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 EDITOR'S BLOG
Backyard Charcoal Making
Dave Mance III
The word senescence, a fancy term that biologists use to refer to the process of growing old, has recently entered my vocabulary, and judging by the steady rate at which my nose hair has accumulated over the past few years probably not a moment too soon...
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 THE OUTSIDE STORY
Apples for Wildlife
Joe Rankin
The old saw about "an apple a day" as the way to perfect health may have been overstated, but the apple is a great food and a nutritional bonanza. A medium-sized apple has anywhere from 70 to 125 calories, depending on variety, mainly sugars, though some super sweet kinds have twice that...
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THE OUTSIDE STORY ARCHIVE FEATURE
An Abenaki Spring Harvest
Michael J. Caduto
At the waning of Sogalikas, the "sugarmaker" moon, the traditional Abenaki season for gathering wild edible and medicinal plants begins. Abenaki culture has been handed down to the present day through countless generations living in communities throughout New Hampshire and Vermont...
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 WHAT IN THE WOODS IS THAT?
Our Biweekly Guessing Game!
Dinosaur tooth? Probably not, but love the hot pink. What is this?
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.
This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. |
 Previous Contest Answer
Congratulations to our winner Alicia Bergeron of Newbury, NH! Alicia receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.
Northern Woodlands' columnist Bryan Pfeiffer pulled this branch out of the water for a closer look. What are those whitish bumps? (Photo by Bryan Pfeiffer.)
NW Answer: Salamander Spermatophores.
These tiny gelatinous packages contain salamander sperm. In the springtime, males migrate to vernal pools and deposit spermatophores. The females then show up and a slithery, orgiastic mating ritual, called a congress, ensues. The female takes up the spermatophore through her cloaca, then later deposits fertilized eggs on submerged vegetation.
As one reader pointed out, it's a particularly interesting mating ritual because it has nothing to do with male fitness - no song, or plumage, or spots - it's simply a genetic lottery. Deposit your sperm in the right place and you win the gene pool!
Another took this a step further and suggested that Father's Day must be a very confusing holiday for young salamanders.
Thanks to our friend Byran Pfeiffer for sharing this photo. Check out Bryan's blog here. Visit our What In The Woods Is That? contest archive. |
 NORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS
Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Concord, NH
The emerald ash borer, a federally regulated insect that attacks and kills ash trees, was detected in Concord last month. The state issued an emergency quarantine for Merrimack County in order to limit the human-assisted spread of the beetle by regulating the movement of all hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock, ash logs and other ash forest products originating in the county. The public comment period on the quarantine ends May 8, 2013. To learn more about emerald ash borer and the Merrimack County quarantine, or to make a comment about the quarantine, click here.
High School Game of Logging Competition
Stafford Tech's Forestry and Natural Resource Program will be hosting a chainsaw safety and skills competition at Gagnon Lumber in Pittsford, Vermont at 8 am on Friday, May 10th. Forty high-school students from Natural Resource Technical Programs from around the state will exercise their skills in the nationally recognized Game Of Logging event. They will compete in events that require precision, accuracy, and safety with a chainsaw. Northeast Woodland Training, a Vermont-based Game of Logging Training Organization, will judge the event and award prizes to top competitors. Contact Mark Raishart, Stafford Forestry and Natural Resource Instructor, for more information via email or phone (802)770-1057.
Massachusetts DCR Announces 5 Pre-Harvest Forest Tours
Next week, DCR Foresters will be leading tours of prepared timber sale areas, discussing forest management techniques, providing a view of the trees designated for harvest, and explaining how harvest operations will take place. A detailed silviculture prescription for each harvesting operation will be provided to attendees. These tours culminate a public process that included public meetings and a written comment period on each project.
For additional information about the tours and DCR forest management on state forests, parks, and reservations, please contact William Hill, Management Forestry Program Supervisor, at 413-545-3891.
Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Winner Announced
Gov. Peter Shumlin, Agriculture Secretary Chuck Ross, Forest, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael Snyder and the Working Lands Enterprise Board recently announced the first round of grant recipients from the "Enterprise Investment Area" of the Working Lands Enterprise Fund, with almost $220,000 awarded to 20 grantees representing sectors across agriculture, forestry and forest products. Information regarding the Working Lands Initiative, including investment areas two and three (Working Lands Service Provider Grants and Capital and Infrastructure Investments), can be found here. |
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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) 368-1053
Email: mail@northernwoodlands.org
General inquiries form
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The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast and 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.
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