On August 29, WVFA and more than 50 other national, regional, and state forestry and logging associations filed a formal consensus Comment in response to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's proposal to list the Northern Long-Eared Bat for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Comment:
- Points out the breadth of forest industry activity throughout the bat’s wide range;
- Observes the historical compatibility of the bat with forest management and harvest;
- Addresses overly restrictive language in the Service’s Interim Guidance document, that if applied, would have a crippling effect on forest industry; and
- Points to elimination of the disease as the best strategy to support and protect both the bat population and wood products industry.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service expects to publish its listing decision on April 2, 2015. WVFA encourages its members to educate their members of Congress, urging House members and Senators to organize letters from state Congressional delegations to the Service, expressing their concern about a listing’s impact on their states.

Just a heads-up, to ask that you put the "Farm Bureau & Forestry Day" at the Capitol on your calendar for Feb. 3, 2015, followed by the reception and dinner that evening at the Marriott Hotel in Charleston. As usual, the next day - Feb. 4 - we plan the A.B. Brooks Symposium at that location, preceded by a breakfast.

We had a record number of participants last year. Come see why...

A growing number of environmental educators have become interested in urban environmental education practice – a practice that is specifically tailored to the unique needs and characteristics of urban social-ecological systems. A clear conceptualization of the defining characteristics of healthy urban social-ecological systems can make an important contribution to urban environmental education programs. We synthesized urban environmental educators’ perspectives about the nature of healthy urban social-ecological systems and assessed the implications of those system characteristics for urban environmental education practice. We identified 14 different characteristics needed for urban environments to be healthy. These characteristics demonstrate that, from the perspective of urban environmental educators, the social components of healthy urban systems are equally important to the biophysical components, and these components have profound effects on each other. Through their practice, urban environmental educators cultivate awareness, appreciation, and willingness to act on behalf of both the social and biophysical components of urban systems.

Congratulations are in order for Crystal and Rick Smith who won this year's WVU football ticket raffle to purchase two WVU tickets for every home game this season.