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Newsletter
February 25, 2011
In This Issue
Editor's Blog
The Outside Story
What In The Woods?
Last Week's Contest Answer
Northern Woodlands News
Quick Links
sugarboy EDITOR'S BLOG
Dispatch from the Sugarwoods
Dave Mance III   

 

New Blog Series on Sugaring! 

 

Life accelerates as we get older, a phenomenon that most of us first notice as school kids, when summer vacations go from endless in elementary school to blink-your-eyes-and-it's-done in our teenage years. Sometime in my twenties winter started acting this way as well...


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snow THE OUTSIDE STORY 

The Secret Life of Snow  

Madeline Bodin

There are few things on this pulsing planet that appear less alive, and more adverse to life, than snow. It falls from the sky in sharp-edged crystals. It blankets the earth in white, silent and still. But there's life within some snowflakes, life that begins in the clouds before the snow even falls to earth...

 

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messy mystery WHAT IN THE WOODS IS THAT?
Our Biweekly Guessing Game!

Reader Ben Haubrich was X-C skiing recently in Francestown, New Hampshire, off trail, when he came across this odd mound in the snow. A closer look revealed...we'll tell you, but you have to guess what it is first.

 

Every other week we run a photo of something unusual found in the woods. Guess what it is and you'll be eligible to win a copy of The Outside Story, a paperback collection of our Outside Story newspaper columns. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in next week's column. 


View the full image and enter this week's contest

This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, March 2, 2011.
what is it huh Previous Contest Answer

Congratulations to our winner, Laura Alexander of New London, NH! Laura receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.

You'd all be able to identify this plant in the summertime, but what about now?


NW Answer: Indian pipes.

 

Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora) turn upward in the fall and persist well into the next summer in a blackened form. The spooky white plants can't photosynthesize and they rely on those that can for their sustenance. But, interestingly, they don't directly parasitize green plants. They steal sugars and carbohydrates from the mycorrhizal fungi that have in turn stolen from green plants. Mycorrhizae, of course, benefit green plants by supplying them with raw materials. Maybe the Indian pipes contribute something, too, but that has yet to be discovered. In the meantime, look for them in dark woods. They don't need sunlight.

 

  Visit our What In The Woods Is That? contest archive.
 NW Woodpecker logoNORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS
   
Spring is Here!

Well, the spring issue of the magazine, anyway. The first copies showed up at the office today; you should get your copy Monday or Tuesday.

Northern Woodlands Joins New Partnership to Keep Vermont's Working Landscape Vital

The economic viability of farmland and forestland enterprises in Vermont has been gradually eroding for decades, yet, in a recent poll, 97 percent of the Vermonters who were asked about this trend felt strongly that the presence of a working landscape is key to the state's future.

These days there is an increased interest in locally-sourced, sustainably-produced farm and forest products. To capitalize on this trend, the Vermont Working Landscape Partnership is promoting a comprehensive plan to coordinate land use planning and economic development - strategies that often are at cross purposes.

It's important to show our elected leaders how much Vermonters care about this issue. Sign up as an individual member of the Partnership to stay updated and help shape the campaign for the future of Vermont's Working Landscape.

In December, leaders from the state, federal, nonprofit and private sectors packed the Vermont State House for the Summit on the Future of the Working Landscape. Many of them have already joined this Partnership in support of its Plan. Learn more and add your name to the growing list. (Click to see the names of individuals and organizations/businesses that have already signed on).

The Vermont Council on Rural Development is leading this effort.

Maine and New York Summer Teacher Tour Sessions Announced

The Maine TREE Foundation and Maine Project Learning Tree announce the 2011 Forests of Maine Teachers' Tours to be held in July. The Tours are opportunities to learn about forestry, Project Learning Tree (PLT) curricula, and how technology is used in today's forests and mills. Participants can become certified PLT teachers through the four-day program and earn continuing education credits.

The Empire State Forestry Foundation has announced the 2011 Northeast Teacher Forestry Tour for grade teachers, administrators or educators. This program is described as an opportunity to learn about social, economic and ecological aspects of sustainable forestry. This tour will be held in the Catskills.

For more information on both of these programs click here.
We Welcome Your Questions and Comments
Postal Address:
Northern Woodlands
1776 Center Road
P.O. Box 471
Corinth, VT  05039
Toll-Free: (800) 290-5232
Phone: (802) 439-6292
Fax: (802) 439-6296
Email: mail@northernwoodlands.org
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The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to encourage a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast by producing and distributing media content to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity, and ecological integrity of the region's forests. Our programs give people the information they need to help build a sustainable future for our region. Through Northern Woodlands magazine, the Northern Woodlands Goes to School program, and special publications, we make a difference in how people care for their land.