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​Virginia Department of Forestry: Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration
 
By Jim Schroering, VDOF

In the 1600’s, longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) covered approximately 90,000,000 acres of land from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia, and it was probably the most common tree species of Virginia’s Coastal Plain.  Maintained by fire, the longleaf pine ecosystem is unique and biologically diverse.  Today, due to conversion to other pines, land clearing, lack of prescribed fires and urbanization, there are only approximately 3,000 acres of longleaf pine remaining in Virginia.  On those acres, there are fewer than 200 mature, cone producing trees.
 
The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) has partnered with other conservation agencies, including The Nature Conservancy, the VA Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Old Dominion University, Meadowview Biological Center and private landowners, in a concerted effort to reestablish longleaf pine in its native Virginia range.
 
Research has shown that longleaf pine grown from native Virginia seed sources thrive best in our state.  To that end, DOF and DCR recently completed pine cone collections at South Quay Natural Area Preserve in Suffolk. These cones will be shipped to a nursery in North Carolina where the cones will be processed. The seed will be dried, planted in containers and eventually shipped back to Virginia for planting in 2017.  Seedlings from cones collected in 2015 will soon arrive back in Virginia to be planted this year in Suffolk, Sussex, Isle of Wight and Southampton counties.
 
In 2005, DOF established a longleaf pine seed orchard in New Kent County. Eventually, cones from those trees will be collected and those seeds will be planted at Garland Gray nursery in Sussex County. Grafting of scion wood from mature longleaf pine trees onto the orchard stock may speed up the process of cone production. DOF hopes eventually to raise 1,000,000 longleaf pine seedlings each year at Garland Gray, enough to plant 2,000 acres of native, Virginia trees.
 
As the longleaf restoration program develops, there may be volunteer opportunities for Master Naturalists to assist in pine cone collection, grafting, weeding and outreach. Many of the program partners hold tours and field days on their properties, so you can be a part of history by participating, learning and volunteering in one of the most important ecosystem restoration projects in North America. Here are some websites that may be of interest: DOF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForestryVA/; DCR’s Natural Heritage Program: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/; and The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia website:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/virginia/.

Virginia Office of Environmental Education Eliminated

By J. Michael Foreman, Director, Virginia Office of Environmental Education, VDCR

Some of our Virginia Master Naturalists have been involved with the Virginia Office of Environmental Education (VOEE), attended the statewide environmental education conferences that they organize, or participated in one of the regional environmental education teams with which they partner.  Therefore, we want to share with you that the Office of Environmental Education is being eliminated as a budget reduction measure.   

The closing date is December 1.  

While this is an informational piece to all of you, it is also an appeal for continued progress. We must not lose the ground we have gained. Our staff here has been successful moving environmental education forward in the Commonwealth. Our national analysis 2 years ago showed successful states had the following combination of programs and policies. First, they had state support. Second, a not for profit entity to create opportunities, advocate for issues and provide professional development. Third, there existed some sort of certification to provide a consistent basis for teaching content and pedagogy. Inherent is the collaborative relationship with each state’s Department of Education. Virginia was on its way toward those success metrics. Also, please remember the OEE is listed in the Code of Virginia under Section 10.1.
 
Many of the pieces of this progress will fall away as we are eliminated. Programmatic areas/topics such as Virginia Naturally, Adopt-a-Stream, professional development and training, our Collective Impact Reporting function, support of the newly-formed Virginia Association for Environmental Education (VAEE) and continued participation/support of the Virginia Resource Use Education Council (VRUEC), our march toward a credible and nationally-leading EE Professional Development Certification Program to name a few will probably not be supported in the same way as it has been. We will have the list of what is being kept and worked on by the Agency by the December 1st date.
 
Here is our appeal. The EE profession needs you to consider stepping up individually, as an academic institution, as an organization to incorporate these programs or pieces of programs. We are sure there are differing priorities among our stakeholder base. While we may not agree on every aspect and how to move forward, to have our Office go away and the rest of us not consider what is left and moving forward would be disheartening. Additionally, this would not help our Commonwealth’s citizens be better stewards of the environment we all cherish.

Practically speaking, our annual EE conference scheduled for mid-November will proceed as planned. 
 
Again, our deepest thanks for your work efforts and sharing through these years. We’ll see everyone soon.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality: Monitoring and Improving Water Quality

​Restoring or improving water quality in Virginia’s rivers and streams is one of the agency’s top priorities. This is accomplished through water quality monitoring, assessments of the water quality data to identify impaired waters, and a number of regulatory and non-regulatory, incentive-based approaches to restore water quality. Success occurs when impaired waters have been restored or exhibit great improvements because of the implementation of pollution controls. A map and summary of some 20 success stories illustrating a long-term commitment to partnerships among local, state, federal and private stakeholders in Virginia is now available to view.
 
Improvements to water quality are also made possible through the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund.  The Fund provides low-interest loans to local governments for needed improvements at publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities and/or collection systems. The Fund now includes agricultural best management practices, Brownfield renewals, living shorelines, land conservation, stormwater and other water quality improvement projects. The State Water Control Board will be meeting in December to determine the final project list of loan recipients for water projects.  Here is the draft Project Priority List for funding.   DEQ, on behalf of the State Water Control Board (SWCB) administers the program and the Virginia Resources Authority serves as the financial manager.
 
The annual 2016 water monitoring plan is now available to view. The plan summarizes the water quality monitoring activities conducted at more than 1,000 sites each calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December and contains detailed information on DEQ’s monitoring activities including the station locations, specific conditions, frequency of monitoring and costs. A station list by county identifies the specific sample site of each station including important data helpful when using U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps or state watershed boundary maps. DEQ’s efforts are supplemented through the work of citizen monitors, including a number of VMN chapters. 

By Ashton Stinson, Program Director, Blue Ridge PRISM

The Blue Ridge PRISM, in conjunction with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), hereby announces the availability of Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) funding to assist landowners with the removal of invasive plants.  The dollar amount available to an eligible landowner depends on many factors but could be as high as $22,000 spread over a three-year period.
 
Who is eligible?
Owners of nonindustrial private forestland and agricultural producers are eligible to apply for this program.  The land in question must be in the 10-county area served by the Blue Ridge PRISM (Albemarle, Augusta, Clarke, Greene, Madison, Nelson, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties) and be managed by the applicant.  Your local NRCS District Conservationist (see below) can walk you through other eligibility criteria that rarely apply and answer any questions you may have.
 
Other program details
Each landowner accepted into the RCPP program will sign a 3-year Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contract with the NRCS. A $643,915 pool of funds has been reserved in the RCPP program solely for work on invasive plants within this 10-county area.  

Each application must include treating at least one of the following 10 high priority invasive species: ailanthus (tree-of-heaven), autumn olive, Chinese privet, garlic mustard, Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese stiltgrass, kudzu, mile-a-minute vine, multiflora rose, or oriental bittersweet.  Other species on the Invasive Plant Species List published by the VA Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Division may also be included in the application.  
 
How and when to apply
The current expectation is that the program will be open for applications sometime in October or November 2016.  The first contracts are expected to be signed with landowners in the December to February timeframe.  However, there are important steps that you can take now in order to submit an application.  

First you must establish farm records with USDA’s Farm Service Agency and verify compliance with the provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 or “Farm Bill”.  Then you will work with your local NRCS District Conservationist and possibly your local Virginia Department of Forestry Area Forester to develop a conservation plan that outlines the specific species that will be treated and where the treatment areas are on your property.    If you want to have your contract signed over the winter in order to be ready to treat invasive plants when they first emerge in the Spring, then taking these steps now is important.  In many cases it will be helpful to develop the conservation plan before the plants go dormant later this year. Your NRCS District Conservationist will walk you through all the required steps.

Where can you get more information?

Contractor opportunity
As part of this program the PRISM and the NRCS will make available to landowners a partial list of potential contractors who provide services related to invasive plant removal and restoration of native species. If you are qualified to do this work, have relevant experience and references, are properly certified, and would like to be added to the list, please forward your information to info@blueridgeprism.org. The PRISM will be offering a contractor training session on identifying and treating invasive plants between now and the end of the year.
 
The Blue Ridge PRISM
The Blue Ridge PRISM is a collaboration of private landowners, conservation organizations, federal agencies, state agencies, local government entities, and companies involved with treating invasive plants.  Our mission is to reduce the impact of nonnative invasive plants in our 2.8 million acre, 10-county region. The Blue Ridge PRISM is a project of the Shenandoah National Park Trust, which is a 501c3 nonprofit and the fiscal sponsor of the Blue Ridge PRISM.
 
Membership is free and participation is open to the public. We invite you to attend our quarterly meeting on November 2, 2016 at Ivy Creek Natural Area in Charlottesville to ask questions and gain a better understanding the RCPP funding opportunity.  For more information, please visit www.blueridgeprism.org. To be added to our mailing list or to request additional information, please email info@blueridgeprism.org.
​

This year marked the fourth annual photo contest held at the Virginia Master Naturalist statewide conference.  This contest acknowledges the wonderful talent that exists in our membership, as well as the important role that photography can play in teaching and learning about natural resources.  Each chapter was allowed to submit one photo to each of three categories: Virginia Flora, Fauna, and Other Species; Virginia Landscapes and Habitats, and Virginia Master Naturalists in Action.  Many chapters had internal competitions to select their winners. 

All entries were displayed at the statewide conference, and guest judges visit to select the award winners.  This year’s guest judges included:

• Karen Dillon – freelance reporter, columnist, and editor for the Laker Weekly
• Catriona Tudor Erler – internationally recognized freelance garden author, photographer, and speaker
• James Erler – specialist in architectural photography, developer of a photo database system for garden photography

And, without further ado, here are the 2016 photo contest winners!  See the bottom of the article for a slide show of many of the winning photos.

Virginia Flora, Fauna, and Other Species
First Place: “A Brighter Day” by Robin Jordan, Roanoke Valley Chapter
Second Place: “Swallowtails in Flight” by John Bunch, Historic Southside Chapter
Third Place: “Velvet Sunset in Big Meadows” by Tucker Caldwell, Merrimac Farm Chapter
Honorable Mention: “Fishing Spider in Tree” by Nancy Joel, Northern Neck Chapter
Honorable Mention: “Tree Swallow” by Mary Foster, Southwestern Piedmont Chapter

Virginia Landscapes and Habitats
First Place: “Ebb and Flow” by Arlene Crabbe-Kilduff, Northern Neck Chapter
Second Place: “King’s Creek” by Sara Lewis, Historic Rivers Chapter
Third Place: “Teaching Marsh” by Daina Henry, Peninsula Chapter
Honorable Mention: “Serenity Sunset” by Emmalee Smith, Pocahontas Chapter
Honorable Mention: “September Morning” by Joe Dupuis, Roanoke Valley Chapter

Virginia Master Naturalists in Action
First Place: “Getting Down and Dirty” by Capt. Debbie Ritter, Eastern Shore Chapter
Second Place: “Vernal Pool Monitoring” by Elisabeth Wilkins, Peninsula Chapter
Third Place: “Wild Thing…You Make My Heart Sing” by Patty Maloney, Historic Rivers Chapter

By Portia Belden, Certified Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer, Historic Rivers Chapter

It’s an amazing feat to produce a blockbuster film that captures the awe and curiosity of viewers, a film that raises questions and promotes discussion, a film that begs for sequels. The Historic Rivers Chapter has accomplished such a cinematic wonder with their Wildlife Camera Trap Project. 

The Historic Rivers Chapter has an on-going collaboration with our local sponsor, York River State Park, as well as the Department of Conservation and Recreation, one which emphasizes conservation of natural resources. We knew that there was a critical need for photographic evidence of the existence, activity, behavior, and habitat of the wildlife within the park. With a first-time director (Dean Shostak), inexperienced (wildlife) camera crews (at least 24 fellow Master Naturalists), untested equipment (unknown detection needs and capabilities) and filming in a vast, biologically diverse location (York River State Park, over 2,500 acres), we began setting cameras in March, 2015, using game trails as location guides. We recorded GPS coordinates and habitat location. Cameras were re-located approximately every 3 weeks. When retrieve
d, each camera typically produced 100-200 images and videos. 

Despite areas difficult to access and the steep learning curve of new technology, our cameras successfully provided photographic evidence of wildlife that has been sighted and anecdotally noted for years at York River State Park—deer, otter, beaver, coyote, fox, and even bobcat; thus not only confirming the existence and territory of these animals but also providing park biologists a means to assess animal health and critical habitat information for future bike path and campsite planning. Park visitors can be guided to observe animals and/or their tracks.  Chapter outreach will include working with the park on public exhibitions/presentation of the images and videos. With the data, we are also proud to be developing a new and very unique spreadsheet which will provide images and territory information for any given species with the click of a mouse.  
Our first year of filming wrapped up in March, 2016. We have discussed adding more cameras and, given our initial success, we hope to expand our efforts to include other Virginia state parks. Our project is a blockbuster indeed!