If you are planning to use firewood this fall or winter, for home heating or a campfire, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) encourages you to take steps to protect Virginia’s forest ecology and your wallet.

Ahead of the holiday season, the National Park Service (NPS) has planted a new National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in President’s Park. The new tree, a 27-foot white fir (Abies Concolor) from Middleburg, Pa. was donated by Hill View Christmas Tree Farm, and will be the first white fir to serve as the National Christmas Tree.

The National Weather Service has issued coastal flood warnings from 6:00 p.m. this evening through 8 a.m. Saturday with the possibility of 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground during high tide in low-lying areas along the tidal Potomac River and its tributaries. Storms thus have the potential to affect the Occoquan waterfront. Additionally, heavy rain on Friday may lead to road closures associated with flash flooding from streams that enter Town.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program announced Oct. 12 they've received $2.4 million+ in grants for projects to protect and restore Virginia’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 14 grants announced today will generate $2,115,402 in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $4.5 million+.

To protect and restore native plants and promote healthy and diverse forests, the National Park Service (NPS) proposes to reduce overabundant deer populations in several national parks in DC and Maryland.

Having received more than 85 calls this year about snakebites, the Blue Ridge Poison Center at UVA Health is sharing tips on how to avoid snakebites and what to do – and not do – if you get bitten.

During the “Bee Encounter at Rippon Lodge,” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 7, visitors to the historic property, at 15520 Blackburn Road in Woodbridge, will have the chance to learn about the history of beekeeping and the intriguing life of bees. “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Rippon Historic Site Manager Jessica Alicea.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, DWR (formerly the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, DGIF) is coordinating testing on a selection of deceased birds after the Northern Region area of Virginia began receiving an increase in the number of calls starting May 18 about sick/injured young birds, specifically Grackles and Blue Jays.