It’s summer and there are two things we know: – Trees need water – Water (in the form or precipiation) does not always come in predictable amounts and timeframes. There are many great web resources to help you track rainfall (as a proxy for soil moisture). NOAA provides some great tool and tracking precipitation at…
Details
Smokey the Bear celebrated 70 years of helping Americans prevent forest fires on August 9th. And his message remains as relevant today as it was in 1944. The message conveyed by this icon: “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!” proved so powerful that is has helped reduce the number of acres lost to forest fires…
Details
Disease Details First described in the 1990s in the United Kingdom, boxwood blight, was not officially identified until 2002 in New Zealand. The fungus that causes this disease, was itself a newly identified species; named Cylindricladium pseduonaviculatum by finders in New Zealand while also being called C. buxicola when found in the UK. The two names…
Details
The Forest Legacy Program is a cooperative effort between states and the USDA Forest Service which identifies environmentally important forest areas and helps keep them from being converted into non-forest uses. The most utilized tool employed for this process is the determination and delineation of conservation easements. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a…
Details
Ongoing research at Virginia Technical University performed by Jim Westwood, professor of plant pathology, weed science and physiology, suggests that plants may use a sophisticated method of communication which allows them to share vast amounts of genetic information. Researching and interpreting how plants communicate at a molecular level can provide insight for combating parasitic weeds which…
Details
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture is currently undertaking research into a system which would aid in predicting and managing Phytophthora outbreaks using real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction-a biochemical technology in molecular biology used to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of…
Details
While there may be may things which may solely or combined be behind your lawn’s health problems, soil compaction may at the root (no pun intended). When the top 4 inches of the soil layer become compressed the movement of air, water and nutrients to the root system is hampered. Compacted soil can contribute to…
Details
Trees and forests are critical for proper functioning of a watershed, and the quality and health of the watershed is critical for wildlife and humans who depend upon it. The proportion of forest within a watershed is a determining factor in water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems. A watershed is the area that drains…
Details
Disappointing Decline Each year monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, travel 3,000 miles migrating to and from overwintering sites in Mexico. It is known to be one of the most spectacular migration events on earth, but it appears to be in decline. There are many factors affecting monarch populations including; habitat loss, drought conditions, misuse of pesticides, reduced availability…
Details
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has recently launched a new program to help identify and therefore possibly control the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB) infestation in the state. This effort is aimed at getting citizens more heavily involved with identifying and reporting the presence of the invasive pest, specifically those citizens with pools…
Details
