There are a lot of threats to Maine forests — fragmentation, poor forestry practices, development, imported and native pests and diseases . . . and invasive plants. Plants like “burning bush,” famous for its red color. Or the distinctive “Crimson King” Norway maple. Or the common privet. Plants that have graced Maine lawns and gardens…
This was the year the West burned. The numbers are mind-boggling: By the end of November alone more than 56,000 wildfires had burned 9.1 million acres in the west. Thousands of homes and other buildings destroyed. Scores killed. Losses in the billions. And the flames roared into December. Huge fires ripped across California, including several…
Wild sarsaparilla is not a flashy forest dweller. It doesn’t soar overhead, or have showy blossoms. Or produce copious amounts of fruit or nuts that benefit wildlife. Or even envelop large areas of the forest floor. In fact, it is quite a nondescript little plant, though one with a disconcerting, but superficial, resemblance toWild Sarsaparilla poison…
By Joe Rankin A forest, like all living things, is constantly changing. Sometimes the changes are big and abrupt and obvious and sometimes small and gradual and unnoticeable. A few years ago I started an experiment in forest succession. Primary succession, to be precise, on about an acre and a half across the road. For…
The forest — any forest, really — doesn’t just stretch out across the land like a blanket (or a washcloth if it’s a small patch of woodland). It goes up and down as well. But this vertical dimension is something we overlook, even those of us who find forests endlessly fascinating. For instance, we often…
By Joe Rankin Predominantly forested has been the steady state of Maine’s landscape for the vast majority of the last 10,000 years. In fact, Maine is the most forested state in the nation—about 90 percent. This forest has provided game, fish, and medicine to Indigenous Peoples since before recorded history. European settlers arriving to colonize…
By JOE RANKIN There is something about big trees that stirs up a feeling of awe in us. And when those trees grow together in an old growth forest, the feeling is magnified. We drop our hubris and can see time on a different level, and the slow workings of nature. Native Americans cleared…
By JOE RANKIN Forests for Maine’s Future writer Quickly now. This is a quiz. What is the most common tree species in Maine? You might have said pine. It is, after all the Pine Tree State. Or the iconic white birch, perhaps. But you’d be wrong. The most common tree in the state is…
It’s safe to say that things have changed since the 1970s and 1980s, when the spruce budworm last ravaged the northern Maine woods. The forest has changed hands, some parcels many times. The state’s woods products and paper industries have suffered severe blows — mills have closed and thousands of jobs evaporated. Then, there is…
By Joe Rankin, published August 2016 Much of the southern half of Maine is dry. Really dry. Lawns brown. Gardens struggling. Wells drying up. Things are bad on the rainfall front and in early August the forecasts weren’t looking good for rain. The U.S. Drought Monitor for Aug. 9 said the southern tip of Maine…
