local leadership, without which the program would not exist. In 2022, these leaders organized 27 basic training courses, graduating more than 400 new VMN volunteers. They worked to re-organize those courses to be more engaging, accessible, and effective, which has resulted in more than 87% of 2022 basic training course graduates already contributing some volunteer service.