The results of the Chestnut Ridge Natural Area Preserve spring biotic inventory conducted May 9-12 by Shay Garriock uncovered two rare animal species: a green salamander (Aneides aeneus) and a singing male Blackburnian warbler (Dendroica fusca). The Green salamander was found in a damp rock crevice just below the ridgeline in the north central property region. This species is listed by the VA Natural Heritage Program as S3, which means that it is rare to uncommon in Virginia with between 20 and 100 occurrences. The Blackburnian warbler is listed by the VA Natural Heritage Program as S2B, which means that breeding occurrences are “very rare and imperiled with 6 to 20 occurrences or few remaining individuals in Virginia”. The Blackburnian warblers are establishing territories on the property.

We have hired Curtis Environmental of Pittsboro, NC to do the biological inventory in the Chestnut Ridge Natural Area Preserve. Shay Garriock, zoologist, and Kevin Caldwell, botanist, will team up to do this study. The process will bring these two men into the forest for three individual three-day periods during the growing season. Their first effort will begin this summer and the second effort will take place in the fall. The project will be completed next spring. Their final report will be sent to us and the Natural Heritage Division of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Natural Heritage Division will prepare a management plan for this very special forest.

The proposed inventory, using both qualitative and repeatable, quantitative methods, will sample vascular flora and vertebrate faunal groups. The survey will serve as a baseline biological inventory showing existing conditions. Permanent inventory plots set up for the survey will provide opportunities to measure changes in the forest over time. The inventory will also identify and map unique habitats, natural communities, rare species locations, water resources, and threats to forest health from invasive and pest species.

Bob Gilvary reported that plans have been delayed to put the remaining 2,236 acres of the Gilginia Tree Farm under a conservation easement until it is determined whether it is possible to do this and still have a wind farm on the property.

Bob reports further that he has signed up for a carbon sequestration program on the entire 2,550 acres. At present forest growth rates about 94,000 tons of CO2 could be sequestered per year. The present plan is not to cut any timber on the property for at least ten years to let the large oaks mature more and thus sequester more carbon. In the meantime timber stand improvement will continue to increase growth rates.

According to Chris Ludwig, Chief Biologist, Virginia Natural Heritage Division, the state will do a one day inventory this fall looking for rare forest types located outside but nearby the existing 233 acre preserve.

Boundary signs including the identification of both the Department of Conservation and Recreation and The 500-Year Forest Foundation have been installed every 300 feet around this old-growth tract with blaze markings every 100 feet. The state hired Thompson & Litton, surveyors to do this work. Recently Al Cire, Western Operations Steward with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, inspected the completed work and said the job was well done.

In June 2005 The 500-Year Forest Foundation was awarded $224,130 from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund to purchase 50% of the development rights ($200,000) of the forest to be offset by at least a 50% donation by the Gilvarys. $24,130 was budgeted to pay for appraisals, survey and legal expenses. The actual costs of these services were less than $11,000. The DCR , the Gilvarys, and The 500-Year Forest Foundation will develop a Natural Areas conservation plan for the forest.

Probable or Known Extent of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) infestation across the Clinch Mountain 500-Year Forest

Map showing probable extent of Garlic Mustard
The recent study conducted this spring by Rodney Nice identified Garlic Mustard as a serious threat to the under growth of the forest through much of this forest. See the accompanying chart. Hopefully a program can be designed to stall the Garlic Mustard’s advance upwards in the forest without affecting the pristine streams that flow on the property. To a much lesser degree, three other invasive plants of concern are Japanese Stilt Grass, Ailanthus, and Multiflora Rose.

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Over the last several years Steve Brooks and Maxine Kenny have had a tough time finding help to tend to invasive control in their Clinch Mountain Preserve. Garlic mustard control was to be the focus this spring. The worker who was lined up came just two times. Now it appears that two local boy scouts, one an Eagle and one a Life scout, may be able to help during the summer time. Their effort will be focused on stilt grass and ailanthus control.

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It remains dry here on the Clinch Mountain in far Southwest Virginia! Though the year started out with adequate rain fall, most of the rain passes to the west and north of Scott County. We are now over 3 inches below the normal level for this date! Last year we only received half our normal rain fall and a late freeze was disastrous. Some tree species, spring flowers, and much of our fruit was damaged. (We lost 90% of our blueberries in 2007.

The huge box elder trees that flourish in the lower sections of our property (not in the 500-year forest) seem to have been hurt the most. Many branches lost their leaves last year, thus producing dead limbs which make for precarious situations near our house and farm buildings.

Damage to trees at higher elevations is not as noticeable, especially the old trees which are well rooted. However this may change if the drought continues as we understand it usually takes 2 or 3 years for it to affect most trees.

The invasive plants, such as the garlic mustard, seem to thrive under this climatic stress and its growth may even have been stimulated. It is back in full force this spring. It appears to be most prevalent in the valleys where it is less dry and has spread both up and down the hollers from the trails that run through them. With the help of Dale Fields we have been able to remove a large number of these plants in the Old Growth section of the property. Dale has spent three days pulling and piling the plants in areas where they were most abundant. Though the plants have finished blooming they will not go to seed for some time yet, so Dale will continue to pull them as time allows.

Our mountain springs continue to flow! For that we are thankful. All the water coming to our house is gravity fed and the springs are high enough above us to provide the necessary 40 lbs of pressure. We have the sweetest, purist drinking water available anywhere. Because trees have not been cut on our part of the Clinch Mountain for many years we believe the springs will continue to flow much longer than on other properties where major cutting has taken place. If the drought does continue we may soon be providing water to our neighbors and friends. Last summer many shallow wells and non-forested springs in our region went dry.

April 2007
Anna Hess, Field Biologist, has completed her field work and provided two reports: Inventory of the Brooks-Kenny Tract and Plant Community Analysis of the Brooks-Kenny Tract. This work establishes important forest baseline data. We can now trace the health of the forest, monitor plants with special attention to the six rare species, and provide knowledge to manage the forest appropriately.</p>\r\n<p>Three main forest community types make up the Brooks-Kenny tract: Community I is a relatively young Yellow Buckeye-Yellow Poplar-White Basswood forest found in the northwestern part of the property and in old tree fall gaps. Community II is a Sugar Maple-White Basswood-Yellow Buckeye forest which was found in the northern and central portions of the 500-Year Forest Foundation tract. Community III is a Chesnut Oak-Sugar Maple-Northern Red Oak forest found on the crest of the Clinch Mountain and on its descending ridges.

January 2007
The extensive field work of Anna Hess, Field Biologist, resulted in her written report backed-up by computer files with all the data she had collected over 28 site visits from March to November 2006. She established 32 circular permanent plots randomly spaced through the forest with four smaller herb plots within each of the larger plots. Emphasis was placed on an inventory of trees, flowering plant and ferns. We are reviewing the draft of the report currently.

Fortunately the bulk of the invasives species are on the land below the 500-year forest. They are beginning to creep into the forest. A plan is being developed to control the spread of the invasives.

Probable or Known Extent of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) infestation across the Clinch Mountain 500-Year Forest

Map showing probable extent of Garlic Mustard
The recent study conducted this spring by Rodney Nice identified Garlic Mustard as a serious threat to the under growth of the forest through much of this forest. See the accompanying chart. Hopefully a program can be designed to stall the Garlic Mustard’s advance upwards in the forest without affecting the pristine streams that flow on the property. To a much lesser degree, three other invasive plants of concern are Japanese Stilt Grass, Ailanthus, and Multiflora Rose.

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Former Foundation director Nancy Weiss recommended Austin Jamison, a Habitat Coordinator with Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, for forest work. He has met with Foundation officers and visited the Helms Phillips forest twice. He is taking aim at garlic mustard during the winter of 2013-2014 and his efforts are paid for 100% by the Foundation under its Ecology Wildlife Foundation grant invasives initiative. The forest owners have also used matching grant monies from the Foundation to hire help to clear fallen ailanthus trees from the meadow-forest perimeter. Nancy and Carol Wise visited the forest as a volunteer easement monitors for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation in December 2013. They were welcomed by the Foundation’s new Member Forest sign (and family dog Uno).

For two years in the late 1990’s, Rick and Carolyn traveled the back roads in Albemarle County looking for their special place. In 1999 they found a lovely and unusual site of 206.5 acres south of Batesville in the upper end of “Big Spring Valley”. Their lower valley, at one time an apple orchard, is defined by Castle Rock Mountain on the west and Long Arm Mountain on the east
The largest area of forest lies on the north-eastern flank of Castle Rock Mountain. It covers about 105 acres and is composed of hardwoods, aged between 65 and 85 years. There are three coves with streams flowing into Whiteside Branch. Another section of about 54 acres lies on the western slope of Long Arm Mountain. This forest stand is 90 to 120 years old with some trees measuring 40 inches in diameter at breast height. The three most prevalent species in both stands are chestnut oak, yellow poplar, and northern red oak. A third section, 47.5 acres, of this property was an apple orchard and is now a young forest. This young forest is being excluded from the 500-Year Forest.

Rick Helms and Carolyn Phillips placed their property under a conservation easement in December, 2005 with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. This easement has been modified with language from the 500-Year Forest Foundation. They have given up the right to harvest any timber in the 500-Year Forest, and to further sub divide the property in any way. This transaction was consummated in the fall of 2010.

As owners of a 500-Year Forest for almost eight years now, Hal and Jean can see real progress in their invasive efforts. This year they added 4th year student Michael Jordan to their crew of occasional workers with Peter Mehring, Lee &amp; Kathryn Kolb, Shirley Halliday (reimbursed with firewood), and Ryan Mehring (compensated by University of Virginia’s charity day program). In addition to the routine invasive work done by all, Michael helped with clearing under the electric line and building the new Taylor Creek loop trail.

This beautiful stream in the Kolb 500-Year Forest is flush with melting snow and rainfall. Hal Kolb says, “There is nothing prettier that a stream running through a forest. It seems to me that one of the great contributions of a mature forest is to store water for slow release and botanical nourishment.”
Hal and Jean Kolb are so fortunate to have Peter Mehring continue to help them with invasive control in their forest. In April and May he has divided his working time between oriental bittersweet and garlic mustard. It should be said that Hal and especially Jean spend many hours in their forest removing the noxious plants.

Our attack on non-native invasive plants continues. I checked all the old garlic mustard sites--already marked with orange surveyor’s tape--for new plants and either pulled or squirted them with Roundup. As I pursued garlic mustard and any remaining mile-a-minute, Peter Mehring cut bittersweet vines and treated their cut surfaces with Roundup to kill the roots. We cleared Bristled Knotweed, Polygonum cespitosum, from trails where it was being tracked in both directions and, as stilt grass grew more visible, we put our efforts into pulling it--in a few cases, spraying it. When a split-stem end showed tiny seed development, we bagged our pulled plants and safely cached them inside my garden fence. We made major progress in clearing many sites, and next year we’ll see how thorough we were. Stilt grass patches that have been pulled for two years in succession produced only a few plants this year, and most patches pulled for three years have disappeared.

This has been a good year for the Kolb forest. The Kolbs, with volunteer and paid help, have put a significant dent in the invasive plant population in their forest. There’s now a lot less Ailanthus, Oriental bittersweet, garlic mustard, and mile-a-minute vine.

Peter Mehring (whose work was paid for by grant funds from our Foundation) helped attack bittersweet and pretty well exterminated the autumn olive, and Peter’s sons, Ryan and Adam, assisted. Japanese stilt grass will take years to control but with the Kolbs’ daily surges against invasives and their competent, knowledgeable, and industrious helpers, they are optimistic that they can protect native species in their forest.

Foundation by volunteering to remove non-native invasive <br />plants from the Kolb Forest. Shown here holding Japanese Stilt Grass she has just pulled out, Shirley helped Jean Kolb work over this patch last year before it made seed, so that this year there are only a few new plants to pull. Shirley, a member of the Virginia Native Plant Society, has also pulled garlic mustard, mile-a-minute, and other invasive species in the Kolb forest. She volunteers as well with Stream Watch, a group that monitors the health of local streams.

Back in June, Hal spent a lot of time cutting or pulling Oriental Bittersweet and we’re beginning to see a reduction in the worst places. For most of August, it was too “too darn hot” to be out in the woods doing anything at all. The drought has reduced the stream in the hollow above the house to five very small pools in the exposed bedrock, the least water I’ve observed there in 30 years. It’s too dry to set out more oak seedlings. When it rains and/or the days cool off, we’ll get back in the woods.

On banks and well drained spots, the Stilt Grass is looking deathly dry but, where it grows in low places and has plenty of sun, the Stilt Grass is thick and knee high. After I worked in a really thick patch (to eradicate it) and acquired 21 baby ticks and 29 chiggers on my ankles, I started rethinking my timing. In the past, I left the Stilt Grass (invasive) till later because it blooms so late, but I think I should attack it earlier.

During a cool spell, I re-checked the (Hurricane) Isabel plot and removed the remaining Mile-a-Minute vines left after we’d pulled most of them back in the spring. A fallen tree’s upturned root mass that was engulfed with Mile-a Minute last summer had only one diminished vine on it. A native wild grape was now taking over the root mass.

Tom Dierauf, retired research forester, with the Kolbs assistance, conducted a tree and plant inventory during spring, summer and fall in twelve permanent study plots. In addition the same inventory was recorded in the Natural Heritage plot, bringing it into harmony with the other twelve plots. With this information a conservation plan has been created. The plan calls for the forest to age naturally, invasives to be controlled, and certain trees to be restocked in canopy gaps. The plan is to be reviewed at least every ten years.

The owner of a 25-acre parcel that adjoins the Sunshine Forest emailed the foundation to say she was “super excited” to learn from her friend Tom Wieboldt that she lived next door to a 500-Year Forest. Tom, a retired curator with the Massey Herbatorium at Virginia Tech, described the mission of the foundation and his work inventorying the Sunshine plants, which included rare finds. The neighbor continued, “This is like a dream come true for me, as I am a tree-lover, and feel strongly that old growth forests are important.”

Tom Wieboldt, the Virginia Tech botanist associated with the Massey Herbarium, visited this forest twice in 2013. Among his findings: Black-seed ricegrass, a three-parted violet and a lot of Goldies fern. The last of the three was a new record for Montgomery County. In addition to Tom’s efforts, the owners have scheduled the next round of invasives work by Deb and Neil Ames of Neil Ames Horticultural Services for late winter or early spring. That work continues under the invasives initiative announced at the October forest owners luncheon that has the Foundation forgoing the forest owner match and footing 100% of the bill.

Joanna Sunshine eloquently expresses her deep environmental concerns. These are “our mountains, our valley, and our forest. We live and work in our farmhouse studios surrounded by the gently rolling, tree covered Blue Ridge. It is a privilege… indeed a gift to live here. We see our task as one of stewards, custodians of the land, of improvement and preservation of the land for generations to come. It is up to us to leave this a better place. We believe no one, no purpose; no cause has the right to destroy nature.” Thus, the Sunshines enthusiastically embraced the idea that their forest could become an old-growth forest.