Region Archives: US East

It’s been 30 years since the largest landowner in Pennsylvania — the state itself — came up with a strategic plan to guide the use of its 2.2 million acres of forest, along with 12 million privately owned acres. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry’s list of challenges has evolved in those three decades, now including climate change, invasive plants, diseases and destructive insects. New recreational uses have also come to the fore, such as mountain biking, forest bathing, e-bikes and all-terrain vehicles — not to mention an inundation of visitors during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. Time for a new blueprint. After several years of public opinion polling and surveying the many stakeholders of state forests, the bureau has drafted a new plan called Forests for All: A Plan for Pennsylvania’s Forests and People.

Native trees adapt to the climate and environmental conditions of their area to survive. Researchers in the College of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the American Chestnut Foundation confirmed this by examining the genome of American chestnut trees sampled throughout the Appalachian Mountain range and grouping the samples according to their specific environmental region. The research …has the potential to help restore the American chestnut population and adjust breeding to the changing climate. …Fungal blight decimated the American chestnut tree in the early 20th century, altering the life cycle of the species native to the Appalachian Mountain region. Because of chronic fungal blight infections, the species is unable to reproduce, migrate, or evolve in response to climate change. The American Chestnut Foundation has spent the last 40-years creating a genetically modified, blight-resistant species, but adaptive diversity has not been a focus until now.

Michael Blazier

The college of forestry, agriculture and natural resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello is the only school of its kind in the state. The college includes the Arkansas Center for Forest Business and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and a UA System Center of Excellence, as well as the system’s spatial analysis lab. The college will soon add the Arkansas Forest Health Research Center. Michael Blazier is the dean of the UAM forestry college and serves as director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center on the Monticello campus. While much attention in recent years has been devoted to two-year workforce development programs that deliver higher-than-average starting salaries, Blazier oversees programs that are churning out foresters, conservationists, food scientists and others who make roughly twice the median household income in Arkansas.

Important habitats for many bird species ‘are in imminent danger of collapse,’ one expert warns, and the federal government may need to step in. …White-tailed deer are the most widespread and familiar deer species in the United States. While conversations about their overabundance typically center around suburban landscapes, there’s growing recognition that too many deer can jeopardize the health of forests, too. They provide easy transportation for invasive species and disease-carrying ticks, and their prodigious munching reduces the forest’s ability to store carbon. More worryingly, overbrowsing decimates the shrubby understory and prevents seedlings from growing into new trees, threatening the future of the forest itself. Not just the plants suffer; so does every creature that relies on them. One study in Pennsylvania found that when high densities of deer roamed a forest, the abundance and diversity of birds that use midstory vegetation plunged by 37 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — On the surface, cutting trees to make more trees may sound a bit counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is doing, and according to the results of a recent audit, it’s just the right medicine for some of the forests under the AGFC’s care. The audit was completed… to ensure the AGFC’s forestry practices stayed within the updated Sustainable Forestry Initiative® standards set in 2022. Not only did all conditions continue to meet or exceed the new standards in the 2024 audit, but the AGFC’s work in greentree reservoir management and improving the health of the forest associated with GTRs earned the issuance of a notable practice indicator during the audit. …The AGFC is responsible for 365,000 acres of land in Arkansas, 295,000 of which is forested and included in the SFI program. During the last five years only 5,982 of those acres have seen harvests.

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe shares more boundaries with the National Forest System than any other tribe, with 75% of the reservation border adjoining the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. Being in the Northwoods, timber harvesting and forest management are important to the tribe’s economy. …Forests also provide them with a deep cultural foundation… However, forest health has declined rapidly over the past two centuries. Clear-cut logging by European settlers combined with a management legacy of fire suppression and the impacts of climate change are increasingly exposing our forests to risks from severe wildfire, insects and disease and drought. …the U.S. Forest Service is exploring ways to restore old-growth forests … and strengthen forest resilience by incorporating Indigenous knowledge. Contrary to myths of “virgin” forests when Europeans first arrived on this continent, the evidence is clear that forests were actively taken care of by Indigenous people for thousands of generations. 

Exhibit space reservations for the 38^th Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition (EXPO 2025), presented by the Southern Forest Products Association, are outpacing the previous show – with more than 62% of the floor plan under contract or pending as of June 24. We are well on our way to surpass the 217 exhibitors from 2023, which was a record number last reached in 2007. But there are still some great spaces available for you! SFPA associate member exhibitors and EXPO 2023 returning exhibiting companies receive discounted exhibit space rates for applications received before July 19, 2024. The three-day biannual tradeshow, to be held August 6-8, 2025, will return to the Music City Center in Nashville and provide attendees with solutions for nearly every stage of manufacturing. From raw material handling to crane operations; metal detection and scanning technologies; log optimization, drying, grading, sorting, packaging, and distribution, customers new and old will be waiting to explore these solutions with you face to face.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The discovery of a hybrid population of poplar trees in western Wyoming has provided insight into how natural hybridization informs the evolution of many plant species, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. They suggest that genetic exchange between species may be critical for adaptation to environmental change. The research is the latest study to suggest that natural hybridization has played an important role in the evolution of many plant species, according to team leader Jill Hamilton, associate professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Hybridization between different species is occurring in nature far more frequently than we might have thought — particularly in forest trees. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it may be a natural mechanism to facilitate adaptation in a changing climate,” said Hamilton, who is director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics at Penn State.

Early in its tenure, the U.S. Forest Service took a hardline stance on wildfires: prevention. And thus Smokey Bear was born. …While this public relations campaign is still popular today —  the attitude toward suppressing all fires has changed. Scientists have learned that fire is good for forests, to a certain extent. But, in May 2022, the U.S. Forest Service paused and began to review its prescribed fire program in response to several prescribed burns escaping and causing damaging wildfires in other parts of the U.S. Before then, Bighorn National Forest fire management officer Jon Warder said, crews purposefully burned up to 2,000 acres per year in the forest. …The practice is borrowed from Native American tribes who first inhabited the lands that are now national forests or parks. According to the National Park Service, “cultural burning” refers to the Indigenous practice of “the intentional lighting of smaller, controlled fires…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that Illinois counties Marshall and Putnam are accepting applications for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to address tornado and severe storm damages. Signup for EFRP will end August 5, 2024. “These programs help private forest landowners clean up and restore their private forests damaged by tornadoes and severe storms,” said Scott Halpin, State Executive Director for FSA in Illinois. “If you haven’t participated in FSA programs, contact your local FSA office as soon as possible to complete the process of establishing customer and farm records and to determine program eligibility.” EFRP provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.

LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana — Concerns are growing statewide over a bark beetle infestation. Trees, especially pines, are vital to Louisiana’s economy. Here in Southwest Louisiana, Vernon, Beauregard and Allen parishes contain miles and miles of pine tree forests and farms important to their economy. …Experts and local arborists like Mike Nevils with Nevils Tree Service said last year’s drought is a big reason why Louisiana’s pines are being infected at an alarming rate. …The Emergency Beetle Committee is planning to have an emergency at the State Capitol Tuesday to discuss plans on how to control the infestation. The committee will meet with experts in the legal, forestry and agricultural fields to work on a solution, and a potential emergency declaration. The committee also plans to discuss emergency funding for those who cannot afford tree work. Nevins said there’s not much that can be done once a tree is infected.

An ancient tree from India is thriving where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy. As large parts of the citrus industry have been hit by two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. Pongamia produces legumes that are so bitter wild hogs won’t even eat them. …Pongamia trees don’t need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. … A machine simply shakes the tiny beans from the branches when they’re ready to harvest. …The legume is now being used to produce Panova table oil, Kona protein bars, protein flour. …The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint.

MARYLAND — Independent auditors recently reviewed the Pocomoke State Forest and Chesapeake Forest Lands, two state forests on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and recertified them as sustainable, meeting international standards for forest management. Twenty-one years ago, the Chesapeake Forest Lands became the state’s first certified forests, a recognition now shared by 214,000 acres of state forest land in Maryland. …“We like to think that we’re managing our forests well, but this is a third party of industry professionals confirming that we are,” said Rob Feldt, the Maryland Forest Service forest resources planning supervisor. “That’s part of the value we get out of certification.” Maryland’s certified forests are recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, two organizations that promote standards for forest management based on the Montreal Process international agreement.

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Officials with the Kansas Forest Service are calling three grants totaling $340,200 from the U.S. Forest Service “a significant milestone in wildfire prevention efforts across the state.” The funds, available through the USFS Community Wildfire Defense Grants program, were awarded to Chase, Butler and Leavenworth counties. According to information from KFS, the funds “will be a big boost to helping build the state’s defense against wildfires, particularly in urban areas of the state.” CWDG grants are available to forest service units across the country and part of the government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. According to KFS, the allocation of these grants follows extensive educational work aimed at raising awareness of the wildfire risk within Kansas communities over the past two years. Through collaboration with national partners, the Kansas Forest Service has successfully highlighted the urgent need for proactive measures to address the wildfire urban interface risk.

MAINE — A $7 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a four-year statewide collaborative project led by the University of Maine to foster resilient forest communities in Maine. Maine-FOREST, or Forest-based Opportunities for Resilient Economy, Sustainability and Technology, will expand the state’s research and educational capacity to connect human and ecosystem focused innovations and services. The project takes an integrated thematic approach to fuel the state’s forest-based economy and the rural communities it supports. Key foci of the project include artificial intelligence and informatics; wood-derived alternatives to plastic, concrete and more called cellulosic nanofiber bioproducts (CNF); rural and Wabanaki resilience; and economically diverse rural development. Maine-FOREST will ultimately nurture adaptive community resilience and strengthen the capacity of rural communities and the Wabanaki Nations to respond to current and future socio-ecological threats and opportunities.