The West Virginia University (WVU) Appalachian Hardwood Center is hosting a tour of the Upper Elk Watershed Log Landing Vegetation Project near Webster Springs Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A box lunch will be provided to registered participants.

The Upper Elk River is considered one of the highest quality cold-water fisheries in the mid-Atlantic region, and also supports a large wood products industry.

The purpose of the research project was to investigate the use of native seed mixtures for landing and skid road reclamation following harvesting. Mixtures were chosen based on their ability to lessen the severity of erosion and their attractiveness to wildlife.

The tour will begin at 10 a.m. in Webster Springs and continue with field visits to research sites near Curtin and Bergoo. Vans will be available to transport participants to the research sites.

The tour will include viewing several different sites that have been seeded with different seed mixtures, a discussion of findings to date as to which mixtures work best, actual reclamation of a log landing using a dozer to prepare the seed bed and a hydroseeder to spread seed and mulch, and demonstration of how sediment catchments and wildlife monitoring provide information for the study.

This activity is sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Forestry Forest Stewardship Program, WVU Extension Service and WVU Division of Forestry&Natural Resources. Speakers for the tour will include Dave McGill, Bill Grafton and Shawn Grushecky, as well as graduate students Lisa Tager and Lucas Cunningham.

For more information and to sign up for the tour, contact Robin Maille, outreach coordinator for the WV Forest Stewardship Program, 304-293-2941, ext. 2401 or robin.maille@mail.wvu.edu .

Deadline for registration is Thursday, Sept. 21. Participating foresters can receive Continuing Forestry Education credits.