nw
Newsletter                                                                                                         March 6, 2015
dispatch from sugarwoods
Dave Mance III

We usually start tapping our sugarwoods around February 1. This year it was five below zero that morning, and so there was no rush getting out there. If it's too cold when you tap, you can split the bark on the younger, thin-barked maples. What looks like a tiny tear in February can grow into a ragged scar by April...
photo gallery moose

Pelham, MA: This moose has been hanging out in the same area all winter, and really appreciates the road salt. Credit: Charlie Thompson.

The next gallery will be published in early April. Submit your March 2015 photos on the gallery page.
game camera success
Janet Pesaturo

My town had the job of removing a dead beaver from a culvert pipe cage, a rather sad and odorous affair, but also an opportunity. I alerted the usual suspects - there's nothing like a rotting carcass to bring camera trappers together - and we moved the body into the woods and set up a few cameras...

porcupine in winter
Steven D. Faccio

The porcupine is one of the most unique and recognizable mammals in the Northwoods. And thanks to its short legs and fat body, it's also one of the slowest. Of course, a porcupine really has little need for anything faster than first gear, since its quills provide excellent protection from most predators...

something above
What's going on up there?
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 one of our Season's Main Events Day Calendars. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in our next e-newsletter.

This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, March 14, 2015.
basswood seed
Congratulations to our winner Brian Larson of Newmarket, NH! Brian receives a Season's Main Events Day Calendar.

What's this on the snow?



NW Answer:


Basswood seed.

NORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS
Our cup runneth over. Actually, our inbox spilleth over. Either way, we have a lot of interesting news stories that cross our desks. Here were some of our favorites:

NATURE

Peepal politics: India says the tree President Obama planted there only looks dead. A weasel hitchhikes aboard a woodpecker...you have to see it to believe it. A very tall fecal time bomb and a very deep Siberian crater mystery. The ginseng police are on the lookout in Pennsylvania, while there's a new reason to worry about ticks out of Kansas. The essentials of eyelashes and a sea of plastic roofs in southern Spain. In a winter like this, we know what the cold does to us, but how does it affect animals? And, on a related note, we think we live in the north, but these people really do.

INDUSTRY

A Massachusetts report helps consumers better understand pellet pricing, while Current Use penalties may be changing in Vermont. Two stories from Maine, where an old school may become a new wood pellet plant and the 2015 Northeast Biomass Heating expo will be held April 16-18 in Portland. Also from Maine, a look at some of the different mighty mechanical harvesters being used by loggers. And from Finland, new technology that is getting even more value (in the form of tannin) out of tree bark.

STORIES YOU'VE SHARED

Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife will be conducting a spring landowner training May 15-17 in East Charleston, Vermont, at Northwoods Stewardship Center. The three-day program is designed for woodland owners who want to learn how a healthy forest can enhance wildlife habitat while providing recreational and timber benefits. For more information, or to register, contact Lisa Sausville via email or (802) 877-2777.

Northern Woodlands contributor Mary Holland is underway with a new series of children's nature books. "They are starting out to be about animal parts but will probably expand from there..." she explains. Animal Eyes was just released and Animal Mouths will be published in April.

An Emerald Ash Borer Workshop designed for municipalities, road crews, utilities, and forest professionals will be held Wednesday, March 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at the NewBrook Fire Station on Route 30 in Newfane, Vermont. Please RSVP via email.