The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the most comprehensive law protecting imperiled plants and animals in the world. Because of the ESA, hundreds of plants and animals have been saved, including some of our most iconic birds: the American Bald Eagle, the California Condor, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Whooping […]
October is Riparian Buffer Month. How Could I Not Write About That? Note: This post was written by a real person–me. All photos by R. Whitescarver unless otherwise noted. Walking under the shade of the trees we planted along Middle River, I look up and see abundant acorns. I smile. […]
Note: This article was first published in the Virginia Mercury on 9/21/23 and was written by a real person–me. We are in a wonderful, historic, frustrating, and devastating transition to renewable energy. Solar panels will be on buildings and parking lots and in highway medians, landfills, and brownfields. Utility scale […]
Every Tree Matters: A Rant on Riparian Buffer Maintenance Note: A real person wrote this post—me. I’ve been planting trees professionally for almost 40 years. I’ll bet I planted half a million trees before most of you reading this post were born. In addition, Jeanne and I have our own […]
Our farm in Virginia’s legendary Shenandoah Valley affects the waters of America’s largest estuary over three-hundred miles away—the Chesapeake Bay. How we manage our land profoundly and inextricably affects groundwater and surface water. In other words, our turf affects what’s in the surf. Surf and Turf It was a special occasion […]
Note: This post was written by a real person–me. All photos by me unless otherwise noted. March Fifth, Calving Season Begins Tagging Calves To promote good health and improve herd management, we catch each newborn calf before it is 24 hours old and put a tag that matches the mother’s […]
Note: This blog was written by a real person–me. The first Earth Day was in 1970; atmospheric carbon dioxide was 325 ppm. Earth Day 53 is April 22; atmospheric carbon dioxide now exceeds 418 ppm. This year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet.” First, the Good News The best news […]
This post has been revised with breakthrough information on eliminating House Sparrows from your nesting boxes. It was initially posted in 2017, and revised on 3/6/2023. The House Sparrow is perhaps the most adaptable and prolific bird species on the planet. Often called English Sparrow, its scientific name Passer domesticus is […]
Note: This was written by a real person: me. Farming is the heart and soul of the Shenandoah Valley and the number one industry in most counties. But perhaps not for long. As I drive around, I can hardly look anywhere without seeing houses, cookie-cutter subdivisions, or big box stores […]
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has a program that helped us be more efficient and safer farmers with conservation vouchers. It’s called the Healthy Streams Farm Stewardship program. It awards $3,000 worth of conservation vouchers per acre of riparian forest buffer up to $20,000. In addition, the program allows […]
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