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Maple Family Reunion

We gathered these seeds from members of the maple family. Clockwise from top, what species are they?

How Could a Fish Survive That?

There were times, during Tropical Storm Irene, when the rivers in Vermont and New Hampshire seemed to be made out of something other than water. Whatever it was was viscous and liquid, sure, but that…

The Decomposing Tribe

I was in the woods recently with a mycologist and he mentioned that whenever he is out with people looking for mushrooms, the only question anyone ever asks is “Is it edible?” One time a…

Climate Modeling is Like a Roll of the Dice

A number of years ago, when I was working in a New Hampshire mountain hut, a man walked in from the rain and saw a piece of paper thumb-tacked to the wall with the day’s weather forecast on it.…

Ducks, Beautiful Ducks: A Portfolio of Pintails, Woodies, and Butterballs

The beat changed more, and now they flew striking all together, so that their wings sung in unison as they went over his head. He stood stock still watching them, and long after they had passed down…

Bore Cutting Basics

To fell trees accurately and safely, you need to know how to do a bore cut, sometimes known as a plunge cut. On trees with forward lean, the traditional “race to the hinge” backcut will…

Choosing Binoculars

It is a monumental decision in the life of any birdwatcher. At stake is nothing less than the pleasure you get in the company of birds. So here is some advice on buying and using binoculars. First,…

Counting Bears

Biologists monitor the vitality of the “living symbol of the Maine woods.” The past two days have been disappointing for state bear biologists, and today is shaping up no differently.…

Three Logging Systems: Matching Equipment to the Job

Dick Lewis, of Chester, New Hampshire, has been logging since he was a teenager in the late 1950s. He started with horses and then a farm tractor, each of them pulling a scoot, a rugged sled that kept…

Powerlines as Habitat

Significant powerline projects are in the works throughout northern New England and New York, as the grid is updated to accommodate more power from Quebec. In the pages of the local papers, residents…

At Work Reading Landscapes with Ecologist and Teacher Tom Wessels

It’s a still, misty afternoon in Westminster, Vermont, and low-angled sun rays are piercing the water droplets, making everything seem preternaturally bright. Tom Wessels pulls on his boots in…

1,000 Words

October 14, 2009. Jim Block captured the transition from autumn to winter from the fire tower atop Smarts Mountain in Lyme, New Hampshire.  

Do Stressed Trees Produce More Seeds?

Even those who say they don’t know the first thing about trees are likely to appreciate the fact that giant trees emerge from tiny seeds. Really, what sort of grump doesn’t smile at the…

How Manomet Got it Backwards

In 2010, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences conducted a study for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to examine the greenhouse gas implications of using woody biomass for energy.…

Editor’s Note

I took a kid fishing recently. A friend’s kid – a ten-year-old boy who didn’t grow up rural. We cast rooster tails and panther martins into a tea-colored lake that sat up on the…

From the Center

The shock of crimson from a red maple growing at the edge of a wetland, the spying of a kettle of broadwings flying south, the evocative sound of a katydid suggesting that a return to school is…

Want to see an EAB trap up close?

If you’ve done any traveling around New York or New England this summer, you’ve probably come across one of the purple emerald ash borer traps that are hanging from ash trees along…

Floral Forest Mystery

Some trees continue to "flower" throughout the summer – like this one. What kind of tree produced this "flower?"

Seasonally Affected Dating Disorder

It appears that Sadie Hawkins Day has made its way into the butterfly world. Or, more likely, the sex role reversal when women ask men out for a date got its start with insects and only recently…

Trees: Now With Thirty Percent More Absorption!

While it has long been known that plants absorb carbon dioxide for use in photosynthesis, a new study has found that plants play a larger role than previously thought in absorbing certain types of air…