The case for active forest management
Forestry is the practice of managing forested ecosystems. However, since forests seem to be able to take care of themselves, do we really need to manage them at all?
Grazing on grassroots
In my work at the Conservation Commission I reviewed a subdivision application in which two state agencies, another town committee, and a not-for-profit all held interests aimed at compliance with federal guidelines. Add to that a concern for global climate stability, and these layers of complexity, while necessary, are frustrating and often counterproductive.
Water, water everywhere… and nowhere, plus an idea
I recently spotted something remarkable at the Denver Botanic Garden: an atmospheric water harvester. What, you say? Denver receives from eight to 15 inches of rain in an average year; Vermont about 37. (For the record, Colorado experiences 300 or more days of sunshine each year while Vermont averages about half that number.)
Finding a connection to nature
My wife and I attended a film festival in Middlebury recently. It was the 10th Annual Fly Fishing Film Tour on Friday the 13th. For almost a decade now I have been attempting to educate the public—both the hunting/fishing sector and the non-hunting/fishing sector—about the healing qualities of participating in the outdoors.
First harbingers of a new growing season
Now you see them, now you don’t. I’m speaking of spring blooming ephemerals that will be showing along Vermont’s roadsides and, if we’re fortunate, in our own gardens very soon.
Selective cuts
I don’t know who started it, but at some point a lot of people started talking about timber harvesting in two categories: “clearcutting” and “selective cutting.” When I describe my job to laypeople, they often ask if I do “selective cutting,” perhaps trying to ensure that I’m not one of those “bad guys” associated with “clearcutting.”
Digging out and digging in
Ah, springtime in Vermont! The grasp of winter ever so slowly relenting and allowing us to consider that perhaps soon we’ll be without snow banks, icy walkways and frosty windshields every morning and will instead be out strolling through the garden with bare feet.
Spring walking and cycling ideas and a road trip to the Montreal Botanical Garden
Mud season is upon us. It may not be muddy at your house, but as snow and ice melt, first in the valleys and later at higher elevations, it’s good to have some ideas for spring outings. Also a Plan B for days of April showers.
Keeping Vermont forests as large as possible
Throughout Vermont, people interested in our environment are increasingly concerned about the health of our forests and the current development trends. People come here to visit or to settle down, largely because of the magnificent mountains and pastoral scenes that surround our highways and towns, and, of course, because of the people.
The importance of corridors
How would you react if you received a notice that said your home property would be bisected by a new highway? You would likely go to your town, county and state officials, hire a lawyer, form a neighborhood group to defeat this issue, and, in the end, maybe even try to physically obstruct the process. You have rights, and you voice your objections to this incursion. Now ask yourself, how can wildlife express their distress when their home and ability to survive is threatened by a new road, by developments that fragments forests with spread-out houses and by the addition of domestic predators? The unfortunate truth is they can’t.
Coming soon to your neighborhood: Spring!
The natural world is awakening. March entries from my garden journal prepare me for the vicissitudes of the month, when lions and lambs interact frequently. From 1998: Snow cover generally gone since early February. Huge snowstorm on March 22. In 2001: Town Meeting Day Storm cancels Town Meeting and dumps 30 inches of snow on Burlington, fourth greatest snowfall on record. Also three snowstorms after March 25!
Learning lessons from the outdoors
Tonight I am packing my dark-green duffle bag and my backpack with all of my favorite toys: duck and goose calls, turkey box calls, slate calls, turkey wing bone calls, turtle shell calls, crow and peacock calls, owl calls and all my late-season ice fishing gear. I will stuff the large green duffle bag with my favorite base layers and chamois shirts, my old Carhartt coveralls and my “camp pillow”—a chamois shirt stuffed with fleece vests and jackets.
Into the woods – Resilience
When trying to manage for healthy forests, you must first consider how to gauge forest health. After all, if we don’t know what condition we’re shooting for, it’s hard to know when we’re headed in the right direction. Is a healthy forest, one filled with trees growing quickly and efficiently? Or one without disease? Does it include high-quality wildlife habitat, or should forest health be measured solely on the condition of trees?
Emerald Ash Borer found in Vermont
The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation (VTFPR) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Foods & Markets (VAAFM) report that an emerald ash borer (EAB), a destructive forest insect from Asia, has been detected in Vermont. Officials with the USDA Animal & Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed the identification of a beetle recently found in northern Orange County, Vermont. The insect was reported through the vtinvasives.org website.
Charlotte Recreation Spring Program Guide
Full and partial scholarships are available for all youth recreation activities.You can find additional information on all of our programs as well as registration forms on our town website at charlottevt.org under the Recreation tab or contact Nicole Conley by email at [email protected]
Road Salt and Trees — An Unhealthy Mix
The question of whether we should increase the use of salt on our roads has periodically been a subject of debate in Charlotte. It was an item on the recent February 12 Selectboard agenda. The position of the last tree warden, Larry Hamilton, was to oppose the increased use of salt. I support this position for all the same reasons as previously put forth, summarized here:
Triple Town Trail Tour
Saturday morning in January, lots of snow on the ground, time to do the Triple Town Trail XC Ski Tour. Tax season is gearing up, but I’ve got a few hours before heading into the office for the afternoon. I decide to see if I can ski the Town Link Trail, the Pease Mountain Trail and the Plouffe Lane Trail before sitting at my desk for the rest of the day.
Yellow iris control in Thorp Brook and Lower Lewis Creek
Yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), with its striking yellow flowers, provides a colorful addition to the Vermont landscape—and a threat to our priority natural communities. In recent years, it has gained a foothold in many Lake Champlain wetlands andsmall streams that drain directly into the lake. Both are priority natural communities, as documented by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Natural Heritage Program.
A whale of a tale and other Baja discoveries
Women groan at the thought of giving birth to an 11- or 12-pound baby. Imagine a gray whale calf, weighing at birth 1,100 pounds and 15 feet long. Ouch! Gray whale mothers produce rich milk, 50 percent fat, and a nursing calf can gain several pounds an hour and up to 200 pounds in a day, while swimming the entire time.
Jack’s eulogy
Like the dog in John Irving’s Hotel New Hampshire named “Sorrow” who follows his protagonists, I have learned, having had to put several dogs to sleep, “Sorrow” follows us for a long time. Last week my wife and I had to put down our handsome yellow Lab, Jack.