Winter 2017-18

10 West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry  | Winter 2017 www.wvfa.org WVFA IS PLEASED TO BE CO-SPONSORING the December 5th West Virginia Business & Industries Council pre-legislative conference. The Road Ahead: Pre-Legislative Conference will feature Senate President Mitch Carmichael, House Speaker Tim Armstead, Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, House Finance Chairman Eric Nelson, WV Department of Transportation Secretary Tom Smith and our closing keynote: West Virginia University President Gordon Gee, who will present the key findings of the McKinsey report and update us on WVU's West Virginia Forward initiative.  I N D U S T R Y N E W S wvfa events Invasive Species Meeting ON NOVEMBER 1, WVFA staff attended the annual meeting of the WV Invasive Species Working Group (WVISWG) on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College. Presentations were: Joe Hatton , Deputy Commissioner, WV Department of Agriculture, WVDA’s Commitment to Protecting the Forest and Crop Resources of West Virginia from Invasive Pests and Pathogens Yong-Lak Park , Associate Professor of Entomology, West Virginia University, Applications of Drones for Detection and Management of Invasive Pests: Potentials and Caveats Betsy Reeder , Black Fly Program Coordinator, WV Department of Agriculture, GNATS! WV's Black Fly Control Program Update James Joy , Professor of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Hairy Maggot Blow fly Eric Dotseth , State Public Health Entomologist, WV Dept. of Health & Human Resources, Update on Lyme Disease in West Virginia Doug Jolley , Plant Regulatory Officer, WV Department of Agriculture, Nursery Updates Regarding Invasive Plants John Moredock , Graduate Student, West Virginia University, Biology and Control of Mile-A-Minute Weed (Persicaria perfoliata) Katharine B. Gregg, Ph .D. , Curator, George B. Rossbach Herbarium, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Battling Invasive Species at Buckhannon's Nature Park/Learning Trail  All WVFA Area Meetings have been confirmed. Please ask your legislator to attend your Area meetings. Area 1 December 13 Fairmont, Copper House Grill 6:00pm Area 2 November 16 Petersburg, Landes Rurtian 6:30pm Area 3 December 5 Elkins, Smoke on the Water (restaurant) 5:30pm Area 4 December 14 Beckley, Raleigh County Convention Center 6:00pm Area 5 December 6 Charleston, Recovery Sports Grill 6:00pm Area 6 December 7 Wood County, 4-H Camp Grounds 5:00pm WVFA T&W Queen: Top 5 Miss WV-USA We are very proud to report that Miranda Kalaskey, our Timber & Wood Queen, was named in the top five for the 2017 Miss West Virginia-USA title, on Sunday evening (Miranda is pictured in the center). The Road Ahead: Pre-Legislative Conference