Site Discussions

While I loved the piece, I was struck by the comment that clubmosses are mostly found “in the cool, shaded environment of the boreal forest.” This is factually incorrect. I have hiked the White, Green, and Adirondack ranges frequently and have actually never seen Lycopodium - my favorite understory plant - beneath boreal forests if I am to assume the definition of boreal is spruce-fir either entirely or intermittently. Rather you are more apt to find this beautiful relic beneath mesic to dry beech, beech-maple, and beech-birch-maple in the aforementioned mountain ranges. This is an important distinction and one your readership should understand if they don’t already. Lycopodium is truly a jewel of New England’s hardwood forests, not its boreal forests.

Just shot some great photos of a female Giant Ichneumon Wasp laying her eggs in a dead Ponderosa Pine tree.

Deer have a tndency to browse.  But I do not think they can bring ginseng to extinction.  If this were the case, they would have done so over the ages which they have been present along with ginseng in the forests.
Ginseng roots of over 50 years of age are still commonly found in nearly every State which harbors a naturally seeding population of the plant.
When the population of ginseng, (as with other resources), reaches a low enough level of diminishng returns, animals and humans alike have a tendency to seek other more promising pursuits.
Ginseng, alog with other understory plants, can readily be incresed by encouraging planting along the same lines that our great Eastern tree forests have been replenished.
Educate we the people, instill a love for nature in us, and we will be eager to do the job!
Fines and penalties will only serve to drive away the otherwise willing.

Responding to Patricia Jaquith’s concerns about chimney swifts and pesticide spraying for West Nile virus:

There are some serious concerns that the decline of chimney swifts is not due just to the loss of suitable chimneys as habitat. Reports that discuss potential reasons for the decline of chimney swifts can be found at http://post.queensu.ca/~groomsc/trends.html and by searching Google for chimney swifts and West Nile virus.

Other insectivorous birds that catch prey on the wing, such as the common nighthawk and whip-poor-will, are also declining. One reason cited is that spraying pesticides could be reducing their food supply, including spraying to kill mosquitoes for West Nile virus control.

Other reasons for the swift’s decline could range from the loss of habitat in wintering grounds to (in the case of chimney swifts) the loss of large chimneys to serve as roosting sites where swifts can congregate during rest stops along their seasonal migration routes.

Chimney swifts could also be accumulating toxins in their systems when they eat insects that contain some level of pesticides in their tissues. This could be a particular problem in the swift’s wintering range where pesticides are more widely used and are applied in higher concentrations.

The decline of chimney swifts in Canada has been particularly steep, with populations dropping overall by about 28 percent during the past 13.5 years (representing 3 generations of swifts).

Ms. Jaquith’s suggestion of increasing swift populations by improving nesting site conditions and availability is an excellent example of proposing biological insect controls as an alternative to the use of toxic chemicals. The questions that arise are:

- How can the word be spread to encourage this kind of solution for chimney swifts, and for all insectivorous birds, especially in light of the decline of little brown bats and all other species of bats that have, prior to this time, consumed large numbers of insects.(Please see the article that I wrote on the Common Nighthawk in the Outside Story archives on the Northern Woodlands website, which was published on Jul 21, 2008 and contains examples of local efforts to create new nighthawk nest sites.)

- And, as always: Who is going to step forward to help chimney swifts by: 1) increasing public awareness of the issues, and 2) starting local campaigns to improve and restore the swifts’ old and existing nesting chimneys, while encouraging the creation of new chimneys where they can nest?

Your truly,

Michael Caduto

Probably not the adelgid, Chip, if you saw white worms. The adelgids are so tiny they’re practically impossible to see with the naked eye, and they’re not worms, really, they’re closer to aphids.

Yes, there is a predator beetle from out west that entomologists hope may help check the population (Laricobius nigrinus). Only time will tell.

Sure, Paul. Happy to have you share the article.

Thank you for this informative post. I’ve always wondered about the logistics of honeybees and hives. I put extra effort in keeping nectar sources available in our yard and fields, so it’s good to know what comes of that effort where I can’t see.

Does anyone know about the health of swift (and other mosquito-devouring bird) populations in areas where spraying is used as a control for west nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis?  Perhaps investing in nesting sites could provide natural controls in those areas and reduce the use of chemicals.

Swifts were the theme this summer for our vacation:

We spend every summer up in Vermont and was so sad to hear about the bats in your recent article, but happy to know the swifts are going after the mosquito - wow our whole vacation was alive with their wonderful ballet up in the air! 

We golf up at Milestone on the border of NY and fair haven, VT and they have great swifts all over their natural course which was an old family farm. 

And this summer we noticed nice nests under the bridge at Lemon Fair while Kayaking - they are a great bird!  Thanks for your great storytelling on them!

I remember walking through a state park about 10 years ago, and coming across this writhing, white mass of tiny worms on a tree - Not a hemlock, more like a maple or something.  This was my introduction to the adelgid. Is there any natural predator for this nasty animal?

Great Article. Request permission to reprint and post to my Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Surveyors. The EAB is the little green bug that is killing the ash trees across the United States. The best way to combat the EAB is to not move firewood. Buy your firewood and burn it where you buy it. Check out the folowing websites for more info concerning this threat.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/emerald_ash_borer/emerald_ash_borer.shtml or http://www.in.gov/dnr/ and click on the EAB in the right hand menu.
Thank you for a fine newsletter.

Does anyone know of a buyer for maple logs located in Western Washington (Olympic Peninsula)?

There are many issues to the biomass debate but some can never grasp the complete picture, which is very large. The demand for biomass allows good forestry to continue to be implemented by foresters.  Having a continued market for low grade wood that is produced in improvement harvests and thinnings is key to allowing the landowner to improve forest quality while covering the costs. For if this value of low grade wood was to disappear many landowners would fold and sell their parcel to the next developer. How would sequestration work if forest more rapidly went to pavement and buildings?  Land has a cost to owning and managing biomass helps offset these costs. 

Young forests have been shown to have greater carbon sequestration efficiency than older forests though some balance needs to be met.  It always seems left out that local power plants with local energy sources reduce the total carbon picture from the transportation side of things alone. This goes for all things, buy local should be the carbon mantra whether food, fiber or energy. Where did the last 2x4 you purchased at home depot come from, or do you even care?
Energy sources need to be diversified, managed in a way that reduces transportation and extraction and production of the energy source for every region of the country.  This will be the only way to move toward carbon neutrality.

In response to CJ’s note, this borer is specific to apple trees, so your other fruit trees should be safe. In my reading on it, I saw that it ate crabapples, too, and you would expect that to be the case. At my place, it has oddly enough let the crabs alone. I don’t know why.

Bee-line is not always straight from food source to hive. I lined a swarm in Central Maine in the 50’s. My set-up was near a patch of goldenrod in the middle of a 40 acre field in mid September.  I got compass bearing and time and set out to locate the hive.  Lo and behold the bearing and subsequent sightings led me to, and down, a woods road in a corner of the field.  There I lost the trail because I couldn’t see the bees against the trees. Eventually I found the hive, by hearing the buzzing, in a big old brown ash.  The flight path was roughly in the shape of a “J”.  The bees had flown about 300 hundred extra clear yards such that flight through the woods was reduced from 200 yards or so to less than 50 yards. Sure shook my confidence in the preconceived bee-line I had been reading about.

After 6 years of losing newly planted apple trees, now I know the reason!!  And more importantly, there is a method of killing the borer and saving the tree.  Does this borer only bother apple trees or will it or another borer attack my plum, peach, and pear trees?

I brushed up against stinging neddles while fishing. I had a very nasty reaction with large welts on my body. Very painful and itchy. It made me ill and I had to seek medical assistance I was allergic and it has taken 1 month to clearup somewhat. I have scaring and it left black and blue bruising.It is still very irritable and itchy.

As a company we deal with many Charity’s who reach out to those in need including charity’s who go out to help such places as Haiti. It is great to read articles like Dave’s who shed sides of disasters we do not think of. As carolyn said the focus is often always about people and money. Dave shows us another side to consider of what has happened in haiti.

Great read, congratulations on a strong article Dave, look forward to reading more.

Shortly after buying 100 acres of fields and forest in Northfield, Vermont in 1964, my father met with the Washington County Forester to get some insight into how to manage his new property. The forester’s advice was to plant Scotch Pine…lots of them…20,000 in fact. A few months later our family became involved in what was a five year project to fill our fields with seedlings that grew up to become mediocre Christmas trees, crooked saw logs and generally an eyesore. Now, close to fifty years later, my wife and I who now own the property are on the verge of cutting the last twenty trees that remain. After reading the article about Red Pine, I found myself wishing that even a third of our Scotch Pine trees had been Red Pine. At least Red Pine has some value. Thanks for the article.

I think I finally found what is in our young tulip poplar tree. Last year I noticed that it was covered in these scabs/scales/bumps. There were also wasps and ants and lady bugs all over it. I also noticed what looked like black bug honeydew on many of the leaves. However, there doesn’t seem to be any harm being done to the tree. It seems to be very healthy.