Region Archives: US East

When I began studying old-growth forests 30 years ago, I was excited by the amazing longevity of the trees… Now the sobering truth is that many of these trees that have survived for 300 to 500 years could be killed in the next decade or so. Because old-growth forests often represent the least disturbed portions of the land, with no visible evidence of cutting or agricultural clearing, these ancient trees seem permanent. …They are silently being decimated by non-native insects and disease. Introduced insects and disease have been around for centuries. But now more than 450 exotic pests and diseases are present in our forests because of burgeoning global trade. Hitching a ride in cargo containers within wood packing materials, hidden on branches, or in the soil of the billions of potted plants shipped to US ports yearly, exotic pests are making their way into Eastern forests with increasing regularity. 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia logging company hoping to build a toxic-spewing facility … has withdrawn an application for an air permit following vehement opposition from residents, regulators said Thursday. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said it received a formal notice from Allegheny Wood Products. The company cited “a further review of our business needs” as the reason for the application’s withdrawal. The company wanted to construct a fumigation facility in the Hardy County community of Baker to treat logs before they are shipped overseas. The DEP had said it tentatively planned to issue the air permit that would let the facility emit up to nearly 10 tons of the pesticide methyl bromide into the atmosphere each year. …A final decision on the permit was supposed to happen after the public comment period ended May 12. Now, in light of the company’s withdrawal, no further action will be taken on the application. 

CANTON, North Carolina — The closing of the paper mill in Canton is a major loss for its 1,100 employees and a shock to the area’s economy. The ripple effects also make it very bad news for sustainable forestry in the mountains. …While historically some of the supply chain demands necessary to support these industries negatively impacted overall forest health, the paper mill’s use of only low-grade and small-diameter wood created opportunities for sustainable and beneficial forest management. …A sustainable timber harvest usually has to remove lower quality trees to let in enough sun so that a young stand of new trees can grow vigorously and compete in good conditions to develop into a healthy future forest. With no market for low quality trees, these less well adapted trees will now be left even more frequently and will become our future forests.

©️Bartlett Tree Experts

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), invasive pests that kill trees, has been found in Ann Arbor – the first confirmed detection on the east side of Michigan. It was discovered at Nichols Arboretum and confirmed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) on May 9. “Our team of invasive species specialists is currently working with the arboretum to determine an appropriate treatment and response plan,” said Mike Philip, MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. “There isn’t a way to determine how long hemlock woolly adelgid has been there or how it got there, but it’s possible HWA has been there for a number of years.” Washtenaw County is the seventh county to have a verified discovery. …The insects do not move far on their own, but they can be blown by the wind or hitch a ride on humans and animals.  

DULUTH — The Superior National Forest and three northeastern Minnesota Chippewa tribes have made a first-of-its-kind agreement, one that gives the tribes a stronger voice in managing national forest and federal trust land that was ceded to the federal government nearly 170 years ago. The Fond du Lac and Grand Portage bands of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service recently to protect the bands’ treaty rights within the Superior National Forest. Bois Forte Chair Cathy Chavers called the agreement “historic,” with three bands within the 1854 Treaty boundaries coming together as one to protect natural resources. Area Chippewa ceded land to the United States in 1854 in exchange for hunting, fishing and gathering rights in northeastern Minnesota.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced that $850,000 in funding is now available in the third round of the State’s ‘Regenerate NY’ Forestry Cost Share Grant Program. The grant program is designed to assist private landowners in growing the next generation of forests, which are crucial for mitigating climate change, providing wildlife habitat, protecting air and water quality, and supplying an important renewable resource. “New York’s forests are under continued pressure from development, competition from invasive species, an overabundance of white-tailed deer, and the effects of climate change,” said Commissioner Seggos. “Investing in the establishment and resiliency of our forests is a critical component for ensuring the continued ecosystem services that trees provide.” “Regenerate NY gives a vital boost to expand and restore private forests by promoting forest regeneration and ecosystem health,” said New York State Forester Fiona Watt.

BENTLEY, Louisiana. — They were born and raised in captivity, but as they slowly slithered away from their handlers and disappeared into gopher holes in the Kisatchie National Forest, the group of Louisiana pine snakes appeared to be right at home. …This year, more than 100 pine snakes — a species the federal government lists as threatened — will be released into the central Louisiana forest. “We provide the snakes in our snake factories, which are funded by the U.S. Forest Service, into habitat that the Fish and Wildlife Service has developed,” said Steve Reichling, the Memphis Zoo’s Director of Conservation and Research. Reichling said the area where the snakes were released — is a high tree canopy dominated by longleaf pine, little mid-level vegetation, grassy ground and sandy soil — are all vital to the snakes’ survival. Although they bear a resemblance to rattlesnakes, pine snakes are non-venomous.

The University of Maine has partnered with research institutions and community organizations across Northern New England to devise new forest products and management strategies using $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Coalition of Northern Forest Innovation and Research (CONFIR), led by the Northern Forest Center in Concord, New Hampshire, is among the first recipients of the new NSF Engines Development Award, created to bolster research and development among robust partnerships that will accelerate technological, economic and workforce development at the regional level. With this funding, CONFIR will spend the next two years creating various research proposals to earn the title of NSF Engine and the opportunity to receive up to $160 million. That funding would allow the group to conduct research and design products that will open new markets for rural economies and preserve the Northern Forest for years to come. 

In Florida, more than eight of ten wildfires are caused by people. …As disruptive as a wildfire can be, a forest fire is not only important to the ecosystem in which it burns, but is integral to slowing climate change. Taking a look at the bark on trees in an established forest in Florida you might see that at least one side of the tree’s trunk will be blackened from a long-ago wildfire. More importantly, however, the tree itself was not killed by previous fire because flames flicked through the forest at regular intervals. To imagine what overzealous wildland firefighting can result in, look no further than to scenes of devastation after super-hot wildfires in the western states, where the only things left upright were stone or brick fireplaces.

NORTH CAROLINA — The closing of the paper mill in Canton is a major loss for its 1,100 employees and a shock to the area’s economy. The ripple effects also make it very bad news for sustainable forestry in the mountains. For more than 100 years, timber harvests to supply forest products in southern Appalachia have shaped and created the forests we see today. The pending closure of the paper mill in Canton will now shape the future of our forests. While historically some of the supply chain demands necessary to support these industries negatively impacted overall forest health, the paper mill’s use of only low-grade and small-diameter wood created opportunities for sustainable and beneficial forest management. … The closure of the paper mill in Canton will severely reduce demand for pulpwood, which comes from small diameter (less than 12 inches) or poorly formed trees. 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — Purdue University has received a five-year, $500,000 grant to play an education and workforce development role in the new $20 million AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy (AI-CLIMATE). …“Our ultimate goal is to help facilitate knowledge transfer and the adoption of environmentally favorable practices,” said Bruce Erickson, clinical associate professor of digital agriculture in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue. …Artificial intelligence enables computers to mimic human intelligence. It is tightly intertwined with data science and high-performance computing. Operating together they accelerate information processing in ways that can exceed human capabilities. Researchers at AI-CLIMATE will work to improve the accuracy and lower the cost of accounting for carbon and greenhouse gases in farms and forests. In the end, this makes the process more accessible to more people.