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 State & Private Forestry
News
May 2016
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Community Chipping Day to be Held in Ely, MN
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Proper pruning methods are demonstrated for community members. (Photo: Gloria Erickson)
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The Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Learning Network, managed by Dovetail Partners out of Ely, MN, will host a Firewise demonstration in the Ely area in June. During the annual demonstration, residents will learn how to assess their property and make their properties more resilient to wildfire. The demonstration day will be followed up with "chipper days" in the community to chip up the material that was removed from residential properties. For more information, contact
Gloria Erickson
.
To learn more about what happens on a chipper day in Ely, visit the
FAC Learning Network
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Firewise Maryland Community Chipper Program
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Residents and Firewise Maryland employees work together to chip and remove hazardous fuel in the Hickory Nut of Wildewood community. (Photo: Timothy Ryan)
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Firewise Maryland created a Community Chipper Program to help residents living in the wildland-urban interface reduce the hazardous fuel around their homes. This program provides free dump truck and brush chipping services to participating communities.
Residents trim vegetation and remove woody debris, and pile it at the end of their driveways. The community then works with Firewise Maryland employees to chip the brush piles. The result? Less wildland fuel, increased community cohesion, and a Firewise Day as required for the community to be a nationally recognized Firewise Community. For more information, visit the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Firewise Web page
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New Jersey Fire Safety Council
The newly formed New Jersey Fire Safety Council will hold its next meeting on June 9. The township recently adopted an ordinance creating the council, whose members include representatives from the township's fire department, emergency management, engineering, and code enforcement offices as well as a community representative. This significant achievement comes after years of effort by the township and residents to work with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service to bring the New Jersey Firewise program to local residents. Several communities within Barnegat Township have been designated as Firewise Communities USA. Visit the
New Jersey Fire Safety Council Web page
for more information.
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Smokey Bear and Julie Marchesi handed out educational materials on preventing wildfires and shared many high fives and hugs at Walt Disney Elementary School's 60th Anniversary in Levittown, PA, on April 2, 2016. Tullytown Volunteer Fire Department also attended. (Photo: Charmaine Marchesi)
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First BioBlitz Event a Success
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Participants pose for a picture during the BioBlitz held at the College of Menominee Nation. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Youngblood)
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Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry and the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin were awarded $5,000 to hold a
BioBlitz
, described by Wikipedia as "an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area." Tribal and Forest Service scientists, students, and community members worked together to identify plants and trees and learn about natural resources from a cultural and scientific perspective. The first event was held on April 21, 2016, in conjunction with Earth Day at the College of Menominee Nation. Eighteen Forest Service and Tribal forestry and environmental professionals collaborated to guide groups at this event.
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U.S. Forest Service, College of Menominee Nation Sign MOU through 2020
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Forest Service and College of Menominee Nation leaders sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Menominee Tribal School fourth grade students looking on. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Youngblood)
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On April 19, 2016, U.S. Forest Service leaders joined USDA Deputy Undersecretary Arthur "Butch" Blazer and College of Menominee President Dr. S. Verna Fowler at the third Memorandum of Understanding signing at the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. Forest Service leaders from the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Region 9, Northern Research Station, and Forest Products Lab took part. Several dignitaries attended this event, including fourth grade students from Menominee Tribal School who created posters about "What the Forest Means to Me." The signing included a reflection on the contributions of Dr. Holly Youngbear-Tibbets, who was instrumental in starting the partnership, and service awards for Ted Wegner of the Forest Products Lab and President Fowler for their contributions from the beginning of the partnership.
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Menominee Tribal Enterprises Ribbon Cutting for New Biomass Boiler
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Official ribbon cutting for a new advanced biomass combustion unit and steam boiler for Menominee Tribal
Enterprises. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Youngblood)
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On April 20, U.S. Forest Service leaders from the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Northern Research Station, and Forest Products Lab joined Arthur "Butch" Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, for a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new biomass boiler at the sawmill operated by Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin. The system includes a new advanced biomass combustion unit and steam boiler that provides annual savings of over $500,000 for the Tribal enterprise. The Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center's Woody Biomass Utilization Technical Assistance Program provided $35,000 in technical assistance for this project. Lew McCreery, WERC's Acting Director, was also on hand for this event.
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Cicadas Coming: Keep Young Trees Under Wrap
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"Lollipop" method of protecting young trees from cicadas. (Photo: Al Steele)
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Any day now, residents of eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and most of West Virginia will have to contend with a 6-week chorus of Brood V cicadas. These periodical cicadas emerge every 17 years when soil warms in spring. Past emergences suggest we can expect to see the cicadas starting around May 23.
While mature trees and shrubs usually handle even dense emergences without long-lasting effects, the same cannot be said of young or small trees and shrubs. Cicadas may damage these plants if too many feed on them or lay eggs in their twigs. Such damage can cause "flagging" (breaking) of peripheral twigs.
You can protect vulnerable trees and shrubs from cicadas by covering them with an agricultural netting of ΒΌ-inch mesh or less. One method of wrapping trees is the "lollipop" method shown in the photo. Use small zip ties to knit the open sides together. Gather the mesh at the base of the tree using a larger zip tie to fit the circumference of the tree. You can remove the mesh in late June or July after the cicadas have gone.
For an up-to-date map of cicada sightings and information on cicada broods and citizen science projects, visit
magicicada.org
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Northeast Climate Hub and Newsletter
The USDA Northeast Climate Hub works as a collaboration to develop and deliver science-based knowledge and practical information for land managers and farmers, to support decision-making related to climate impacts. The hub released its first quarterly newsletter in March.
View the March newsletter
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Rodbell Represented U.S. Forest Service in China Meeting
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Phillip Rodbell participated in the first Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting in Zhuhai, China. (Photo courtesy of Phillip Rodbell)
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The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization invited Phillip Rodbell to represent the U.S. Forest Service at the first Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting held in Zhuhai, China, April 6-8. People from more than 20 countries across the region attended, representing the world's largest and most densely populated nations that are experiencing rapid growth and continuing pressure for forest conversion. Phillip presented the delivery of the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program and supported the 250 attendees as they outlined a path to forest protection and best practices in urban forest management. The resulting Zhuhai Declaration will recommend several specific actions for United Nations member states to take towards a greener, healthier, and happier future for the nearly 4 billion people who live in cities and communities there.
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Vermont Monitoring Cooperative Releases Proceedings of 2015 Conference
The Vermont Monitoring Cooperative is pleased to announce the release of the
proceedings
from its 2015 conference "25 Years of Forest Ecosystem Monitoring: Trends, Patterns and Lessons Learned" held December 11, 2015.
A dynamic and diverse lineup of morning speakers, afternoon presenters, and working group sessions yielded a wealth of information. Thirteen experts from a variety of disciplines gave focused, 10-minute flash talks in the morning plenary session. These presentations synthesized long-term trends in ecological data and their implications for the future health of forested ecosystems. This overview of key trends included examples of how successfully translating research to decisionmakers has led to policies that resulted in marked improvement in environmental quality.
One of the big success stories from collaborators is how the reduction in acid rain has really started to show up in the forested ecosystem. Paul Shaberg reported on tree growth trends, particularly on how much better red spruce are doing. Jim Kellogg reported on the recovery of several beautiful, small lakes in the middle of forests that were once fishless due to high water acidity but that can now be enjoyed by anglers.
Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mike Snyder gave reports about forest fragmentation and parcelization. Alyssa Bennet of Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Department also discussed the crash in bat populations in the Northeast and stressed the need for a regional approach to managing the recovery of bat populations.
The Vermont Monitoring Cooperative's
mission
is to serve as a hub of forest ecosystem research and monitoring efforts in Vermont and across the region. It collects and analyzes environmental data and disseminates it to researchers, land managers, and decisionmakers. This gives them the information they need to understand, protect, and manage the health of forested ecosystems within a changing global environment.
Mark your calendars for the next Vermont Monitoring Cooperative conference on December 2, 2016!
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Comment on April Sustainable Operations Tip: "What to do with that old T-shirt
Ann Sarnecki of the Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service points out that rayon is also produced from other tree species besides eucalyptus, and that the material used in its manufacture "is often woody biomass materials from trees thinned out during fuels reduction, land restoration, and other forest management activities."The Forest Products Laboratory has been directly involved in making improvements to the manufacturing process of rayon and other cellulose products for many years.
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