Forest and Nature

I take issue with a number of the statements made by the Forest Guardians of Santa Fe in the June 24, 2007, guest column titled “Proceed cautiously with spraying.”

Mr. Bird correctly states that we “are not alone in experiencing severe forest insect outbreaks.” We are also not alone in pursuing a spraying program to control these insects. Examples include programs to keep tent caterpillars from defoliating aspen trees in Colorado, and aerial spraying programs throughout the country to control the gypsy moth.

If the current insect outbreak were occurring in a remote part of the Lincoln, it would be a different matter. There might not be the urgent need to intervene. However, in the present (more…)

Greek firefighters are battling a major forest fire which has threatened the suburbs of the capital, Athens.

The blaze, on the slopes of Mount Parnitha, is being contained, officials say, but a huge plume of black smoke is towering over the city.

Electricity pylons, exploding after a record heatwave, have sparked some of the fires, but arson is also suspected.

The fire near Athens is one of more than 100 blazes which have broken out across Greece in the last few days.
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As I look at images from South Lake Tahoe of smoldering ashes that used to be homes of people I know, I think back a few years to the words a fire captain friend of mine said to me.

“It’s not if we have a catastrophic wildfire in the Tahoe Basin, but when.”

“When” happened last week, and “when” will happen again.

There is no way to prevent forest fires. They are a natural part of forests, and have been long before human beings came along and tried to put them out. (more…)

Here I sit, looking down at lovely Lake Tahoe, but also looking down the hill at the fir forest growing ever thicker and more deadly. Fires always burn uphill. If a fire ever starts at the bottom of our hill, we’ll have 10 minutes to escape before the one road out is cut off by the fire. Behind my home, it’s nearly impossible to hike off trail because you have to wade through knee-deep piles of dead branches.

The forest is ready to explode. We have too many trees, but no one dares do anything about it.
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Wooden floors, wooden worktops, wooden furniture. We can’t live without it. Once it was mahogany everything. Then for a while it was antique pine. Yet as our concerns for the planet grow, we also have to take note of where it comes from, and this is in conflict with our increasing interest in interior design. More than ever our homes are a reflection of just how fashionable we are. You might be desperate for the latest dark wooden floor as a contrast to everyone else’s original Victorian pine. You might fancy a coffee table in that desperately chic yompa wood – but is it ethical as well as fashionable? (more…)

Top Lodge at Fineshade Wood has been created using local and natural materials and renewable energy systems to develop former 18th century barns into a state-of-the-art recreation and information complex.
It is designed to offer visitors the chance to find out about the local environment, see wildlife up close, and learn about local crafts and the heritage of the ancient woodland.
The project is at the heart of the River Nene Regional Park (RNRP) initiative and is the brainchild of the Forestry Commission, which has built the centre with partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Rockingham Forest Craft Guild. (more…)

John Noel has found what he calls the “sweet spot” in Bon Aqua Woods.

It lies about one-quarter mile from old Highway 46, past hickory and tulip poplar trees, Mayapple plants, poison ivy and tall, native dandelion.

“You can feel what it would feel like to stand in the middle of an ancient forest,” said Noel, a Williamson County businessman and environmentalist, looking around him.

A few feet away rose a massive white oak estimated to be hundreds of years old. Turning in a circle, Noel could see another and then another 120-foot or taller gray-barked white oak in the distance, flanked by young, thin trees.

The state took possession last week of the 35-acre forest with trees of an “exceptional” size rare in Middle Tennessee. The public will be able to see them for themselves when it opens sometime this fall as a state natural area, a type of park. (more…)