August 2025
Good morning Forest Update Subscribers,
Every night, as soon as I finish dinner and set my fork down, my dogs gather around me and start barking loudly in my face. Why? Because it is time to walk. They have full access to the outside any time after we get home. But they want ME to go with them. My husband calls their behavior bullying. I call it love.
Lately, the timing of this post-dinner constitutional has been just before dusk. And this has allowed me to see bats hunting over the barnyard. While it’s hard for me to identify them in the twilight, I’m guessing they are big brown bats. Although populations of some species of bats have plummeted because of white-nose syndrome, populations of big brown bats are doing well. These mammals eat up to 1/3 of their body weight in insects each evening.
The coolest bat sighting I’ve had was in Trancoso, Brazil. From the hotel balcony, I watched a bat pollinate a banana flower. I’ve posted my photo of the banana flower (without the bat) on the VFLEP Facebook page.
If you want to learn more about the 17 documented species of bats in Virginia, visit the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Guide to the Bats of Virginia.
If your farm and/or forestland was damaged by Hurricane Helene, you may be eligible to apply for a block grant to help you recover your losses. Learn more: https://dof.virginia.gov/disaster-relief/.
We have SO many educational programs for landowners coming up in the next few months! I hope to see all of you at one (or more) of them.
Jennifer
| Full Events Calendar
Featured Events: The award-winning Fifteen Minutes in the Forest video series features a wide array of topics and are shown the 4th Friday of each month at 12:15 PM on Facebook and YouTube Premier.
Watch 150+ Fifteen Minutes in the Forest videos on our YouTube Channel. Generation NEXT Legacy Planning Discussions about what happens to family forestland when mom and dad die are difficult. A well thought out plan can help things go smoothly. Our experts provide useful techniques to help you plan for the future of your land.
Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tours The Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program partners with the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation to offer an annual series of Tree Farm Tours. These tours bring woodland owners together to visit an active Tree Farm, learn about the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation, and provide fellowship among those who care about healthy woods and active woodland management. You do not need to be a Tree Farmer to attend. Registration deadlines are 2 weeks prior to the tour date.
Beyond the Basics Woodland Owner Retreat: Managing Your Forest for Wildlife This 1.5-day program will take a deep dive into managing wildlife (both game and non-game species) on your land. Participants will receive classroom, field trip, and hands-on experiences.
The Woods in Your Backyard Online Course Based on the guide of the same name, this course from University of Maryland Extension provides strategies to landowners of small parcels of land (1-10 acres) that improve the stewardship of their property for personal enjoyment and environmental quality.
Join the first-ever Virginia-North Carolina Woods & Wildlife Conference. Modeled after the ever-popular Woods & Wildlife Conferences in Culpeper and southwest Virginia, this one-day event will consist of classroom sessions and a tour of the Roseburg Forest Products mill.
Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tours Join landowners, natural resource professionals, and other outdoor lovers for day-long tours that explore a variety of sustainable forestry and wildlife management practices. Tours visit private, public, and industry-owned lands. Past tours have visited seedling nurseries, timber harvesting operations, sawmills, pine plantations, cooperages, hardwood forests, arboretums, Christmas tree farms, elk habitat, fisheries, hunting plantations, and more.
Timber Cruising for Woodland Owners Hiring a professional forester is the best way to ensure an accurate accounting of your timber volume and value. And it’s important for you to understand where these numbers come from. This hands-on class will teach you how a timber cruise is conducted.
Visit the Blue Ridge PRISM website for programs on nonnative invasives Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility. |
