The years 2020 and 2021 seemed to be the year of the “bugs,” with murder hornets; Brood X cicadas; puss caterpillars, and worms in headlines across the U.S., adding fears to our pandemic anxieties. Unfortunately, there is another “bug” in town, a palm sized spider with golden webs. But, before any nightmares and fears set in, let’s take a look at our new resident spider, how they got here, and what their invasion means to our ecosystem.

The U.S. Army Civilian Career Management Activity announced today the creation of the Housing Management Professional Certificate Program for Army civilians who manage housing on Army installations worldwide. “This program is available to all Army civilians who have the education, training and/or skills required to satisfy the requirements for the Level 1 and/or Level 2 Housing Management Certificates,” said Ms. Tamara Huston, director of the Installations Career Field. “Army housing managers directly contribute to readiness by ensuring that Soldiers and families have access to safe, quality housing. This program will ensure that we continue to have a highly-skilled workforce that is recognized as housing management experts by the people they serve and the housing industry at large.”

The U.S. Army, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ), is conducting a third five-year review of fourteen environmental sites at Fort Belvoir located in Fairfax, Virginia as required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.   Selected remedies at the sites consist of source removals, Land Use Controls (LUCs) including construction and excavation restrictions, groundwater use prohibition, signage, land use constraints, and long-term management consisting of annual inspections and groundwater monitoring.