I knew very little about Haiti before the tragic recent earthquake brought the county to the front pages of the local paper. I still know very little, although I’m learning, slowly. To those in…

With the discovery that crude oil could be refined into a seemingly endless variety of products, petroleum became one of the most important substances on earth. Now, more than a century later, oil has…

Bacteria – and other micro-organisms – get a bad rap. All winter long, we wash our hands to keep them away. We sanitize our dishes in a dishwasher, our clothes in the washing machine, and…

The act of tapping a maple tree is a fairly simple task, yet it’s one that’s often done incorrectly. Improperly tapping a tree can lead to lower sap production and, worse, poor tree…

Trees are about half water, maybe a little less in winter. And if the temperature drops low enough, the water in even the most cold-hardy tree will freeze. Since ice crystals can shred cell membranes,…

Here’s an important point to make for those of you deeply concerned about climate change: We’re not going to solve the problem by promoting forest growth. It’s true that trees…

Crossing a four-lane highway that sees 50,000 vehicles a day can be a daunting task for an animal. So a group of organizations and individuals in Concord, Massachusetts, teamed up with MassHighway to…

The woods of Maine host the greatest abundance of fishless lakes in the Northeast, but their abundance is declining due to state-sanctioned fish stocking for recreational anglers and illegal releases…

This picture, circa the mid-1980s, shows biologist Will Staats surrounded by scarred saplings. What, specifically, caused this damage?

Each time we send out a newsletter, maybe 300 people look at the What in The Woods is That picture, between 50 and 100 regularly venture guesses, and about a half dozen send us in-depth answers that…

Whenever a frigid overcast day comes along, I develop a powerful urge to return to bed for a spell. So does Monty, the cat, who after rising for breakfast and watching birds through a frosted window,…

Sort of other worldy, huh? What in the woods is it?

We were on the ice by 6:30, loaded for bear with tip-ups, axes, augers, bait fish, cooking implements and the likes, the three of us heading out across a virgin snowpack on a lake that seemed to…

Some time ago our neighbor called me over at dusk to observe a flying squirrel eating seed at his bird feeder. I had never encountered this animal and was most intrigued. Afterwards I said to myself,…

In mid-December, a delegation from the Vermont Forestry Division and the Agency of Agriculture traveled to Quebec to meet with emerald ash borer (EAB) specialists immersed in the Carignan infestation…

Chris Demers of Willington, Connecticut, took this photo a few weeks back after a fresh snowfall. What made these strange marks?

Winter in Northern New England is challenging for birds that don’t migrate south. To survive, a bird must find adequate food, refuge from wind and cold, and protection from predators.…

In winter, Lynn Malerba’s peak experiences don’t occur on mountaintops. Her idea of a great February weekend is to teach a small group of novice explorers how to thrive on the valley…

While conducting a study of old-growth trees at Huntington Forest in Long Lake, New York, research specialists Steve Signell and Colin Beire came across a fairly nondescript, fallen hemlock tree. The…

“The vast commercial enterprise and history of logging in Vermont seems like a hidden powerhouse without the public face (and attendant sympathy) that agriculture has here. My hope is that in…