TU staff efforts ramping up in West Virginia

TU staff and volunteers plant trees on a tributary to the West Fork of the Greenbrier River, on the Monongahela National Forest. (Travis Ferry photo.)

By Travis Ferry

So far the spring of 2016 has been another busy season for TU in West Virginia. On private land, Trout Unlimited’s Potomac Headwaters Home Rivers Initiative has planted 1,100 trees to restore riparian habitats. These trees will provide much needed shade and will help stabilize eroding stream banks to keep water cold and clean, so that brook trout may thrive.

On the other side of the mountain, in the upper Greenbrier watershed, TU has been equally busy. Seasonal field staff and volunteers, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service have planted over 4,500 bare root and potted hardwoods and another 7,000 red spruce. Trees were planted on decommissioned roads and in open riparian areas along tributaries to the East and West Forks of the Greenbrier River. These open areas, often times old beaver meadows, have yet to naturally develop riparian canopies, so staff install large hardwoods, some up to 6 feet tall, to jumpstart forest succession.

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AFHA AmeriCorps member Becca Ferry planting an American Chestnut along a tributary to the West Fork of the Greenbrier River, on the Monongahela National Forest. (Travis Ferry photo.)

As we move out of spring and into summer, the field season has just started for TU. We have many more restoration projects planned for this year, as well as monitoring to gather valuable baseline and post project data on fish, water quality and stream habitat. If you are interested in volunteering with TU, either in the Potomac or the Greenbrier, please contact Travis Ferry at 304-614-6699 or tferry@tu.org.