Stadium Woods

Stadium Woods is an old growth forest located on the VT campus near Lane Stadium. In 2010, VT began discussing plans to remove a portion of the Woods to build a new indoor athletics practice facility for the football team. This discussion did not go over well with the VT and Blacksburg communities and gained a lot of press. In response to this opposition, environmental studies were conducted on the Woods, and VT created a Management Plan Committee to explore alternative options. Additionally, Friends of Stadium Woods (check out their website and blog under Related Sites and Blogs) created a petition to save Stadium Woods, as well as other events to help save the Woods.

This past spring I took an Urban Forestry class, and we conducted our own study on Stadium Woods. As a class, we visited the Woods and took different measurements and observations in sample plot locations. We then used the i-Tree Eco tool created by the USDA US Forest Service to determine the ecosystem services provided by Stadium Woods. It was my job to create the final report, which will be submitted to the Stadium Woods Management Plan Committee. Here is a copy of that report: Stadium Woods Report

As of now, Stadium Woods is protected from development of an athletics practice facility, but the Woods have not been permanently protected from future development. Stadium Woods provides many ecosystem services in the Stroubles Creek Watershed.  If this forest is ever removed, these services will be lost, and it is likely that more impervious services will be added to the watershed, which could impact the current impairment of Stroubles Creek.