Scientists have long known that high concentrations of pesticides can be toxic to frogs, toads, and salamanders. What is less well known is the effect of low, repeated doses of pesticides on these…

More than 70 years have passed since a mountain lion was hunted and killed in New England.  In 1938 a Quebec trapper caught the last one on record—in Maine.  New Hampshire’s last…

The State of Vermont instituted new baitfish regulations in April 2008 to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) to Vermont. Ice fisherman should be aware of these regulations. Viral…

Michael Dirr, the author of my favorite horticultural book, is a rarity in that he is dubious about sycamore, which he considers to be “overplanted.” Most people love this tree without…

When I was growing up in the Adirondacks, nature was my playground, and the woods behind our house was a second home. Summers were spent hiking Mount Baker or swimming and fishing in Moody Pond. My…

Last Sunday, I gave in. I hung my head, gassed up the chainsaw, and walked into the woods. Not into deep woods, exactly, but to a spot on our hillside where a summer windstorm, hard on the heels of a…

When I was very young I used to scare the heck out of myself by getting lost in the woods near where we lived. Instead of going to scary movies, like some kids, I’d head off again and again and…

Crown gall, the common name for Agrobacterium tumefaciens, is one of the most famous plant diseases in the world. This bacterium can cause galls in more than 600 plant species, some of which are…

While chainsaws have evolved over several decades to become safer, there is no mechanical solution to the problem of fatigue. Since fatigue is a major contributor to chainsaw accidents, an operator…

Two winters past a pair of Carolina wrens frequented our bird feeder. The male greeted the dawn with an ebullient “tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle.”  After sunset, the intrepid…

Over the years in Northern Woodlands, we have revisited the subject of “selective cutting.” When loggers advertise their services, they often use the phrase, selective harvesting or…

My third-floor office window overlooks a hillside a quarter-mile south that rises steeply into Montpelier’s Hubbard Park. The slope, steep enough to discourage buildings but not trees, supports…

What could be better than helping a child find delight in the natural world? Here are three books that can make that happen. Eggs, by Marilyn Singer, illustrations by Emma Stevenson, is an outstanding…

Those white paint-like bands across the bark are lichens, and they are as normal and natural a part of healthy forests as are warblers. There are several others present on this tree and throughout the…

Snow: Love it if you ski, but hate it if you have a long driveway. I happen to cross-country ski and like lots of snow, and so far, two weeks into the new winter, I have few complaints. Maybe it will…

Let’s say you’re a rational, educated person with an appreciation for nature’s ways. The summer you were 12, you went to Camp Hi-Dee-Ho, where you were introduced to the forest by…

While browsing a newspaper recently, I was encouraged to read the headline: “State moves to regulate ‘captive hunting.’” It detailed the fact that after 10 years of debate, the…

Happy New Year from Northern Woodlands!

Written by award-winning science journalist Alan Weisman, The World Without Us is an imaginative blend of science and fiction. One early reviewer dubbed it “an audacious intellectual…

The other day I noticed snow fleas dusting new snow around a maple trunk. These minuscule creatures — broadly known as springtails — are out early this year, and I didn’t hear them…