Another View - Archive
The “New” Tree Farm Program
June 01, 2008
In your travels, you have probably seen the easily recognizable “Tree Farm” sign on white posts along the roadsides of woodlands or on the gable ends of farm buildings or sugarhouses. It’s an icon, that green-and-white, diamond-shaped sign, with the words “Tree Farm” in the center surrounded by “Wood, Water, Wildlife and Recreation.”
What does that sign mean …
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The Myth of Free Wood
March 01, 2008
As oil prices climb to once unimaginable levels, and we watch electricity prices continue their upward march, entrepreneurs are flocking to biomass energy. Using wood to create energy is nothing new in our region. Wood was our first fuel and continues to be the heat of choice for many in the Northeast, and the region is scattered with wood-fired power …
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New Moosehead Proposal is Good Opportunity
December 01, 2007
Moosehead Lake is one of Maine’s natural treasures. Ever since Plum Creek, the Moosehead area’s largest landowner, unveiled its long-term plan for its holdings around the lake, arguments have raged over the lake’s future.
The company’s original proposal to the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC, the planning and zoning authority for the state’s townships, plantations, and unorganized areas) …
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Carbon Offsets and the Role of Forests
September 01, 2007
Global warming threatens to profoundly alter our forests, yet forests can also play a vital role in protecting the climate. If strategies for combating climate change, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), are to be effective, policymakers need to recognize the vital importance of forests and seek to maximize their benefits. Forestry can contribute to mitigating climate change …
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A Cultural Revolution is Needed to Arrest Timber Theft
June 01, 2007
Timber theft is a crime that takes generations to overcome – generations the victim will not see.
Timber is surprisingly easy to steal, and the high value of northeastern hardwoods is all the motivation needed by the thieves, who are small in number but large in their collective impact. Theft is easy because timber grows in …
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Tree Farm Program Has Credibility Problem
March 01, 2007
I have been a Tree Farm Inspector for 27 years. I’ve been a New Hampshire Licensed Forester since 1991 and am involved with the Forest Guild. My comments reflect a long history of involvement with foresters and landowners.
In July 2006, I received two mailings that finally prompted me to resign as a certified Tree Farm Inspector in …
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Life and Death
December 01, 2006
Finding the kill site was easy. A few days earlier, on the first morning of rifle season, a pair of nearby shots had cracked the frosty quiet of sunrise. I was curious whether the hunter had been lucky enough to take a buck in those early hours, so I went looking.
Tufts of white and brown hair snagged …
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Green Building Materials Designation Needs Rethinking
September 01, 2006
Green building programs have been developed over the past 10 to 15 years with the objective of shifting the built environment toward more sustainability. As the influence of these programs grows, it is critical that their guidelines and requirements be rational, realistic, comprehensive, and science-based to ensure they actually achieve positive outcomes. As they currently stand, building with wood is …
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A Natural Alliance
June 01, 2006
State fish and wildlife agencies across the country have each recently completed a comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan. These plans are required by Congress in order for states to have access to a new source of federal funds dedicated to keeping common species common and rare species off of the Endangered Species List. In their plans, each state identified species of …
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Woodworking in General Education
March 01, 2006
The great secret of education is to combine mental and physical work so that one kind of exercise refreshes the other. – Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
As a self-employed woodworker and writer, I have lamented the decline of woodworking programs in schools and the steady shift in education away from direct, hands-on learning.
Many years ago, …
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