Hello again from Forests for Maine's Future:

In the first edition of our weekly newsletter for 2012 we offer our usual mix of forest news from around the state, New England, the nation and the globe, as well as our monthly forest feature: 

Sunset on the Stud Mill Road, also known as the Regis Road, a logging road built in the '60s that runs from Milford to Calais. (Photo: Pam Wells)

A new multimedia film celebrates the lives of Maine's lumbermen and river drivers.

Key parcel donated to Baxter State Park. Meanwhile, 2011 was a good year for land conservation and Maine is helping lead the way. And . . .  a conservation easement protects land in Otisfield. A campground might be created on part of a 3,200-acre Schoodic Peninsula parcel recently bought by Lyme Timber Co.

New trail guide available to help you explore midcoast Maine.

A new dowel mill in Greenwood is off to a good start.

It's an unusual winter over much of the east, including New England.

New organic compound may help combat erosion in the wake of forest fires.

Getting that perfect animal photo with a remote camera.

It was an ill wind that blew through Scandinavia just before the end of 2011, and forestland owners are still counting up how the cost in blowdown.

In New Jersey, a proposal to harvest in publicly-owned forests causes divisions.

If you haven't yet, check out our latest Fresh from the Woods feature, where we look inside a modern sawmill: fast, efficient and loaded with sophisticated technology. 

You might also check out some of the features in our archives. We recommend our piece on the changing uses of wood and the wood uses of the future . . . the Forest Bookshelf, a look at the best books about the northern forest . . . and a story about the North Maine Woods, which manages access to a huge area of northern Maine that offers countless opportunities for recreation.

A reminder: if  you have interesting forest photos you'd like to share, e-mail them to us at fmf.rankin@gmail.com and you may see them featured on our web page or in this newsletter. We're always looking for nice photos of people in the woods, other creatures in the woods, or just the woods themselves. If you do send them, please, let us know whom to credit.

Also, if you're switching to a new job, or a new email address, it's easy to take Forests for Maine's Future along. Just click on the link at the bottom of this email that says update profile/email address.

See you in the woods!

Editors, program managers and webmasters, Forests for Maine's Future encourages the media to use our Fresh from the Woods features. Please give us credit at the end of the piece and, if possible, drop us an email to let us know you used it. If you have any questions email fmf.rankin@gmail.com

!