One of eastern North America’s greatest native trees is the American Sycamore, Platanus occidentals. Perhaps the most endearing feature of this legendary tree is its bark, especially in winter when the white bark, mottled with green and brown is fully exposed.
There are many definitions of riparian buffer. In this post and the video linked here, we offer the elements of a well-functioning buffer and show what they look like. Riparian buffers are one of the most effective Best Management Practices to abate non-point source water pollution. The word “riparian” comes...
“Well-managed” farmland and other working “open-spaces” should not be taxed when they provide ecosystem services exceeding the cost of public services for the land.
Hydro-Fracking for natural gas; it’s very controversial. On the plus side it is reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (because it’s cheaper than coal). It’s also making some folks very rich.
I’m standing in the middle of the footbridge across the Potomac River at Harper’s Ferry looking downstream. Beneath me flows the nation’s river that at this point in its journey, drained six million acres of land.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation asked me to write several articles about farmers doing their part to improve the soil and water resources on their farms. These articles are designed to showcase how and why, these farmers installed Best Management Practices such as “stream-side fencing” to exclude livestock from streams.
Author preparing to plant a “bare-root” hardwood seedling into tall fescue sod. When converting grasslands to forest it has been a common practice to plant bare-root, hardwood tree seedlings directly into the sod. Most recently tree shelters have been used to increase the growth rate and survival of hardwood (not...
This week’s flood prompted this post on how we deal with floodwater from our river with our cattle. It was an out-of-bank flood event but it didn’t wash our cattle crossing out because we’ve learned to work with the river not against it.
First Place Award for 2020 Outstanding Column & Blog from Virginia Outdoor Writers Association View All Awards
“Bobby is a force of nature! And with this compilation of his blog posts, musings, and articles, we gain insight into farming, family, and the forces that shape the Shenandoah Valley he calls home. I enjoyed his humorous yet direct writing style as he shared personal and professional observations on conserving the natural landscapes that, quite literally, feed and nourish us.”