Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally

The weather held out! As with most Rallies, rain or snow can happen (and usually does) and although it was predicted…it stayed away allowing for a beautiful weekend outdoors. The 49th annual Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally drew a large crowd of enthusiastic participants last weekend reaching the highest attendance yet and included a full house in residence. BRDC provided high quality food throughout the weekend using locally sourced ingredients and prepared with love by Chef Micah.

Our keynote speaker Dr. Marcella Kelly, Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, shared her Virginia Appalachian Carnivore Project. Her research focused on the perception of increased coyote populations and its impact on white-tailed deer. The data provided powerful insight into the predation on white-tailed deer and opens up questions for further study…we can’t wait to find out more!

Dr. Marcella Kelly

Field trips on Saturday included several new opportunities such as Weather Survival in the Wilderness, Camera Trapping and Land Snails. Birding, Geology, Mushrooms, Butterflies, Nature Drawing, and the tried and true trips from the past, also remained popular.  

Special thanks to all of the volunteers and Board (baking desserts and providing greens) who worked to make the event a success! The wonderful support of our volunteer guides was greatly appreciated as they lead 25 different field trips during the weekend. There were full day kids programs, night programs, and 6 walk and talk programs as well. Last but certainly not least was the wonderful porch pickin’ provided by the Nale sisters and their family: Lindsey Nale, Ashley and Gary Hultman, and Dave and Christine Hultman.

Additional thanks go out to all the donations provided for our Raffle: Matt Reilly, Vortex Optics, Barbara Kingsolver, Dark Hollow Roasters, Marion Outdoors, VADWR, GHSP, Karen Doyle, American Chestnut Foundation, Marceia Holland and many others. Thank you all so much for your generosity.

All in all, the 49th annual Mount Rogers Spring Naturalist Rally was an inspirational weekend of sharing through exploration and discovery in the wonders of the Blue Ridge.