Managing the Legacy Forests at a Birthplace of Conservation At first glance, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, seems like your typical national…
Features
Local Color: Finding Wild Sources for Dye in the Forest
Each autumn, deciduous leaves transform the northern forest into a cheerful collage of oranges, reds, yellows, purples, and greens. Yet beneath this fleeting canopy grow longer-lasting and…
The Buzz on Pollination
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…
Avoiding Rash Decisions: A Guide to Plants You Shouldn’t Touch
"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,…
Forestry at the Fair
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,…
Afloat in the Woods: Blazing the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
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…
Wind, Fire, Ice, and Insects: Can Natural Disturbances Be a Management Tool for Foresters?
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…
Spring Comes to the Turkey Woods
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.…
The Great North Woods Coffee Maker Massacre
The scene opens with six women standing in a forest clearing. Chainsaws rest on the ground at their feet. Some of the women wear helmets. Some of them wear chaps. One of them (me) is staring…
Growing Shiitake Mushrooms: Step-by-Step Guide to an Agroforestry Crop
Ah, mushrooms. For the wild mushroom hunter, making a fungi foray into a forest erupting with golden chanterelles, bursting with radiant oyster mushrooms, and scattered with black trumpets is…