Hot and Dry in Virginia

It's been two weeks since Governor McDonnell warned Virginians about the dangers of fire during our hot, dry summer. The threat continues to be a real one.

The eastern portion of Virginia shows KBDI above 600, and central Virginia is above 500. The dry conditions and lack of forecast rain have prompted many localities to enact burn bans to reduce wildfire risk.

Open burning isn't our only potential cause of wildfire. Machinery operating in brown grass or dry fields can produce a spark that will ignite that material. Pay attention when welding; using farm equipment; towing trailers or vehicles or doing any activity that can cause sparks. The Charlottesville Newsplex reported today that "a farmer was driving his tractor, collecting what hay he could for himself and the landowner" when a 75-acre fire resulted from that activity. The fire occured in Fluvanna County.

Do what you can to reduce wildfires - check to see if there's a burn ban for your area. Always notify your local law enforcement or fire department when you burn. Stay with your fire at all times. Have a fully-charged hose, a rake, wet towels and a bucket of water with you when burning.

Spring Fire Season Ends with Number of Wildfires Down Nearly 30 Percent

A mix of snow and rain events combined with Virginia’s 4 p.m. Burn Law led to a 29 percent decrease in wildfires during the state’s spring fire season, which runs from Feb. 15th through April 30th each year, compared to the same period in 2009. There were 400 wildfires during the 75-day spring fire season this year compared to 563 wildfires last spring.

The number of acres burned in the Commonwealth declined 42.5 percent (3,240 in 2010 and 5,635 in 2009). Note: All figures are for privately owned and state lands in Virginia – fire activity on federal land is not included in this report.

“These are significant decreases,” said State Forester of Virginia Carl Garrison. “The precipitation we experienced this spring in conjunction with our decades-old 4 p.m. Burn Law really made a difference this year. While we did experience several large fires in Southwest Virginia, overall the threat to our citizens was diminished.”

Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) personnel protected a total of 411 homes and other structures from the ravages of wildfires this spring. One home was damaged.

In the Southwest Virginia counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Henry, Lee, Russell and Scott, VDOF efforts were supplemented by inmate crews from the following detention facilities: Wise Correctional Unit Camp 18; Appalachian Detention Center; Patrick Henry Correctional Unit, and the Regional Jail located in Duffield. Additional support was provided by personnel from the Virginia Department of Transportation and the US Forest Service Ranger District in Wise.

VDOF Regional Forester Ed Stoots said, “The Corrections and Jail crews did some really good work in some of the state’s most difficult terrain. We owe a debt of gratitude to them as well as to VDOT and the USFS folks for helping us fight some serious wildfires.”

Garrison said, “With just 183 VDOF wildland firefighters to protect nearly 16 million acres (24,531 sq. miles) of forestland, we have to rely on the assistance of a cadre of on-call firefighters across the state as well as the inmate crews in Southwest Virginia. All are well-trained in how to fight such fires. And of course, the support we received from VDOT and the US Forest Service is very much appreciated.”

As in years past, the No. 1 cause of wildfires in Virginia is people burning debris. Other major causes include arson, children, cigarettes tossed from vehicles, power lines, camp fires, and mechanical equipment. These “human activities” account for 97 percent of the wildfires in the state; only about 3 percent are caused by lightning.

VDOF Director of Resource Protection John Miller reminds everyone that just because spring fire season has ended, it doesn’t mean that a wildfire can’t still happen. “Just because you can burn before 4 p.m. doesn’t necessarily mean you should burn. Before starting your fire, check the weather conditions (winds under 15 mph, humidity above 30 percent); prepare the burn site properly; have tools (shovel, rake) and a water supply on hand as well as a fully charged cell phone to be able to call 911 as soon as a fire escapes your control.”

Governor McDonnell Announces Conservation of 2,500 Acres of Forestland in Isle of Wight County

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) are partnering with Isle of Wight County to permanently conserve a forested tract of land that helps protect an important source of drinking water in Hampton Roads. It is considered ideal habitat for the globally rare longleaf pine, and features more than five miles of frontage on the Blackwater River.

Commenting about the partnership, Governor McDonnell noted, “The conservation of these 2500 acres is another step forward towards our goal of conserving 400,000 additional acres of Virginia land by the end of my term. This acquisition was made possible through a partnership by the Department of Forestry, the Virginia Land Conservation Fund and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s this kind of cooperation that will ensure success in our bipartisan efforts to conserve more of Virginia’s environmentally important and sensitive areas. I commend the efforts of all involved, and extend a special thanks to those who have been leading the initiative, in particular Thomas Wright, a member of the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors, Paul Burton, interim Isle of Wight county attorney, Mark Popovich, Isle of Wight assistant county attorney, and The Nature Conservancy’s Brian van Eerden.”

Isle of Wight County recently completed the purchase of the 2,507 acres that offer a wide range of public benefits (recreation; forest habitat; protection of old-growth swamp forest; wildlife conservation, and drinking water protection). Isle of Wight County officials, together with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), approached state agencies to secure funding for a permanent conservation easement on the property. The Department of Forestry has secured $850,000 in federal Forest Legacy funds; the Virginia Land Conservation Fund will contribute $566,000; and the US Fish and Wildlife Service will add $75,000 through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act program.

More than 700,000 residents of Norfolk, Virginia Beach and portions of Chesapeake and Portsmouth receive their drinking water from the Blackwater River and other sources. Having a large portion of the adjacent river’s forestland protected through a conservation easement would help ensure clean water for those people as forests function as filters to keep pollutants from entering the river.

Ownership by the County of Isle of Wight should afford new recreational opportunities on more than five miles of the Blackwater, which was recently designated a State Scenic River. By establishing designated launch sites on the property, canoe and kayak enthusiasts will have additional opportunities for some great flat-water paddling. And the network of forest roads offers ample opportunities for walking, hiking, bird watching and other low-impact recreational activities.

The sandy and sandy-loam soils of the upland portions of the land offer ideal conditions for pine management, particularly for longleaf pine, which occurred on the site until the 1970s. This globally rare ecosystem, which stretches from Virginia’s coastal plain to Texas, is considered one of the most ecologically diverse in the world – with more than 900 endemic plant species. It is also one of the most endangered, having been reduced to just 3 percent of its original range. (Longleaf pine was prized for its straight, strong wood – most ships’ masts were longleaf pines – and for its disease and pest resistance.)

State Forester Carl Garrison said, “This forest has so many public benefits, it just has to be conserved. We are very excited to be partnering with Isle of Wight County and our colleagues at DCR to ensure that a significant portion of this property remains a working forest. And we are grateful to The Nature Conservancy, the US Forest Service’s Forest Legacy program and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their help in this regard.”

New Blog Focuses on Recreation

Recreation Forester Erik Filep created a blog to raise awareness about Virginia's State Forests, especially the "recreation" aspects.

Take a look at http://virginiastateforest.blogspot.com/

Western Virginia Faces Very High Threat (Class 4 of 5) of Wildfires Today

Officials with the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) have raised the wildfire threat level to Class 4 (Very High) for the western 1/3 of the state. Conditions (above-average temperatures, low humidity and elevated winds) were already ripe for wildfires during the past four days – and a number of fires burned several hundred acres over the weekend – but with temperatures expected to approach 90 degrees today, the threat level increased from Class 3 High on Monday to Class 4 Very High today.

Under Class 4 conditions, fires start easily from all causes (including cigarettes tossed out car windows) and spread rapidly and with great intensity. Fires that burn in light fuels, such as grass, pine needles, leaves and twigs, may quickly develop high-intensity characteristics, including long-distance spot fires and fire whirlwinds, normally associated with fires in heavier fuels. Outdoor burning of any kind is not recommended during Class 4 conditions. And the state’s 4 p.m. Burning Law remains in effect.

“The threat to life and property is very high,” said Ed Stoots, regional forester for Western Virginia. “We had several large fires over the weekend and the conditions are even worse now.”

Wildfires are dangerous and should be fought only by trained professionals. Call 911 as soon as a fire is beyond your control. The life you save might be your own.

Healthy Watershed Through a Healthy Forest Initiative

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities has awarded the VDOF a $400,000 grant to introduce a sustainable forestry demonstration project in Central Virginia’s South Fork Rivanna River Reservoir Watershed that will link landowners’ financial interests and their forestland management practices in this area to urban consumers of the municipal water supply to influence landowner behavior in a way that reduces the costs of both urban and rural users of the water resource.

“Expensive, engineered technologies address the pollutant of concern,” said Buck Kline, VDOF’s director of forestland conservation, “but often contribute little to improving other environmental values, such as air quality, biodiversity or carbon sequestration. This project will move beyond basic research to increase forest cover and the ecosystem services forests provide.”

The services of greatest interest are water quality (sediment and nutrient load reduction) and carbon sequestration. Virginia’s Nutrient Credit Trading Program recognizes that establishing new forest cover through afforestation generates a nutrient load reduction (nitrogen and phosphorus) credit larger than any other offset practice.

The three-year project in Albemarle County will educate local governments, businesses, environmental entities and landowners on the value of forests and the ecosystem services they provide. The South Fork Rivanna Reservoir is the principal water source for 82,000 people in the Charlottesville area, and its watershed supplies approximately 96 percent of the surface water supply for the area.

Project partners include: VDOF; Conserv; Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority; Albemarle County Service Authority; Rivanna River Basin Commission; Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District; Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission; City of Charlottesville; County of Albemarle, as well as watershed landowners and businesses. The “Forests to Faucets Advisory Council” will offer technical and policy support to VDOF and Conserv.

Shenandoah National Park to Ban Outside Firewood

The Emerald Ash Borer is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S. and is spread by the movement of infested firewood. Beginning March 1, 2010, persons entering Shenandoah National Park (SNP) may not bring firewood or wood scraps. Visitors must gather or purchase firewood within the park. Learn more on the SNP Web site at http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/firewood_eab.htm