Archive for November 2008
Nearby Nature
Spring Peeper by John White
You don’t have to visit a rain forest or huge wilderness area to see cool critters. Some pretty amazing animals can be found right here in Northern Virginia. You can find nearby nature everywhere… in your garden, along the stream corridor behind your house, watching your kids play ball and when visiting local parkland. Last fall I was delighted to see the Variegated Fritillary butterfly I’d been hunting for weeks perched on a tent, not five feet from my chair, at my son’s Ultimate Frisbee tournament at the Polo Grounds in Upperville.
Once you spot an interesting critter, it’s fun to know more about the species. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Even if you have the right field guides at home, some species can be difficult to identify and it’s very helpful to know which species you can expect to see in Northern Virginia.
Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge & Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
The Potomac River on the eastern edge of Prince William County is a “two-fer” that combines nationally-significant cultural and natural resources. The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail was established in 2006 to mark the 1607-1609 voyages of Captain John Smith, when he ventured from Jamestown and charted the land/waterways of the Chesapeake Bay.
The National Park Service is now preparing a Comprehensive Management Plan. Comments are due by November 7. Here’s what I had to say: Read the rest of this entry »
