Trees have been around for a long time, and would continue to be without us. We don’t manage them because they need it; we do it because we need it. That means that while good tree management is based on biophysical principals, it is a social activity. So when we’re trying to create, protect, manage,…
For a long time we have employed a means of protecting sensitive and valuable ecosystems by sending in teams of scientists who evaluate it, delineate boundaries and put monitoring and protection plans into place, making policing these properties necessary. Another idea that is gaining popularity is the establishment of the land’s carbon capacity and offering…
Forests are fundamental to life, they provide water and air quality mitigation, recreational opportunities, employment, tourism, saleable products and much more. In the U.S. forests represent a part of our national identity and preserving them as a legacy for future generations is a responsibility that we should not take lightly; “conservation is not a luxury,…
Ground and surface water lost during the extended drought in the southwest are having unexpected and unusual impacts. The 18 month-long drought in southern California has resulted in land upheaval of slightly more than half of an inch, recorded in the mountains. Apparently the estimated 63 billion gallons of water lost has had an effect on…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Bloom Blues (and greens and yellowish browns…) An algal bloom is constituted by the rapid increase of algae in an aquatic system. Although there is no hard and fast threshold level cited that determines if a bloom is present, when concentrations of an algal species reach hundred to thousands of cells per milliliter of water an…
