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 State & Private Forestry NewsMay 22, 2013
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Stimulus Grant Boosts Wood Pellet Industry
AUGUSTA, Maine--As the sun sets on an $11.4 million federal effort to boost Maine's wood pellet industry, early returns seem to indicate that the investment was a sound one. The money helps drive Maine toward a stronger sustainable forestry economy and reduced dependence on foreign oil, according to one expert. The U.S. Department of [Agriculture, Forest Service] spent the money in the Fuels for Public Buildings grant to help bring 24 biomass conversion projects to fruition in schools, hospitals and public buildings across the state. Read more.
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Urban Trees Store Carbon and Provide Economic Value
The U.S. Forest Service plays a direct or indirect role in caring for about 80 percent of our nation's forests, including 100 million acres of urban forests where most Americans live.
WASHINGTON--From New York City's Central Park to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, America's urban forests store an estimated 708 million tons of carbon, an environmental service with an estimated value of $50 billion, according to a recent U.S. Forest Service study.
Annual net carbon uptake by these trees is estimated at 21 million tons and $1.5 billion in economic benefit. In the study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution, Dave Nowak, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station, and his colleagues used urban tree field data from 28 cities and six states and national tree cover data to estimate total carbon storage in the nation's urban areas. Read more. Home |
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Federal Agencies Expand Urban Waters Initiative
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Federal officials announced a major expansion of the "urban waters" initiative they kicked off in Baltimore nearly two years ago, adding 11 new blighted water ways around the country to the seven they've already pledged to help clean up and redevelop, including the Patapsco River.
Representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and 12 other federal agencies gathered for the announcement this time in Grand Rapids, Mich. A group of kayakers there has teamed up with a private engineering firm to push a $27 million white-water park on the Grand River flowing through the city's downtown.
Other water ways targeted for help in the expanded effort include the Delaware River in and around Philadelphia and in Wilmington, Del., the Passaic River in Newark, NJ, and the Mystic River in the Boston area. Read more.
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Regional Plans for Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Released
WASHINGTON--The Wildland Fire Executive Committee announced the release of Regional Action Plans for wildland fire management in the Northeast, Southeast and West. The plans respond to requirements of the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Act of 2009.
Regional Action Plans, recently accepted by the WFEC, are the latest of a three-phase effort focusing on the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy: Restoring and Maintaining Resilient Landscapes, Creating Fire Adapted Communities, and Responding to Wildfire. Read more.
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Adelgid Threatens Important Hemlock Stands
U.S. Forest Service personnel and National Park Rangers inspect the grove of hemlocks at the Flight 93 memorial, to develop a strategy to protect the trees against the hemlock woolly adelgid.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--The hemlock woolly adelgid is present in hemlocks at the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pa. and at Cantwell Cliffs in Hocking Hills State Park, near Logan, Ohio. Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry entomologists and other resource professionals recently visited both sites to help protect the hemlocks in these popular areas. A silviculture prescription and integrated pest management strategy are planned for the hemlocks that are integrated into the 911 memorial. Hemlocks are being treated at Cantwell Cliffs, which receives approximately 2 million visitors each year.
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Manhattan and Staten Island Declared ALB Free!
(Left to right) City and parks commissioners Adena Long, Veronica White, and William Castro were recognized by APHIS Deputy Administrator Rebecca Bech at the Central Park Bandstand, for their collaboration in the ALB eradication. New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets' Kevin King, Director of the Division of Plant Industry, holds the microphone, while Commissioner Darrel Aubertine looks on.
NEW YORK--On May 14, Rebecca Bech, Deputy Administrator of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced success in the 14-year collaborative effort to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) from the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. With the USDA Forest Service and State and local forestry and parks agencies, Bech announced "Victory!" but called on residents "to stay vigilant and inspect their trees regularly for signs of infestation." Eradication efforts involved the removal of more than 10,000 trees, and chemical treatment of many thousands of others. The battle continues in Brooklyn, Queens, central Long Island, Worcester, Mass., and most recently in Clermont County, Ohio.
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They're Back! Periodical Cicadas Emerging This Spring
DURHAM, N.H.--The buzz this spring has started, and some people may think it's fodder for a new sci-fi movie. But this year's spring brings a drama closer to home than you think--the pending emergence of brood II of the periodical cicada.
Cicadas are large, colorful, fly-like bugs with large eyes and tented wings. As the male cicadas sing their intense mating songs, some brand it as the sound of summer.
"Annual cicadas, known as dog-day cicadas in the U.S., are found throughout the world," said Sandy Liebhold, a research entomologist with the U.S Forest Service's Northern Research Station. "But the periodical cicadas emerge in massive groups known as "broods" once every 13 or 17 years and are completely unique to North America." Read more.
This spring the large, colorful, fly-like cicadas with large eyes and tented wings will once again emerge. (Photo: Bob Rabaglia)
To learn where all of the broods are located and the years of their emergence, view an interactive map or static map if using a mobile device or tablet.
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Northeast Forests With All Native Flora Not the Norm
e! Science News--Two-thirds of all forest inventory plots in the Northeast and Midwestern United States contain at least one non-native plant species, a new U.S. Forest Service study found. The study across two dozen states from North Dakota to Maine can help land managers pinpoint areas on the landscape where invasive plants might take root. "We found two-thirds of more than 1,300 plots from our annual forest inventory had at least one introduced species, but this also means that one-third of the plots had no introduced species," said Beth Schulz, a research ecologist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station who led the study, which is published in the current issue of the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. "By describing forest stands with few or no introduced species, we help managers focus on areas where early detection and rapid response can be most effective to slow the spread of introduced and potentially invasive plant species." Nonnative, or introduced, plants are those species growing in areas where they are not normally found. Whether they were intentionally released or escaped cultivation, nonnative plants ultimately can become invasive, displacing native species, degrading habitat, and altering critical ecosystem functions. Read more.
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States Learn to Use the Forest Vegetation Simulator
DURHAM, N.H.--The Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry coordinated instructor-led Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) training for State cooperators in April in Milwaukee, Wis. The objective of the training was to introduce the concepts of vegetation growth and yield modeling, specifically, the use of the FVS and its extensions. Training emphasized the capabilities of FVS in simulating forest management and impacts on forest structure, growth, fire behavior, and carbon accounting. This training session was designed for silviculturists, foresters, fire and fuels managers, ecologists, wildlife biologists, entomologists, pathologists, forest analysts, GIS specialists, forest planners, and any others interested in forest structure, composition, and management. Sixteen people attended the training representing seven different States in the Northeast and Midwest. Learn more about FVS.
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Behind the Forest Service Shield
Marc Roberts--A Bird's Eye View on Forest Health
 Saint Paul Field Office Unit Aviation Officer Marc Roberts can tell you a thing or two about the "big picture" of forest health-as well as how to fit into small spaces.
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Sustainable Operations Tip--Summer Energy-Saving Ideas
DURHAM, N.H.--As the weather turns warmer, there's a temptation to max out the air conditioning in order to stay cool, but this can lead to unwelcome surprises when the electricity bill arrives. A little forethought and planning, however, can enable you to beat the heat without depleting your bank account. Here are some energy-saving tips. Read more.
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Upcoming Events
Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Training Academy--The seventh annual Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Training Academy is scheduled for June 8 - June 14 at West Virginia University in Morgantown. This year the academy has nine classes essential to wildland firefighting, including fire behavior, equipment use, and leadership development. Registration is available through May 24. More information.
Lyme Disease Association Annual Conference--The 14th conference of the nonprofit Lyme Disease Association will be held June 1 - 2, 2013, in St. Paul, Minn. Last-minute at-the-door registrations may be available. More information.
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