The Role of the West Virginia Extension Service in Forestry Education and Technical Assistance

We conducted a survey of county-based West Virginia University Extension Service personnel to clarify the contribution of the organization to forestry outreach education in the state. Questionnaires were mailed to 235 Extension personnel, and 76% responded. Despite few with advanced forestry training, 65% receive forestry-related questions, and 72% of those answer an average of 24% of the questions. The proportion of forestry questions answered by Extension personnel was found to vary as a function of position and program. Referrals of questions to other agencies went most frequently to the West Virginia Division of Forestry and secondarily to other Extension personnel

Development of the Trout Trail of the Virginias

Abstract Despite the competitive advantage of trophy trout fishing venues in Virginia and West Virginia, there has historically been little cooperation between vendors. Our West Virginia University team worked with fishing-related tourism providers in the two states to gauge interest in developing a marketing cooperative for the industry. Over 30 tourism providers attended an initial exploratory meeting at Douthat State Park in Virginia and showed overwhelming support for developing a marketing cooperative to increase business and protect their investments in fish and fishing streams. This allied group included trophy trout fishing venues, guide services, lodges, and trout producers. Eight of the meeting participants, five from Virginia and three from West Virginia, agreed to start a cooperative marketing organization. Via electronic surveys (designed and administered using the Delphi process), the core members reached consensus on a name (Trout Trail of the Virginias or TTV), slogan, website address, membership benefits, and organizational structure

Landowner willingness to engage in long-term timber leases in West Virginia, USA

As global competition increases for wood-based products, the need for more efficient supply chains becomes increasingly important. In the forest products sector, these supply chains involve individuals and firms ranging from private forestland owners with standing timber to factories producing final finished products. Under the assumption that ‘transparent’ supply chains are beneficial to members within the supply chain, the authors are investigating how this transparency can be increased and what benefits might accrue to private forest owners who are associated with a specific supply chain under a long-term agreement. In recent years, hunting lease agreements between family forest owners and various organized hunt clubs or individuals have become commonplace in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. Can long-term timber leases become a new opportunity for landowners, forestry professionals, and wood-based industries? This paper describes a survey of private forestland owners in West Virginia that investigated the perceived concerns, benefits and barriers landowners have with regard to entering long-term timber leases with forestry professionals and timber firms