Magazine Series

Cutting wood is inherently hazardous work. Even if you’re using state-of-the-art techniques and practices, stuff still happens, as the saying goes. A quick word on chainsaw injuries and…

Editor’s Note: these are challenging times in the timber industry. Most mills have cut back on production; some are simply not buying logs. Many loggers have had to reduce crew size or…

Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for teaching women in her native Kenya to plant trees. Of course, her work is much more complicated than that, but her call for…

Plant life is an essential foundation of wildlife habitat. Whether in a northern hardwood forest or an agricultural landscape, plants form the base of the food chain, the structure of the…

"Plants are in the business of making themselves inedible,” says Tom Vogelmann, a plant biologist at the University of Vermont. Being unable to run and hide from predators,…

The Vermont State Fair is an extravaganza of carnival rides, livestock shows, demolition derbies, harness racing, live music, yummy junk food, art exhibits, vegetable and pie competitions,…

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is a roiling, serene, deep, shallow, narrow, and broad “trail” that follows a tortuous (some would say “torturous”) route across five…

In August 1, 1991, Hurricane Bob swept into southeastern New England with sustained winds of over 105 miles per hour. In its aftermath, we found that many large oaks in our family woodlot in…

Chokolokaloka. There are so many bird sounds in a spring forest, it can be hard to pick out just one. Chokolokaloka. But he’s there – hear him? A male (“tom”) turkey.…

An apple orchard in late May, just as the trees’ deep pink buds expand into pale pink blossoms, is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I won’t tell about the smells or the…