Articles

Seed, Transplant, or Just Let Nature Take Its Course? Some Considerations. As I walk through my woods in spring and early summer, I usually stick to the trails. I want to avoid stepping on any…

Lumberjack contests have evolved from loosely organized gatherings to highly competitive sports events with an international following. Today’s top competitors train intensely to master…

The Confusing History of New England’s Arctic Char, and Current Efforts to Conserve Them My earliest memory of fishing is of my father baiting a hook for me with a small piece of slab…

“I spent a lot of time earlier in my life being very politically active, testifying, being on boards of non-profits, and ultimately being frustrated and feeling ineffective. I realized…

Following the journey that forest products take to - and through - ND Paper's mill in Rumford, Maine. I’ve always been fascinated by pulp and paper mills. There is something…

The Water Works wasn’t the only job Charlie was able to obtain. He got the timber contract to cut on Betsey Pratt’s property around Mad River Glen Ski Area. I only met Betsey once.…

“Last February, in late afternoon, a bobcat found the suet feeder in my backyard," explains photographer Elinor Osborn, who resides in Craftsbury Common, Vermont. "It dined on…

In the last issue we looked at a few handy devices for smallscale, low-impact logging, including the skidding cone. One alternative to the commercially available skidding cone is a homemade…

Though it’s often called “fisher cat” or “black cat,” the fisher (Pekanis pennanti) rarely fishes and is not a cat. The fisher’s only likeness to the…

This map represents typical winter destinations of nine species that nest on Karl and Kathy Ross’s 126-acre woodlot in Wallingford, Vermont. The Ross property includes a mix of northern…

Ever since last fall, I’ve been working on a tree. Chainsawing it up. Splitting it. Stacking loads of firewood. It’s a monster tree, about three-and-a-half feet across at the…

I was sitting 20 feet high in a thick red oak, the forest floor spread out below me. My lofty perch afforded a view not available to a ground dweller. From the ground, brown brush, thick and…

“Consider all this; and then turn to the green, gentle, and most docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in…

One of my favorite things about writing for Northern Woodlands is that I get to meet so many folks who are incredibly passionate about forestry and equally “woods smart.” Al…

With much of the forest’s output subject to commodity pricing, survival for mechanized loggers depends on the efficiency and economics of big machines. Justin Lathrop is the machine guy…

“I captured this image of a heron at sunrise from my kayak in northern New Hampshire,” said photographer Chris Mazzarella. “I used my 70-200mm f2.8 lens to create an…

Burlwood is sought after by wood connoisseurs for its potent colors, swirls, and textures. It is rare to find and impossible to propagate. I often quip that if anyone finds a burl they should…

The northern forest has about 195 grasses, of which 145 are native and 50 introduced. They are our second largest plant family, after the sedges. Our grassiest landscapes are farms and…

When gold was discovered in 1849 at Sutter’s Mill in California, the famous gold rush of 1849 ensued with profound consequences for the West and its native population. Sixteen years…

While performing field necropsies on moose, Maine biologist Lee Kantar has observed as many as 90,000 winter ticks on a single victim. Such moose are anemic and malnourished. With vital fat…