Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program are hosting a Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tour in Frederick County on October 17. We will be looking at forest and wildlife management on private lands across the counties. Registration includes lunch, refreshments, and tour transportation.
Frederick County boasts not only the northernmost point in the commonwealth, but also a diversity of farms and forests equal to anywhere, with a powerful history from Native American influence to Civil War scars. Past and present land uses have shaped and continue to influence the region. This story will weave through the sites we will visit from mountain forestry to the threatened wood turtle habitat.
Stop 1: Mountain Forestry at Devils Backbone State Forest. This relatively new 700 acre state forest that is just over the county line in Shenandoah is steep, beautiful, and under active management for timber and wildlife. Both natural and artificial regeneration are on display since a timber harvest in 2018 and an improvement thinning for better hardwood growth & habitat. The view alone is worth the effort.
Lunch: Farm fresh with a story @ West Oaks Farm Market
Stop 2: Landfall Lodge. Many conservation practices at this popular wedding venue likely go unnoticed by most lovebirds. But feathered friends, turtles of greatest conservation need, and many other wildlife species, game and non-game, really LOVE this place! The pollinator meadow is more than a photospot, it’s a valuable habitat along Hogue creek. This farm and several nearby lands support the greatest concentration of threatened wood turtles in the world. These animals can live up to 80 years in the wild.
Stop 3: Franklin Tract & Timber. This relatively small tract of woodland has received lots of attention for timber and wildlife management. With any luck, we’ll get to not only talk about hardwood management for timber and wildlife but also see a timber harvest in action that is in accordance with the landowner’s management plan. Oh, and we might learn what bats have to do with it all.
$45/person; $80/couple
https://forestupdate.frec.vt.edu/landownerprograms/field-tours.html