Region Archives: US East

WISCONSIN — Republican lawmakers are considering a bill that would let the forest products industry truck heavier loads on more routes near the Michigan-Wisconsin border, a move supporters say would save time and money, but one that transportation officials warn would further damage the state’s roads. …Normally, Wisconsin’s DOT limits trucks to carrying 80,000 pounds, but state transportation officials can grant so-called “Michigan border permits” for overweight vehicles. Under those permits, trucks are allowed to abide by Michigan’s maximum weight limit, which is 164,000 pounds, or more than twice the normal limit in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has already designated a number of timber routes that allow trucks to haul more weight, and the Republican-authored bill would add 10 more. …Henry Schienebeck, of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, said the change would allow them to carry heavier loads and spread out the weight, so they don’t damage the roads.

Jasmine K. Brown

Jasmine K. Brown, a doctoral student in the Michigan State University Department of Forestry, is quickly becoming a standout in her field. Brown was recently awarded the Graduate Student Emerging Leader Scholarship by the MSU Black Faculty, Staff, and Administrators Association (BFSAA). Brown was nominated by Dr. Asia Dowtin, assistant professor in the Department of Forestry, as a student who embodies the BFSAA criteria of someone who “maintains academic excellence and serves as a leader and change agent within their department… and the local community.” …Brown’s research is social science based, while being intricately connected to forestry. By studying histories of African Americans and forests and the forestry profession as a whole, her research draws connections between race, nature, and culture. Her work explores the multitude of ways to access forests and nature, and the historical limits to accessibility and inclusion.

A new U.S. Forest Service assessment of its plans to manage part of the Hoosier National Forest with logging and controlled burns was intended to clear confusion about the impact on Lake Monroe, but critics of the controversial project say the report is still lacking. The assessment comes on the heels of two lawsuits over the Houston South management project. Chris Thornton, district ranger for the Hoosier National Forest said Friday the assessment “clarifies the demonstrated effectiveness of erosion control measures for projects like Houston South and shows that following our standards and guidelines, reduces sedimentation and would not affect the water quality of Monroe Lake.”

…Researchers with the North Carolina Tree Improvement Program are asking the public to help them look for witch’s brooms in loblolly pines so that they can sample the needles and cones. …Nasir Shalizi, a data analyst with the Tree Improvement Program and his colleagues want to determine the genetic mutation that causes witch’s brooms in hopes of producing smaller trees with higher seed yields. …In the 1960s, NC State researchers grew the seeds of a witch’s broom from a loblolly pine to find that the offspring developed into dwarf trees. …Dwarf loblolly pines could prove useful to seed production in seed orchards owned by the members of the Tree Improvement Program. …Dwarf loblolly pines could prove useful to seed production in seed orchards owned by the members of the Tree Improvement Program.

Jasen Stock

NEW HAMPSHIRE — 82 percent of the state of New Hampshire is covered with trees, we are the second most forested state, next to Maine. In addition to supporting a robust forest products industry which generates $1.4 billion in annual economic activity, timberland and forest products also supports outdoor recreation, which adds another $3.0 billion annually to the state’s economy. …Managing timberland is like gardening; the weak, diseased, and poor-quality trees need to be removed “weeded” to make room for healthy trees to grow. …With the loss and contraction of markets [for this wood], and now the possible loss of Burgess BioPower, the ability to cost effectively do quality forest management and utilize some of the wood waste generated from sawmilling is increasingly difficult. …On veto day, if you wish to support forestry in New Hampshire, vote to override the veto on House Bill 142. This will help maintain the state’s largest market for low-grade timber. 

Forest preservation activists are waiting to see whether their lawsuit to stop logging on about 3,760 acres on public lands around Camel’s Hump still has life.  Activist group Standing Trees and Duxbury residents Jamison Ervin and Alan Pierce asked Vermont Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi on Sept. 26 to reconsider his Sept. 1 dismissal of their November 2022 lawsuit against the state.  The lawsuit claims that officials violated public process laws regarding plans to start logging in the Camel’s Hump Management Unit, a stretch of about 26,000 acres in north-central Vermont that includes the popular mountain and state park. The lawsuit named the commissioners of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  State officials announced in late 2021 that 34 commercial timber harvests were planned for the next 15 years, totaling about 3,764 acres.

Environmental advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Forest Service to suspend a logging project in Northeastern Wisconsin, according to a petition letter from the Environmental Law and Policy center.  The project, known as the Fourmile Vegetation Project, would clear nearly 12,000 acres of mature forest in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, according to a report from the USDA Forest Service.  The logging project in the state’s Northwoods has been on pause due to required environmental reviews conducted by the Forest Service. Now, the Environmental Law and Policy Center and 28 other organizations are trying to shut the Fourmile Project down permanently.  Proponents of the project, like Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association Executive Director Henry Schienebeck, argue the project is in line with the Forest Service’s data and management plans, according to an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Nicholas Larson

When it comes to wildfires in the United States, in any given year more than half happen in the Southeast. In 2022, the South had approximately 39,000 wildfires. The South is also one of the fastest growing regions in the nation, and increasingly more homes are being built near forested lands. Together this creates complex challenges for protecting communities from wildfires and restoring the natural role of fire in national forests. “Ongoing wildfires help us understand the importance and need to create and maintain fire resilient landscapes,” said Nicholas Larson, district ranger in North Carolina. …In April and May 2023, North Carolina’s Great Lakes Fire on the Croatan National Forest became a prime example of how multiyear prescribed fire treatments aid wildfire suppression. The prescribed burns previously completed in the area created defensible space for the communities near the Croatan and buffered the wildfire threat.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — I have been fortunate to work in the forest industry for 26 years and have witnessed firsthand the positive economic impact of our sector on rural communities across the US. This impact becomes tangible when you think about all the people it takes to plant trees, manage forest land, harvest timber, transport logs to mills and manufacture the sustainable forest-based products we all rely on in daily life, like paper, cardboard, plywood and lumber. …Beyond these economic benefits, the forest sector also plays a critical role in mitigating climate change. The U.S. cannot reach its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 without a healthy forest sector. Currently, forests capture and store more than 15% of our nation’s annual carbon emissions. Working forests must remain healthy and intact to continue providing these carbon storage benefits.

…You’d never guess that Ohio had old-growth forests — and not only that, but Ohio has more ancient forests than any other state. When we think of “old-growth forests” in the U.S., places like Sequoia National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Tongass National Forest come to mind. …Ohio, if you can believe it, has more old growth forests than any other state. This October, the Old-Growth Forest Network sanctioned two new Ohio forests to its ranks: Stage’s Pond State Nature Preserve and the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve. With the addition of these forests, Ohio now has 30 old-growth forests recognized by the network, more than any other state. …Despite their name, “old-growth forests” refer more to a forest’s properties than its age. Experts look at certain criteria that form a forest’s ecological community, such as what’s living in and around these trees and the kind of biomes they’re fostering.

Chris Field

The Harvard Forest and the Harvard University Center for the Environment hosted a lecture, titled “The Changing Landscape of Western Wildfire Risk”. The talk focused on the ecological and economic impacts of wildfires on the West Coast. Chris B. Field, the director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment… said climate change has been “imposing a pressure for ecosystems to keep up with the temperature changes.” Research shows that the rates of movement of tree ranges are small compared to the overall changes undergone by climate zones. “It begs the question of whether we’re already seeing situations in which forest ecosystems are essentially being left behind, that climate zones to which they’re adapted over the long range have shifted, and trees may not have been able to keep up,” Field said. In addition to impacts on the ecosystem, wildfires may also cause greater rates of economic inequality.”

Jackson State University is the recipient of a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as announced by JSU Acting President Elayne Hayes-Anthony, Ph.D., during a press conference in the JSU Blackburn Learning Garden Friday, Oct. 13,. The award is one of the largest in the university’s history. Proceeds will help fuel The Gateways to a Greener Jackson, an initiative led by JSU to engage and employ community partners in the completion of projects that enhance equitable access to tree canopy, reduce stormwater runoff and implement and maintain green spaces in underrepresented communities. City collaborators are Jackson, Rolling Fork, Vicksburg and Greenville, Mississippi.

The Old-Growth Forest Network welcomed two Ohio forests to its ranks this October: Stage’s Pond State Nature Preserve just south of Columbus and the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve near Athens.  The network now recognizes 30 largely undisturbed forests in Ohio, more than any other state. (We’re neck and neck with Pennsylvania, which has 28.)  As part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, these forests are protected from commercial logging and development, and they’re made open and available to the public.  …The network is trying to preserve one forest in every county of the country — and that’s no easy task. It estimates more than 99% of old-growth forests in the eastern U.S. have already been removed or radically altered. …Ohio’s network of old-growth forests spans the state: there are now protected forests near every major city, from Cincinnati to Cleveland, Toledo to Athens, and everywhere in between.

The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded a $12 million grant to plant more trees in Milwaukee. This comes after the American Forests named Milwaukee a top 20 U.S. city for tree equity disparity. Milwaukee itself has a 25% tree coverage rate, but some Milwaukee neighborhoods have just more than 6%. How the money will be used is still in the planning stage. It is not yet clear when the trees will be planted or exactly where. City officials will also be working with Milwaukee Public Schools to remove some paved playgrounds to make more green space in those areas. The city has not yet released what type of trees will be planted. The most common trees found in Milwaukee are the sugar maple, the northern oak and the katsura tree. An exact number of trees has yet to be released. The city currently maintains 200,000 trees.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced today that New York State was awarded $13.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. Funded through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, this grant program is designed to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests to support building a clean energy economy, advance environmental justice, and create economic opportunity. …This significant funding for New York is part of a $1.5-billion federal investment in Urban and Community Forestry projects across the country, including more than $73.5 million for 28 forestry projects across the state. This historic support highlights the importance of urban forests in combating climate change through cooling air, buildings, and pavement; reducing stormwater runoff; improving air quality; and much more. 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced more than $1.35 million in grants to six land trusts to help protect local forests that are key to achieving the state’s objectives to protect open space and reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Grant funding will be used to acquire new easements to help keep forests as forests, safeguarding the ecosystem services they provide that include stormwater mitigation, temperature regulation, carbon sequestration, and climate resiliency. …The grants, managed by DEC in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance, were made available through the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts Grant Program. …Funding was provided by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund. In the 2023-24 State Budget, Governor Kathy Hochul maintained EPF funding at $400 million.