Staunton taking steps to reduce vulture population

AFP

Staunton city officials are taking action aimed at reducing a vulture population estimated at over 500. The city announced on Monday that it is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services Division to move vultures from residential areas in Staunton. Dispersal efforts will occur both on city property and on private property with…

Conservation rollout

AFP

“Voluntary Stream Fencing Options to Keep Regulations at Bay” will be the theme for this year’s Conservation Programs Rollout Meeting, which will be held Dec. 9 at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona. The meeting will be in the Smith West Room at 7 p.m. Farmers and landowners will learn from conservation agency representatives…

Conservation in the spotlight

AFP

The Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council will join fellow RC&D Councils throughout the United States to commemorate RC&D Week, which runs from Sept. 19-25, 2010. RC&D Week is held annually to celebrate the success of the RC&D Program nationwide. During RC&D week, the Shenandoah RC&D Council will be presented with the Southeastern Association’s “Outstanding…

Still losing farmland, but not as quickly

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   Good news for farming, sorta, kinda: The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported today that loss of farmland to development appears to be slowing in the Commonwealth. According to the recent numbers from the Farmland Information Center, between 1997 and 2002, Virginia lost 81,500 acres of agricultural…

Dennis Markatos-Soriano: Gulf disaster calls for sustainable transportation revolution

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Column by Dennis Markatos-Soriano Submit guest columns: [email protected]   The oil drilling explosion that killed 11 people on April 20th and the spill now killing massive amounts of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico is a sign. It’s a sign of how bad our nation’s oil addiction has gotten and of how much we need…

Environmental group praises delay on offshore drilling

AFP

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   The U.S. Minerals Management Service announced today that it is postponing indefinitely the public-comment period and the public hearings that were scheduled in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina in the coming weeks on the proposed sale for oil and gas drilling off Virginia’s shore.