Bald Eagle Chasing a Turkey Vulture

Three cool things about this video:

1. You can distinguish the eagle's very flat profile from the vulture's dihedral profile;
2. Impressive flying by the vulture, which often don't even flap their wings; and
3. The eagle's aggression ends harmlessly.

WVDNR Regulations Public Meetings

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources

Public meetings on proposed hunting, trapping and fishing regulations.
Please join WVDNR on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at one of the following locations:

• Glen Dale - John Marshall High School (Commons)
• Moorefield - South Branch Inn (Rt. 220)
• Elkins - DNR Operations Center
• Fayetteville - New River Gorge, Canyon Rim Visitor Center
• Logan - Chief Logan State Park Conference Center
• Parkersburg - City Building (Lobby) 

More info: http://www.wvdnr.gov/2016news/16news034.shtm

Online course for Virginia forest landowners

From  VT News:

March 7, 2016

Virginia forest landowners looking to gain an understanding of how to keep their woods healthy and productive can do so in the comfort of their own home.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment are offering an online course to help private landowners become better stewards of their land.

The 12-week Online Woodland Options for Landowners course, which runs from May 2 to July 22, teaches basic management principles and techniques for both novice and veteran private forest landowners.

Materials provided include four reference books and a tree identification CD in addition to online reading materials and assignments. Natural resource professionals and experienced landowners serve as mentors for the students and

Which species are safe to eat?

from the Gazette-Mail:

John McCoy: As WV’s fishing season nears, which fish are safe to eat?

On four pages of West Virginia’s fishing-regulations booklet, anglers can learn how many of the fish they catch are safe to eat and how often it is safe to eat them.

Produced by the state Division of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Public Health, the four pages also spell out which waters are home to fish that might be contaminated by mercury, PCBs and other toxic substances.

Despite all the detail the agencies provide, questions still arise.

“Typically we get calls in spring, when folks really get active and get out there fishing,” said Bret Preston, the DNR’s assistant chief in charge of fisheries. “We also get calls when we make a change in the advisories, which makes sense. People want to learn about the changes, or to clarify what they’ve read.”

It’s been a few years since any substantial changes were made to the advisories, but Preston said that shouldn’t diminish their importance in people’s minds.

“We put those advisories in the regulations booklet so people can make educated decisions about the fish they catch and eat,” he added. “These are advisories, not rules. It’s left up to the individual to