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This comment came in as a Letter to the Editor.

Great article, and I enjoyed following the link.  As a New England Cottontail Rabbit Volunteer in NH, I can describe the shrublands habitat of the rabbit, home to an incredible array of flora and fauna, to some as interesting as the forests of New England.  I have been very interested to learn from UNH Cooperative Extension’s Emma Carcagno that recent estimates relate to forestry practices, land conservation and habitat restoration:  Every six acres of protected (or reclaimed) shrublands gives a native New England ecosystem an opportunity to rebound from decades of habitat destruction, and an endangered species has a chance to show its fuzzy face.

Mila Paul

I’m a graduate student at UNH who has been studying this rabbit for the past two years. In response to Barbara’s question about which rabbit species she has, they are almost impossible to tell apart unless you have them in your hands, and even then it’s pretty tricky. However, Lyme is so far north that you are more likely to have snowshoe hares than either cottontail species. The easiest way to tell is that hares turn white in winter. If you see your rabbits in the middle of winter and they are still brown, you might have a cottontail. In that case, you should call the Fish and Game Department with your sighting.

I’m a strong supporter of endangered and threatened species (and the Endangered Species Act), but I have mixed feelings about the NE cottontail because much of its decline is attributable to the reversion of pasture to forest in Maine.  So, its higher populations in the past was larger an artifact of human development.  On the other hand, every species (and subspecies) is important in terms of its contribution of genetic diversity and its place on Earth, so I hate to see it the NE cottontail disappear. So, I guess that makes me a supporter of your call for landowners to help.

Drew

P.S. I’d participate on our 125 acres, but we’re a bit too far north to realistically help, something that might change with global warming!

When I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia in the 1980’s, the graduate offices were located in the basement of an un-airconditioned building.  Hardly anyone could tolerate the dank spaceand in part due to the super-abundance of silverfish.  Yuck.  I appreciate their evolutionary niche, but am happy to not see them around my house!

I have noticed a large drop in rabbit numbers over the 40 years we have been here,
although I don’t know which specie of rabbits we have.  How can one tell which is which - am I looking at the smaller New England or the larger Eastern?  We have a 4,000-acre preserve here in Lyme and have started cutting out the large trees in some of the old grown-up pastures.  That will help with rabbit habitat - but for which rabbit?  Does it matter?

My vote is saying/writing UTILIZE instead of USE.  Using three syllables to do the work of one adds nothing, but seems a pathetic attempt to be saying something more important than you are.

It may be slightly off topic, but there are three other things that make me cringe: using ” ” to stress a word or to call attention to a particular word, using an ‘s to indicate a plural, and writing ect for etc.  Are the schools teaching nothing today? Do those teaching know the differences?

Respectfully, I disagree with your view Bill. You have a list of words you wish to expunge from the language, which seems petty to me. As for the word “critter” being disrespectful to animals, they don’t care about words, that is a human trait.

Well, thanks Bill.  The next time I shrink away from the unexpected sight of a silverfish, I’ll remember how long they’ve been successfully inhabiting this precious Earth of ours.  I’ve always thought it important to have respect for one’s elders, so respect them I shall.

I agree with you, Bill. The word is a bit too cute and may not have been the best choice. Rather than delete it, though, it might be more fun to see what words other people hate. An informal poll of folks in the office revealed that people here hate boy/girlfriend (unless it refers to a prepubescent friend), the overuse of the word “actually,” any nouns-turned-verbs like “impact,” and the c-word that isn’t “critter.” I don’t want to ignore the cottontail questions but word geeks should feel free to chime in on this as well.

This comment came in as a Letter to the Editor for the printed magazine.

Will the editor and writers please refrain from the use of the word “critter”?

It’s a regionalism. It’s substandard. Hasn’t this word been worn out lately? It belongs in the list with leper, loser, loner, shirker, and the n-word. It tries to be cute. It demeans.  It disrepects the animal, which should be held in higher regard, awe really.

That’s my two cents.

Bill Morrison
Wolcott, Vermont

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the resurgence of the fox which happens every few years when I notice an increase in the bunny population. As is the case right now!

Thank you for all the replies.  This summer I have an excavator go in and remove the stumps and grade the area.  The contractor brought in a small bulldozer to grade the area smooth.  A local diary farmer then seeded it with TriMix (I forget the three variety of seeds) but he recommended it.  About three weeks later we went up and a very short layer of green was appearing.  That was late October.  Hopefully, in the spring, after everything drys up we’ll have a nice area to build our cabin.  Thanks again for the advice.  I love the woods.

Deer ticks are active whenever temps get above 40F.  In the middle of winter this can easily happen around edges of swamps where the sun heats the active organic soil that is already thawed.  This fall has been particularly bad, also two years of heavy mast crop makes for many vermin hosts, chipmunks, squirrel, mice and deer = a lot of ticks.  Unfortunately we have to live with disease laden ticks when we go outdoors, especially if that is where you work.  Protect yourself with gaiters sprayed with permethrin and spray clothing down with 25% or greater deet.  From personal experience the effort is well worth the price you may pay for not taking precautions.

It’s nice that folks are starting to realize the poor choice burning New England’s forests for electricity would be.

However, right now there are two large scale electricity generating facilities being proposed in Vermont, and few, if any, of the environmental groups in the state, nor those who are in favor of wood heating over electricity production, have gotten very involved in the permitting process, nor spoken out publicly against these facilities, to my knowledge (please correct me if I’m wrong).

The outreach and media coverage has been so poor, that most Vermonters I have spoken to don’t even know these facilities are being planned at all.

BERC states they support heating over electricity, but after reading a media quote from a BERC staff member that seemed supportive of the biomass electricity facilities for Fair Haven and Pownal, VT, I sent an email asking if that meant BERC supported the facilities. I didn’t receive an answer.

Flaura and fauna are important, but society and economy must also be taken into account when it comes to Haiti. Seldom, however, do Haiti’s politicians try to expand the popularity of their national resources and vast lands, thereby making some people forget that Haiti is truly a landmark on this planet.

I am on my third year with an Eko 25 gasifier. One of my concerns was getting it installed at a reasonable price.  I am running it with no thermal storage for now.  After having it piped in, it does not appear all that difficult.  You could set up that econoburn the same way any plumber worth his salt can easily tie it into your oil furnace. Had mine done for 2G, 1 for parts and 1 for labor.

I hunt up in Walden ,Near Coles Pond up on Stannard Mountain and one of the residents there, an accomplished woodsman,hunter and logger has sighted them several times in the area.  He stated that he was with his mother and saw one in a field on Noyestar road.  He was in a clearcut with his machine in a very remote area and has seen one.

The information provided by you is very good. Further details needed of species of plants which will shows particular pollution load….

We bought an Econoburn last year to suppliment our existing fuel oil heating system. The dealer then presented us with an estimate of $8,000 to install the unit 8’ from the oil boiler. We’ve been trying for a year to figure out how to tie this unit into the other.  Apparently the installation requirements are top secret and the manufacturer does not wish to assist homeowners. The only other dealer within 100 miles has declined to help us. It there someone who can help us understand what the requriements are?  We’re willing to pay for help - just not $8,000!!

Hi Sam,
The majority of the CCC plantings occurred between 1933 and 1942. States had different tree planting subsidy programs after that. Check with your county forester to find out exactly when they happened in your particular area.