Virginia Chapter
Officers
President
John Scrivani
Earlysville, VA
Vice-President
Education
Kathy Marmet
Marshall, VA
Vice-President
Science
Jack LaMonica
Marshall, VA
Secretary
Adele Baker
Falls Church, VA
Treasurer
Boyd Post
Lake Ridge, VA
Dear Dr. Hebard,
As you know, the Virginia Chapter applied for funding in March
2011 from The American Chestnut Foundation to support a silviculture
study on Bull Run Mountains. A copy of our proposal is attached.
The Piedmont Environmental Council has awarded us a grant in
the amount requested of TACF, which will enable the study to go
forward. However, in planning to implement the study, we have
Directors
Chairman
Catherine Mayes
Hume, VA
Wayne Bowman
Dillwyn, VA
Sandra Fisher
Abington, VA
Brenda Clements Jones
Stanardsville, VA
Warren Laws
Crozet, VA
Charles Mackall
Alexandria, VA
Mark Ohrstrom
The Plains, VA
Neel Rich
Emory, VA
George R Thompson
Marshall, VA
determined that using trail cameras would be an excellent tool to learn
what happens to seedlings during the study. Therefore we are submitting
this revised request for funding for the cameras.
I remain,
Very truly yours,
Revised Project Proposal and Request for Funding
Bull Run Mountain Chestnut Survival Study
This Revised Project Proposal and Request for Funding is submitted on behalf of the
following organizations: Bull Run Mountains Conservancy (BRMC), Smithsonian
Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut
Foundation (VATACF).
Total Amount Requested. $1,900. The total cost of the original project is projected at
$19,500. VATACF has received commitments from Sacharuna Foundation and
Piedmont Environmental Council to fund the original project. This Revised Proposal and
Request for Funding to purchase three digital infrared cameras to photograph the study
sites.
Description. RECONYX, Inc., is the principal manufacturer of digital infrared cameras
for tracking wildlife. The cameras take periodic photographs using infrared flash. The
model we would need is more expensive because the flash is specially designed not to
startle wildlife. Detailed information about the cameras is on the Internet at
www.RECONYX.com.
The project manager will set up a camera in each of three different study plots. Then
when the volunteers who monitor the study plots discover that a seedling has been
damaged or eaten, they can review the film to determine the specific cause.
In addition to the cameras, we will need spare batteries and extra memory.
Item
PC800 HyperFire Professional
Semi-Covert IR camera
4GB memory card
12AA battery
Shipping and handling (est.)
Total
MSRP
Quantity
$ 549.99
3
Cost
$ 1,649.97
29.99
3
89.97
34.99
3
104.97
50.00
$1,894.91
Virginia Chapter
March 2, 2011
Officers
President
Dr. John Scrivani
Charlottesville, VA
Vice-President
Education
Kathy Marmet
The Plains, VA
Dr. Fred Hebard
TACF Research Farms
29010 Hawthorne Drive
Meadowview, Virginia
Vice-President
Science
Jack LaMonica
Marshall, VA
Dear Dr. Hebard:
Secretary
Adele Baker
Syria, VA
Treasurer
Dr. Boyd Post
Falls Church, VA
Directors
Chairman of the Board
Catherine Mayes
Hume, VA
Enclosed please find a request for a funding commitment from The
American Chestnut Foundation for a chestnut germination and survival
study on Bull Run Mountains in Virginia. Our partners for the study are
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Bull Run Mountain
Conservancy. We also enclose a letter of support for the study from
Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which holds title to some of the land on
which the study may occur.
Wayne Bowman
Dillwyn, VA
Sandra Fisher
Abington, VA
Brenda Clements Jones
Stanardsville, VA
Warren Laws
Crozet, VA
Charles Mackall
Alexandria, VA
Mark Ohrstrom
The Plains, VA
Neel Rich
Emory, VA
George R. Thompson, Jr.
Marshall, VA
The purpose of the study is to begin to understand how to launch
reforestation in the northern Virginia forest efficiently and effectively.
The study is estimated to cost $19,500 over the three-year period.
We are seeking $10,000 from TACF, $5,000 in 2011 and the balance in
2012. We have received a grant for half the cost of the study through the
Sacharuna Foundation.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Catherine Mayes
Project Proposal and Request for Funding
Bull Run Mountain Chestnut Survival Study
This Project Proposal and Request for Funding is submitted on behalf of the following
organizations: Bull Run Mountains Conservancy (BRMC), Smithsonian Conservation
Biology Institute (SCBI), and Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation
(VATACF).
Principal Investigator. The principal investigators for the Project are Drs. William J.
McShea, Wildlife Ecologist, and Norman Bourg, Plant Ecologist, Smithsonian
Institution, Front Royal, Virginia. One graduate student or technician working for them
will have day-to-day supervision of the project.
Duration of Project. The Project will last approximately 2-1/2 years, with field work
beginning in the fall of 2011 and continuing through fall 2013. The final 6 months will
be used for data analysis and report preparation. For the initial year (2011-2012), funding
is needed for the first two phases (approximately half).
Total Amount Requested. $10,000. The total cost of the project is projected at
$19,500. VATACF has received a commitment from Sacharuna Foundation to match
funding should it be awarded by The American Chestnut Foundation.
Project Goals. Large portions of Bull Run Mountains in Fauquier and Prince William
Counties, Virginia, were once covered with American chestnut. Today, the forest is
predominately oak (Quercus sp.; Figure 1) due to loss of the chestnut and other
component species, the growth of white tailed deer (Odocoileus virgnianus) populations,
and shifts in land use practices. Because this region remains relatively undeveloped,
heavily forested, and under ecological management, it is an ideal location for the
restoration of American chestnut. The purpose of the Project is to quantify the
germination and short-term survival rate of 1,000 chestnuts planted in varied forest
settings on Bull Run Mountains where American chestnuts (Castanea dentata) once
thrived. We will compare germination and survival rates in those settings and identify
which environmental factors have a significant impact on germination and survival. It is
expected that further research will develop based on the results of the Project, but the
goal will be to help TACF refine its restoration strategy. In addition, we will determine
which microsite attributes were the most cost-effective for restoration within established
forests.
Description of the Project.
Phase I. The Principal Investigators, working in conjunction with the Executive Director
of BRMC and a field project manager, will prepare a detailed test design and circulate it
for peer review, and locate sites for experimental chestnut plantings on Bull Run
Mountains where chestnut trees were known to have grown before the arrival of the
blight. The selected sites will include three habitats: oak forest within rock outcroppings;
recent canopy gaps (either man-made or natural) of oak forest with the slash left on the
ground; and mature oak forest without additional treatment. Within each habitat type, we
will select up to 50 sites; half of the sites will be protected from deer (e.g. wire fencing or
natural debris) and half will not. Prior to planting (phase II), microsite data will be
obtained for each site, including canopy and soils analysis, light levels on forest floor,
deer population estimates, and a general survey of existing woody understory and
invasive species cover. All geospatial data will be entered within a GIS containing
topographic and habitat layers for future reference.
Phase II. Planting sites will be prepared and planted in March and early April of 2012,
weather permitting, using seed provided by Meadowview Research Farms or harvested
by the Virginia Chapter. Each site will have 10-20 nuts planted around a central post in
each cardinal direction, with 2 m. spacing between seeds (Figure 2). The number of
seeds in each array would depend on the size of the habitat patch and the variability in
light penetration found in each patch. Each seed will be marked with a small numbered
dowel and its location and treatment noted. All numbered plantings will be entered into a
database and inspected on subsequent visits. They will be identified using short wooden
dowels to minimize interference with natural events. Detailed information will be
collected on the man-hours and materials needed to establish each site. If possible, data
will be entered in a format compatible with TACF's tree database. Detailed cost
information will be collected to assess cost-effectiveness of the various settings.
Also during this phase, BRMC and VATACF will recruit and train volunteers to help
SCBI monitor the sites and maintain germination and survival records for Phase III.
Phase III. Phase III will commence immediately after planting. During the remainder of
the growing season in 2012 and through the summer of 2013, each site will be visited biweekly by SCBI staff or a volunteer monitor. The actual number of seedlings to
germinate will be recorded. Thereafter, the height of each seedling still present will be
recorded, as well as evidence of browse, structural, or insect damage. If seedlings suffer
high mortality rates during the first growing season we will replant missing seeds within
each site cluster in spring 2013 and track their progress through their first growing
season.
Project Evaluation. VATACF will issue progress reports at the end of each Phase and
by October 1 of each year as required by TACF. At the conclusion the Project (Spring
2014), SCBI will issue a report with its observations and conclusions in a form suitable
for publication in a scientific journal and a report for the general public. The entire
database of observations will be available to ecologists interested in the study.
Figure 1. Forest habitat types found within study area at BRMNAP.
Figure 2. Example of a seed array to be planted at each sample site. Within the array
half the seeds would be fenced (0.5 m wire mesh cone) and we would take advantage of
variability in forest floor light.
Project Funding
Phase I.
From award date through Dec. 2011
Item
Pollination and office supplies, copying, etc.
Biological technician (part time)
Cost
$ 150
1,000
Phase II.
Jan. 2012 through April 2012
Item
Field materials (fencing, tapes, soil tests, etc.)
Training materials, office supplies, copying, etc.
Travel Front Royal-Bull Run Mtns. (gasoline 20 trips)
Biological technician (1 month – full time)
Volunteer coordinator (part-time)
Cost
$ 800
150
250
1,000
1,000
Phase III.
May 2012 through Sep. 2013
Item
Office supplies, copying, etc.
Travel Front Royal-Bull Run Mtns. (gasoline 26 trips)
Biological technician (13 months – part time)
Volunteer coordinator (13 months – part time)
Total cost of project
$
Cost
75
320
6,500
4,000
$19,500
8