Non-native invasive forest pests such as emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid get a lot of attention, and well deserved, for being major tree killers. There are, however, some native pests…
Can Adding Iron Strengthen Wood?
The production of steel and concrete is responsible for approximately 13½ percent of global carbon emissions, according to a 2022 article in the journal Nature. After clean water, cement (a key…
How Warming Temperatures Are Affecting Soil Health Text
It rained overnight. A morning walk along the well-worn path in the family’s woodlot is not crunchy and soothing, as it is on many fall mornings. Today it’s a bit sodden, with the last…
How Harvested Wood Moves through Maine
With trees covering 17.5 million acres (90 percent of the state’s landmass), Maine is the most forested state in the United States. Private landowners – corporations, institutional…
Cultivating a Teachable Spirit at Red Bridge Farm
Ralph DiCosimo never imagined he’d move so far north. He spent his childhood in an apartment in the Bronx, and another two decades on a suburban lot on Long Island, but he always dreamed of…
Vanishing Winter
At the start of January, cold air slides along the Allegheny Front. Days are short, and the temperature hovers near zero in the valley, even colder on the mountain. Earlier this afternoon I called my…
Winter Visitor: Rough-legged Hawk
In late autumn, cold air masses come barreling down from the Canadian Arctic like an atmospheric avalanche, bringing with them a visitor from the North: the rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus). Its…
1,000 Words
On what he remembers as “a dismal late December day,” with temperatures hovering in the 30s, wildlife tracker and photographer Ben Wymer came across this scene in northeastern Minnesota:…
Editor’s Note
As much as I lament the exceedingly long nights of winter, I find myself enchanted each year by the sparkle that breaks through the dark of the season. I can, for instance, stargaze before dinner (and…
From the Center
Following this autumn’s enriching Northeastern Old Growth Conference, a board member asked me how the Center for Northern Woodlands Education fits into the wide range of advocacy groups and…
Issue 127: Winter 2025 $12.00
This issue features: Winter Wonders Preventing the Next Spruce Budworm Outbreak How Harvested Wood Moves through Maine The Forest Revealed, and much more! Order a copy of this issue or visit…