VNPS Shenandoah Chapter

SEPTEMBER 11 MEETING:
We will meet Thursday September 11 at 6:30 at Turner Ashby High School, 800 North Main Street Bridgewater, to attend the Forest Service public meeting concerning the proposed plan for the George Washington National Forest.

The Forest Service meeting will deal with issues relating to the management of wilderness and roadless areas. The motto of the VNPS is "conserving wildflowers and wild places" so this meeting will be of great importance to us.
Please come.
Chris Bowlen will distribute copies of "Virginia Mountain Treasures" to members at the meeting. This lists the main places needed for protection in our area.

May Newsletter

2008-05-02T07:08:00.000-05:00

May2008.pdf

April newsletter

2008-04-17T08:22:00.000-05:00

Apr2008.pdf

March Newsletter

2008-03-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

Mar2008.pdf

February Chapter newsletter

2008-02-01T15:21:00.000-05:00

Feb2008.pdf

January 2008 Newsletter

2008-01-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

Jan2008.pdf

November Newsletter

2007-11-07T14:33:00.000-05:00

Nov2007.pdf

October Newsletter

2007-10-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Oct2007.pdf

2007-09-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

NO SEPTEMBER MEETING

Our Next Meeting with be on October 11 at BRCC. David Carr, Curator of the State Arboretum at Blandy will speak to us on the research they are doing.
On November 8 Richard Stromberg of Front Royal will be giving us a presntation on how to use Newcomb and other tricks of plant identification.

Shenandoah Chapter 20th Anniversary Picnic

2007-05-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Saturday June 2, 2007

May 2007 meeting

2007-05-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

May 10 at Mueller's Marsh.

Shenandoah April newsletter

2007-03-29T08:45:00.000-05:00

Next Meeting: April 12. We will meet in the parking lot at Blue Ridge Community College at 6:30 and do our annual tour of the spring flowers along the Middle River.
April Newsletter

March Newsletter, Shenandoah

2007-02-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

March Newsletter

Next Meeting: March 8 7:30 at Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Room 126C
Speaker/Topic: David Hannah from Wild Virginia will discuss the March 10 public meeting about the National Forest Revision plan.
This is an important topic so members are urged to come.

Sunday 25th Field Trip Cancelled

2007-02-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

In case you were planning on going on the Shenandoah Chapter Field trip to see winter trees today at BRCC Arboretum, Joe Murray has been recovering from a recent illness and would just as soon not go out today. Hope to reschedule NEXT winter.

February 2007

2007-01-29T09:57:00.000-05:00

February newsletter
Next Meeting: February 8 7:30 at Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Room 128
Speaker: Mark Healey, Timber Management Assistant, George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, North River Ranger District
Topic: “Managing the George Washington National Forest”
This is an important topic so members are urged to come.

January 2007

2007-01-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

Janaury newsletter

Next meeting: January 11, 7:30 at Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Room 126C
Speaker: Elwood Burge, District Ranger, North River Ranger, District George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.
Topic: Upcoming Forest Plan Revision. This is an important topic so members are urged to come.

Winter Tree Identification Outing: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2 PM at the Blue Ridge Community College Arboretum. Meet in the parking area near the foot bridge. Leader Joe Murray. Check the www.vnps.org, Shenandoah Chapter just prior to the outing for any changes.

Join our fellow Chapter member Joe Murray for a Sunday afternoon walk to identify trees still in their winter finest. Joe is a certified arborist, director of the BRCC Arboretum and Assistant Professor of Biology at BRCC. Though only 14 years old, the Arboretum contains over 700 trees and represents over 150 native and naturalized tree species. The Arboretum was founded by Chapter member Anne Nielson and continues to receive our support annually.

November 2006

2006-10-31T13:14:00.000-05:00

November Newsletter

Next Meeting: Thursday November 9th 7:30. Blue Ridge Community College, Plecker 122, Speaker: Eric Jones, Professor of Biology at Mary Baldwin College will give the talk “Too Steep to Plow: Why some spots may be much better than others for wildflowers.”

Fall 2006 Newsletter

2006-10-02T08:56:00.000-05:00

Click here for the Fall 2006 newsletter.

Field trip:

October 6, 2006 9:30AM North River Gorge Hike(Hike 28 on the newer Forest Service map, listed as easy 5 miles) Meet at parking area near Wild Oak Trail head( Rt 730, Stokesville entrance) Call Chris Bowlen(540-289-6801)

Chapter July Field Trips

2006-07-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Hike with Wild Virginia(National Forest Watch Group from Charlottesville). Sunday July 9, 2006
Native and Alien Plants in George Washington National Forest(GWNF) 10 AM meet Elkhorn Lake*. Continue on FR 95 to the end. Road now becomes WV RT 32. Go approximately 5 miles to FR 64. Roadsides along Forest Roads in the GWNF provide openings for a wealth of native plant life. Plants have access to more sunlight and water than under forest canopies resulting in a large diversity of native species throughout the growing season. With diverse plant life, come prime insect and bird habitat. Alien and invasive alien plants also come, carried in by passing vehicles. In order to comply with road safety guidelines, the Forest Service sprays roadsides with herbicides in keep roads open for vehicles. The Shenandoah Chapter of the Native Plant Society has been monitoring Forest Road roadsides in the GWNF for the past several years. We have been collecting plant inventories for both native and alien species and have made recommendations to the Forest Service about areas that need to be sprayed and areas that should not be touched. This year is the first opportunity to see if they have used our recommendations during the herbicide application season which ends around July 4. Join us in the GWNF to learn about native, alien and invasive plants. We will be stopping along FR 95 to monitor the impact of invasive species and to see what areas have sprayed. We will proceed on to FR 64, Shaws Fork, to see what roadsides with primarily native plants look like. Bring lunch and water. Easy walking along the road; we can decide how far to walk the day of the hike. • *To Reach Elkhorn Lake: RT 250 West of Staunton. Turn Right on 715(becomes FR 96) About 6 miles FR 96 ends at a T intersection with FR 95-turn Right to Elkhorn Lake (within a mile). We can carpool from Elkhorn Lake.

July 22. Spend the day with Jay Shaner. Meet 8:30 AM SHARP at the picnic area at Ramsey’s Draft (Route 250 about 15 miles WEST of Churchville). See what is in bloom including native orchids. Spruces Knob, Sinks of Gandi and Elk Mountain are a partial itinerary. Bring your lunch - this is an all day trip. Notify Jay if you plan to attend. 540-886-5763.