Potomac Highlands Cooperative Weed and Pest Management Area

05/22/2021

Become a Citizen Scientist!

TNC is tracking the plants and animals at our preserves, beginning with our popular Bear Rocks Preserve! Through the iNaturalist app, we can gain a better understanding of the species that call our wild and wonderful preserves home. But, we need your help!

1. Download the iNaturalist app on your phone
2. Take photos of plants and animals you encounter at Bear Rocks to upload them either when you’re at the preserve or when you return home

That’s it! You can also become a member of the project by searching Bear Rocks on iNaturalist, and you don’t need to be an expert on species identification! By taking part in our citizen scientist project, you are helping us identify both the native and non-native species we may not be aware of and providing data on when plants begin to bloom and how that may be affected by climate change.

*Please remember that Bear Rocks is heavily trafficked, especially during the weekends. Weekday visits are highly encouraged, and please follow the Leave No Trace principles (https://www.fs.fed.us/lei/no-trace-ethics.php).

Bear Rocks Preserve 📸 Kent Mason

05/11/2021

Discover Nature Day is back at Seneca Rocks Discovery Center! Come on out June 5th to see live animals, play activities, and more! We hope to see you there!

09/30/2020

When you’re out enjoying one of The Nature Conservancy Preserves in West Virginia help add to the catalog of science by adding species observations to iNaturalist.

iNaturalist is a social network for naturalists! Record your observations of plants and animals, share them with friends and researchers, and learn about the natural world.

06/27/2020

Join our final LIVE ANIMAL presentaiton of Discover Nature Week! Roy Moose will show you the different snakes of West Virginia and teach you how to tell different snakes apart.

06/26/2020

Create your own non-native invasive species and learn what it takes for a plant or animal to truely become a Super Alien! Join Hannah Wroton, PHCWPMA and Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area AmeriCorps, and learn why non-native invasive species are so successful.

06/26/2020

We’re bringing another way make your own bird feeder, this time using recycled paper rolls. Remember to make different feeders for different types of birds so your feeders don’t spread disease!

06/25/2020

Do you know what foods are safe to feed ducks when you want to feed them?

06/25/2020

Tree rings can tell us how old a tree is but do you know all the other things they can tell us about a tree? USFS and Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area AmeriCorps Brandy Harvey will teach you how to tell the story of a tree and yourself! Find out more information about the tree rings Brandy created below.

Monongahela National Forest turned 100 years old in 2020, so Brandy Harvey, an AFNHA AmeriCorps, created a tree cookie for the Forest. This is the same cookie she used as an example in her video about tree cookies. For this tree cookie, each ring represents something that happened in the Forest in every decade for a total of 10 rings. Can you guess what each ring represents?
The very center ring, with the pine tree, represents when President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation establishing Monongahela National Forest in 1920.
The green “CCC” ring represents the 1930’s for the Forest in 1933 and helped the Forest by planting more than 10 million trees, protecting the Forest from fires, and building important infrastructure that is still used today.
In the 1940’s, Smokey Bear was employed to educate everyone about the dangers of wildfires and how to prevent them.
The 50’s is marked by the development of recreation sites like lakes for the public to swim and fish.
In the 1960’s, the Forest started to use airplanes for fire detection and to combat fires.
In December of 1970, Monongahela National Forest was chosen as the first national forest to provide the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington D.C.
The Highland Scenic High was completed in the 1980.
In the 1990’s, the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center was destroyed by a fire. Do you see the scorch mark on the tree cookie?
The 2000’s is marked by the importance of partnerships the Forest has with agencies and organizations just like PHCWMPA. However, the importance of partnerships is just as strong today as it was back then!
The final ring represents the end of the last decade/beginning of this decade with birthday candles to celebrate Monongahela National Forest’s 100th birthday!

06/24/2020

Learn how to make your very own red spruce forest and meet some of the animals that call the red spruce forests of West Virginia home! Join Hannah Wroton, Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative and Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area AmeriCorps, and create a forest of your own.