44th Spring Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the 44th annual Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally. It seems that more often than not this second weekend in May is nice and rainy, but with just a brief shower Friday evening during registration, the rest of this year’s weekend was warm with partly cloudy to sunny skies.  Friday night’s locally sourced dinner included Lasagna, garlic bread and a nice mix of spring greens and attracted a record crowd which made for a successful fundraiser for the Konnarock community center.

Long time Rally supporter, Allen Boynton, was the keynote speaker and shared his vast array of experiences through the trajectory of his wildlife biology careers with Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The weekend included several new opportunities including a habitat enhancement project for an important gray’s lily population and the kick off of a long term monitoring project of the red spruce / northern hardwood ecotone on Whitetop Mountain.

As with all of the previous, the 44rd annual Spring Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally would not have been possible without the support of the wonderful guides and other volunteers.  Their hard work and dedication to sharing their knowledge combined with the incredible natural resources of the Mount Rogers area continued the tradition of exploring and celebrating our portion of the Blue Ridge.