’Tis the season

By Jessica Legge
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT September 23, 2008 09:26 pm

— In the local area this fall, people will mostly see the bright and vivid colors of oaks, maples and hickories, said Sue Olcott, district wildlife diversity biologist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources office in Farmington. Yellow, golden and orange trees will primarily take over the forests.
She said red maples, with their reds and oranges, are some of the first trees to change color. Oaks, which can be russet and burgundy to almost a deep violet, are one of the last ones to go through their autumn transformation.
During the peak time, the yellow leaves of hickories and poplars can be seen. Sycamores, which usually aren’t very colorful, are already turning to their brown color. Also, sourwoods are bright red and magnolias are usually yellow, Olcott said.
She said a lot of people go to Pricketts Fort State Park in Fairmont to take in the fall colors. Coopers Rock State Forest near Morgantown is a favorite, and people like to go to the Core Arboretum in Morgantown, too. Driving down certain roadways can also be very pleasing from a visual standpoint, Olcott said.
Trees make their food through photosynthesis, and the leaves are their food production factory, she said. With shorter days and dropping temperatures in the fall, chemical responses tell the leaves to shut off the factory. The chlorophyll, which makes the leaves green, breaks down and the leaves change to a new color.
“The length of the day triggers a lot of these types of changes in the natural world — both plants and animals,” Olcott said.
Rudy Williams, regional forester for the West Virginia Division of Forestry Region 1 headquarters in Farmington, said leaves show their true color in autumn as the chlorophyll goes away.
“That has to do with the length of the days and the amount of sunlight,” he said.
Right now, it’s hard to say when Marion County will experience peak color this fall, Williams said. But he anticipated that peak leaf-peeping in the area will probably hit during the middle part of October.
“The state will start in the higher elevations and work its way down,” Williams said.
He said the Division of Forestry will begin its fall coloration report today and continue through the end of October. Every Wednesday, field foresters in various counties will report the stages of the trees — pre-transition, peak or past-peak — and give scenic routes in their areas. This information is available at www.wvforestry.com.
Persons can expect to mostly see oaks, poplars, maples and shrubs this autumn, Williams said. In addition to Coopers Rock, many people take trips to Valley Falls State Park and Curtisville Lake to see the colorful leaves.
The trails of the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission are becoming more and more popular all the time, MCPARC director Dan Talbott said.
“People like to use the trail, and in the fall is a wonderful time,” he said.
Along the rails to trails, people can get away from the community and buildings. Many of the areas of the trails are in the woods and the trees provide nice scenery, Talbott said.
He said Curtisville Lake, which is past Mannington, is one of the better places to go to see the fall colors. A trail goes around the 30-acre lake.
Valley Falls State Park, which lies in Marion and Taylor counties, is so steep that visitors can look up and see a vast area. Park Superintendent Ron Fawcett said it’s a beautiful sight when the leaves hit the water.
“It’s just like glitter all over the falls,” he said. “It’s just really pretty.”
The 1,145-acre area has four waterfalls within less than half a mile and a 700-foot gorge where the park lies.
“An extreme amount of weddings” have been booked at Valley Falls for September and October because people want the fall colors, Fawcett said. The park generally has 75 to 80 weddings a year, and 12 to 14 ceremonies have been scheduled in these two months.
“It’s a gorgeous backdrop,” he said. “You could never decorate like that. This is one busy place for weddings.”
Red, yellow and brown will decorate the park this autumn. Fawcett said some of the trees will stay green pretty late until the first hard frost arrives.
The park often has big weekend crowds, and it’s not unusual for more than 200 cars to come during one weekend, he said.
“These waterfalls here are really spectacular, and it’s really easy to get here,” Fawcett said.
E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.

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