Years ago the highway department scraped and graded a steep bank along the road past our property. In order to prevent erosion and to enhance the area as wildlife habitat, we seeded the bare clay soil with a mixture of native perennial plants and warm season grasses. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) are both useful and dramatically beautiful native grasses. Read the Full Story >>
Economy & Environment
Court Ruling Undoes Zoning Amendment For Industrial Solar
On August 16, Judge Debra McLaughlin, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, issued a ruling that invalidated the text amendment ZTA1903 to the Jefferson County zoning ordinance. The now-invalidated amendment was written to allow development of utility-scale solar power facilities as a principal permitted use in rural, residential growth and other open lands in the county. Read the Full Story >>
Tracking Solar Installations
During the discussions of the now-invalidated zoning amendment, several citizens expressed concern that the broad expansion of the amendment to include by-right development of industrial solar in rural and residential growth zones would open up most of the county as potential sites for these facilities. Read the Full Story >>
On Seeing Uncommon Butterflies
Pennsylvania. There was a bath house where electric lights burned all night in the middle of the woods. Each morning and evening, countless insects covered the side of the building around the beam of the flood lights. Read the Full Story >>
A Tree Finds A New Life
For the past five years, we worried that every time it stormed a big limb would break off of our beloved old Kentucky coffee tree and destroy our entryway fence. Now our property is safe from that disaster and a magnificent old tree remains as wildlife habitat. Read the Full Story >>
Sounds Of Summer: The Wood Pewee
As spring turns into summer, I listen for a bird song I’ve loved since childhood. I remember hearing, as soon as school closed for the summer, a rather lazy, sentimental birdsong coming from the woods across the road. Whenever I hear it now, it invokes memories of long summer days. Read the Full Story >>
Spotted Lanternfly In Jefferson County
A new menace has arrived in the county. Unlike the recent swarms of cicadas (or the more mysterious Mothman), the spotted lanternfly is an invasive species that will attack and kill many native trees, including black walnut, maple, peach, and apple trees. Read the Full Story >>
At Home With a Special Tulip Tree
For about a century, a magnificent tulip tree has stood in the front yard of our house. Read the Full Story >>
A Look at The Blue-Eyed Cicada
By the time you read this story, tens of thousands of cicadas may have already appeared in the Eastern Panhandle, filling the air with their buzzing. Read the Full Story >>
Learn All About Fungi In Your Backyard — May 12
In this online event, Dr. Laura Robertson of Shepherd University will introduce five of the many fungi that you might find in your backyard. Read the Full Story >>
Wildflower Walk At Ferry Hill — May 1
Join volunteer naturalists for a walk on the trails of Ferry Hill Ridge Trail (across the river from Shepherdstown) and the nearby C&O Canal. This walk is scheduled to coincide with the later spring wildflower season. Read the Full Story >>
Keep Your Bird Feeders Clean
Feeding the birds has helped people young and old to get through this pandemic winter. For many home-bound Americans, this backyard hobby has helped lighten the loneliness and depression brought about by the isolation of the pandemic quarantine. But in recent months, all these bird feeders may have brought the birds an epidemic of their own. Thankfully, the solution to this problem is simple Read the Full Story >>
Family Hike At Cool Spring
Bring your family for an evening guided hike at Cool Spring Preserve and learn about these wondrous amphibians and listen for their unique symphony! Read the Full Story >>
Feeling The Heartbeat Of Spring Emerging
During my sixty-odd years as a naturalist, I’ve learned spring actually starts long before the first of March. I write this in mid-February as it seems winter has yet to loosen its grip, until you listen and look closely. Read the Full Story >>
Connecting Solar In Jefferson County
The Observer spoke with several energy industry professionals with experience in the development and management of utility-scale energy projects to understand the general context for the types of large-scale solar projects being proposed for Jefferson County. We also researched the specific topography of the local power grid and land to understand both the potential and constraints for these types of solar projects in Jefferson County. Read the Full Story >>
