Knots and Bolts Archive
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Bittersweet Battles
The Damariscotta River Association (DRA) property in Newcastle, Maine, sits perched between US Route 1 and the Great Salt Bay. Over the past 50 years, this former pasture land has spawned a white pine community that is now under threat from oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), an exotic invasive vine that strangles, smothers, and overburdens native vegetation. With DRA permission, I’ve… (more)
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New Disease Threatens Black Walnut
As if the specter of emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetles destroying hardwoods in the Northeast weren’t depressing enough, another forest pest has reared its ugly head in the Midwest. Just two years ago, researchers discovered that a sudden decline in black walnut (Juglans nigra) in Colorado was due to a combination of the walnut twig beetle and a… (more)
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Bum Breathers
As northerners, our turtles must contend with frigid winters. Unable to maintain the necessary body temperature to carry out essential metabolic activities, a turtle settles down into the mud for a long winter’s sleep. Its heart rate slows to almost nothing, and its organ systems more or less shut down. Finding food is not a problem – like all hibernators,… (more)
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Determine a Deer’s Age by its Jaw
Estimating the age of a deer by studying the tooth wear and eruption patterns on the lower jawbone is not an exact science, but it’s free, you can perform the task yourself, and nearly anyone can learn the basic criteria for distinguishing each age class. By assessing tooth eruption patterns, which is to say, the way in which a deer’s… (more)
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Know Your Fungus
September can feel like summer, but we also see glimmers of autumn – a change in the light, goldenrods and asters blooming, mushrooms of various species emerging and proliferating in fields and forests. Like many outdoor enthusiasts, I am fascinated with mushrooms. I marvel at their endlessly varied shapes and colors and smells and at their otherworldly aspects as they… (more)
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NW Illustrator Honored for Work
Readers of Northern Woodlands will be familiar with artist Adelaide Tyrol’s work: her paintings regularly illustrate our Under the Microscope and Species in the Spotlight columns; her work also graces The Outside Story, our weekly syndicated newspaper column. Another place you can find Adelaide’s work is in the halls of the New York State Museum, in Albany, New York. Tyrol… (more)
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Getting Cranked About Ethanol
As I was waiting at the shop the other day to pick up my chainsaw, I heard strong words up ahead in line: something about the government and the EPA and ethanol. When my turn came at the counter, the saw doctor looked up from my bill, with its itemized list of new gaskets and filters, and said, “Same for… (more)
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Compelling Video on Worcester Beetle Infestation
While those of us in the print world don’t readily admit it, there’s power in television images that just can’t be replicated in words and still photographs. In light of this, we were happy to receive a copy of Lurking in the Trees, a 30-minute film produced by the Nature Conservancy that gives viewers a first-hand look at the Worcester,… (more)
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Foresters and Real Estate Agents Join Forces
In a state dense with timberland, Maine’s district foresters have a serious challenge providing landowners with timely information about good forestry practices and changes in state law. There are 10 district foresters employed by the Maine Forest Service and more than 17 million acres of workable forest land across the state. Many first-time land buyers don’t know about the services… (more)
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Plant Relics are Humble but Handy
Three hundred million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the land. The earth they inhabited was hot and humid and covered in vast, swampy forests that today would seem most bizarre. Some of the plants growing then resembled giant bottle brushes, reaching 60 feet tall. Others sported 100-foot-tall trunks that were clothed in overlapping, scalelike leaves. Notably absent were flowers: it would… (more)