The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen's Josh Palumbo lead the Saturday afternoon session.
This stomping advice on this 2025 USDA poster is now viewed as out-of-date.
Deer numbers at Wintergreen have trended positive in recent years.
Besides placing this bear smart signage on Wintergreen’s roadways, WPOA has distributed free refrigerator magnets (below) to provide property owners and their guests with useful tips on living with bears.
Learn more about living with bears at Wintergreen.
This article is being updated
with additional information
It was mostly good news at the standing-room-only presentation on environmental issues concerning Wintergreen. Here’s a summary of the key points made at the February 28th meeting at Trillium House along with with a few notes from additional sources:
Pond Hollow Creek
Recent water quality testing by Josh Palumbo of four major Wintergreen streams found no significant issues, except for the Pond Hollow stream where it runs below the new wastewater treatment plant for the mountain. “It’s bad, and it’s always been bad,” Palumbo said.
The forest manager for the Nature Foundation at Wintergreen said his testing wasn't random enough to assess severity, however. Nelson County Service Authority is aware that there are issues needing to be addressed and has been working with the state's DEQ, he said.
Spotted Lanternfly
If Palumbo wasn’t the first Virginia wildlife specialist to publically say “stomping” on the beautiful but bothersome bugs was more trouble than it was worth, he was among the first.
“The SLF should be considered a nuisance, not a forest health threat,” said Palumbo at his February presentation. The bad news is that the nuisance will be back again this summer and is expected to continue for another year after that.
Spongy Moth (aka Gypsy Moth)
Good news here. While there was some defoliation on trees in the western part of the mountain last year, Palumbo’s reports on spongy moth egg masses indicates the Wintergreen Property Owners Association will not need to spray for the pest in 2026.
Deer Management
“Deer numbers are pretty good right now,” said Palumbo, who tracks the deer populations for the Wintergreen Property Owners Association.
While the deer damage on plants in property owners’ yards is what brings in the complaints, Palumbo says in the past high populations of deer have even pressured plants in the forest floor.
“One indication that deer populations are not too bad is if the trillium are growing. The deer love those plants,” he noted.
Numerous studies have shown that the most effective way to control deer numbers is with selective hunting, Palumbo said. “It’s working well here,” he reported, saying less than a hundred deer were removed last year. The deer harvested in Wintergreen go to the Hunters for the Hungry program based in Bedford County.
Bears
Palumbo reminded the audience that Wintergreen’s bears come out in March. “Wintergreen doesn’t so much have a bear problem as it has a people problem.” he explained.
When people have a problem with bears, they call Wintergreen Police. The good news is that fewer people are calling, Wintergreen Police Chief Dennis Russell said at the WPOA annual meeting last fall.
“Our bear calls are down to 46, last year the number was 103,” Russell said in November. The state’s area wildlife specialist told the police chief that more bear resistant dumpsters and the ongoing education efforts of the property owners association might be why the bear issues were lower. “More people seem to know now not to leave their car doors unlocked,” Russell said, adding that it remains to be seen if the positive trend will continue.
Oak Decline
Oak decline is a culmination of many different factors that contribute to the gradual decline and eventual death of older oak trees. It’s a common problem in mature oaks in Wintergreen and much of Virginia and surrounding states. A 2024 survey by the Nature Foundation at Wintergreen said about 20 percent of the oak trees are stressed or dead.
Dead trees are often removed by Wintergreen property owners and Palumbo said he understood why, but that wildlife receives innumerable benefit from dead trees in the forests.
Other issues
• Emerging threats involving plant life in and around Wintergreen include Beech Leaf Disease and invasive Knotweed.
• There is probably not a large enough population of gray foxes in the Wintergreen area to be worth participating in the state’s study that is seeking ways to help preserve them.
• Tourists and some homeowners in Wintergreen are keeping outdoor floodlights on, an audience member complained. Palumbo said he was looking into how to communicate why light pollution is an issue. Nelson County is promoting “Dark Skies” as a tourist attraction.
-Charles Batchelor
