The carnivorous venus fly trap plant, Dionaea muscipula, is at risk for extinction in the wild due to poaching. The arrest of four men caught illegally collecting the plants on the Holly Shelter Game Land Preserve in North Carolina made headlines and history for being the first felonious charges for theft of venus fly traps from…
Details
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) founded in 1992, by environmentalists, community leaders and businesses, following the failure of the Rio Earth Summit to produce an international agreement to stop deforestation. The first FSC general assembly gathered in 1993 in Toronto with a mission to create a set of voluntary, market-based tools to improve responsible forestry practices…
Details
The large aspen tortrix, Choristoneura conflictana, is in the category of tree pests known as defoliators or leaf rollers. Its principal target host is the quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides, and the insect’s range coincides with that of the tree for the most part. The range extends from Nova Scotia south and west into northeastern and northcentral…
Details
As of January 6, 2015 the extent of drought conditions across the U.S. is at its lowest point since December 20, 2011. However, drought conditions in parts of the west and southern plains remain severe. December 2014 brought heavy precipitation to southeastern and eastern portions of the country, significantly reducing levels of abnormal dryness (D0), moderate…
Details
It may feel like deja vu; new, promising plant species will sustainably replace inefficient species to reduce carbon emissions, maintain biodiversity and save the world! Okay that may be a bit hyperbolic but the gist is the same; new species, new crops, new product to drastically change a former environmentally unfriendly material into a green…
Details
Soil is one of the four elements upon which life on earth depends; soil, water, air and sunlight. 2015 has been declared the International Year of Soils (IYS) by the U.N., and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) has organized themes for each month in an effort to further highlight the need for soil preservation…
Details
Monarch butterfly habitat degradation and destruction has become a well-known issue and the public has responded to the call for action by planting their landscapes and gardens with their plant of preference, milkweed. But is any species of milkweed appropriate? Unfortunately, many people have been purchasing and planting a tropical species of milkweed, rather than the…
Details
So we may only be a month into winter, but for many of us, our thoughts have already turned to spring. And with the spring will come planting our gardens, which is an exercise in patience; after laboring through months of cold, ice and snow, waiting further weeks or months for vegetables to sprout seems…
Details
Conservation banks are parcels of land which enjoy permanent protection due to the value of natural resources therein. These lands are methodically managed for habitat critical for species listed as endangered, threatened or candidates for listing or otherwise at risk. As the name implies, conservation banking acts to offset impacts to habitat occurring elsewhere, this can…
Details
Since the discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Michigan on 2002 tens of millions of ash trees have died or been removed as a precautionary measure to prevent further spread of these tree pests and create quarantined zones. The result is a large supply of wood which in and of itself has needs;…
Details
