July 2, 2021
It is well known how important vernal pools are to salamanders, frogs, and other aquatic invertebrates in forested settings. It is truly surprising how quickly recently-constructed shallow pools are inhabited by numerous small aquatic creatures and underwater insects such as water scorpions and water boatmen.
June 24, 2021
The solstice has come and passed and summer is upon us once again. We faced a long, cold winter and an even longer year of challenge and uncertainty, but life is beginning to feel vibrant again. Our summertime forests are teeming with the buzz and soft flutters of pollinators, are rich with flowers that will soon turn to fruit and seeds, and are brimming with…ecological warfare?
May 21, 2021
Property line maintenance is one of the most important aspects of land ownership. It is your responsibility as the landowner to know where the boundaries to your property are located. Most forest landowners have a general idea where their lines are and have accurately surveyed maps, but few have their lines clearly marked and painted on the ground.
May 21, 2021
Almost all North American bats rely on forests for survival. Individual forest landowners can play a large role in supporting these important animals, and a new publication co-authored by a Forest Service scientist offers guidance on how. Forest Management and Bats describes how active forest management can improve forest health and productivity while maintaining and enhancing bat habitat.
May 21, 2021
You may have heard or read that walking was the preferred exercise during the pandemic. Folks put on their walking shoes and took to the streets, parks, and trails for diverse reasons – fresh air, social distancing, scenery changes, and, of course, exercise.
April 23, 2021
After a challenging year that seemed more like four seasons of winter, spring is finally – yes, finally – in the air, and Pennsylvania’s forests are shaking off nature’s cold silence and bursting with life. It’s this fast-changing, born anew side of nature that makes spring a fascinating time to explore in the woods. And it’s the perfect time to gather your family, those in your “social pod,” or your camera and binoculars and take to the woods.
April 22, 2021
Forest-products business professionals, students and workers interested in forest-related careers, and vendors of equipment and supplies will gather for commerce, education and networking at the 2021 Forest Products Equipment and Technology Exposition, Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5, at Penn State's Ag Progress Days site at Rock Springs.
April 20, 2021
Environmental injustice, or the unequal distribution of environmental resources and accessibility along race and class-based lines, is a historical and a contemporary issue.
April 9, 2021
Excerpts from the PA DCNR Division of Forest Health's report based on its annual monitoring program for insects, pathogens, weather stress, and other forest health issues, including forecasted issues for the upcoming year.
April 9, 2021
As baby boomers enter their mid-50s to mid-70s, significant acreages of forestland will be changing ownership over the next 10 to 20 years, as they divest or pass assets on to their heirs or beneficiaries. The USDA Forest Service anticipates one-third of the forest landowner population will be making decisions about the future of their forestland in the next five years. With this anticipated surge in the transfer of ownership, timely legal, financial, communication, and conservation tools must be made more accessible and available to forest landowners as they plan the future of their land.
April 9, 2021
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has added eight counties to the spotted lanternfly quarantine list ahead of the spring hatch, bringing the total number of counties under quarantine to 34. Cambria, Cameron, Franklin, Lackawanna, Montour, Pike, Wayne, and Westmoreland are new to the quarantine for 2021.
April 9, 2021
Basal bark herbicide applications are targeted treatments you can make in spring to effectively control numerous invasive shrub species.
April 8, 2021
Penn State Extension’s team of Forestry and Wildlife experts publishes an e-newsletter, Woods and Wildlife News and Notes, containing the most recent information, events, demonstrations, partnerships, and activities coming from the team. Forest Leaves shares the title and a thumbnail of these articles with you each quarter.
April 8, 2021
The Sustainable Timber Harvesting “virtual” Workshop, Wednesday, April 28, 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., is intended to give participants the knowledge and tools they need to assess—or work with a natural resources professional to assess—whether a proposed timber harvest meets sustainability guidelines. It is designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of sustainable forest management. This is an opportunity to have your questions answered by forestry professionals who have experience managing forest resources.
April 8, 2021
The Advice from the Woods: Ask Our Experts event involves a panel of Forestry and Wildlife Extension Educators and Faculty tackling participant-submitted or commonly-asked questions and scenarios as a team. This is an opportunity to meet your whole team of experts at once, and for a given issue, hear discussion between multiple informed perspectives to help you gain a better handle on the many complex factors involved in addressing or solving an issue.
April 8, 2021
Responsive Management, in partnership with the Hunters’ Leadership Forum of the NRA and the support of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, will conduct a free webinar series covering material from the new book, How to Talk About Hunting: Research-Based Communications Strategies.
April 8, 2021
The Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) is comprised of many knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers who, in addition to their regular day-to-day duties, make the commitment to show up to meetings, support and guide the program, and contribute their valuable input.
April 8, 2021
I am John Hoover and my first article for Forest Leaves is to introduce myself as the 2021 Chair of the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Committee. One of my responsibilities is to submit articles about our future activities. I have been active in the PA Tree Farm system since joining over 20 years ago.
April 8, 2021
As reported last quarter, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA) held its Annual Symposium over five days of online lunches last fall. Over those days, the PFA awarded the Joseph Rothrock Award to Reneé Carey, the Sandy Cochran Award to Jean Devlin, the Mira Dock Award to Sally Zaino, PA Tree Farmers of the Year to Rebecca Trigger and Mark Foley, and PA Tree Farm Inspector of the Year to Rob Piper. While this was highlighted last issue, it’s worth repeating. Save the date of October 9, 2021 for what we hope will be an in-person Annual Symposium event.
March 24, 2021
Over the past year, as we have sought outdoor experiences, have our attitudes towards forests changed? For many, time in forests and woodlands provided solace and distance from others. These are seemingly disparate ideas seeking comfort in isolation when so many were pining for interactions with others. Regardless of individual intents, records and observations suggest the past year has drawn many to new outdoor experiences.
March 18, 2021
Let us start by taking a closer look at Pennsylvania’s forest resource. Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) program, 2019 data, Pennsylvania has more than 16.6 million acres of forest land and is 58% forested. From this data we also know that Pennsylvania has the largest hardwood forest volume of any state. The Commonwealth has historically provided about 10% of the nation’s supply of hardwood lumber and leads the U.S. in lumber exports.
March 18, 2021
A new three-session webinar series offered by Penn State Extension provides a roundup of current information and strategies to help natural resource managers understand, assess, and manage deer impact in forested systems.
February 15, 2021
Many years ago, back in the mid-1970s during the “oil embargo,” heating with wood became the rage. Although I did not track it, new stove manufacturers sprung up seemingly overnight, chainsaw sales and accidents (I expect) were epic, and cords of wood left the stump as fodder for stoves and fireplaces.
February 15, 2021
An eight-part, four-week webinar series offered by Penn State Extension will give green industry professionals the knowledge they need to provide natural area management services to small acreage clients.
February 15, 2021
An online, interactive course on the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) (use Edge or Chrome) is now available from the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station. The course is available for free to anyone through a simple registration process.
February 15, 2021
The forest products industry begins in the forest with foresters and loggers. Foresters help forest landowners implement practices that lead to healthy, well-managed, sustainable forests. It is the Loggers job to harvest the trees the foresters indicated should be cut. Loggers are an essential link in helping to enhance the health of our forests, improve wildlife habitat, and provide the industry with raw material.
January 8, 2021
Wanda points to places they used to pasture pigs, plow potatoes, and pick apples. The former farm, tiny by today’s standards, fed five generations of her family before groceries eclipsed gardens. It’s where she’s lived all her life. Lately, she’s wrestling with how to stay put and care for a place so special to her.
January 8, 2021
As we move into a new year, it’s a time of hope and transition: hope for a successful vaccination program and opportunity to communicate forest stewardship face-to-face again, sharing programs and resources for woodland owners and stakeholders, while remembering those we’ve lost to COVID-19 and other diseases; and transition into new strategies for programming and engagement to help landowners care well for their woods.
January 8, 2021
The 2020 Walk in Penn’s Woods carried on despite the restrictions of a worldwide pandemic.
January 8, 2021
Seed banks are usually thought of as cryptic pools of buried seeds waiting for their “moment in the sun.” The scientific consensus on forest seed banks reveals a disappointing picture of an underground soil desert inhabited by weedy plant species that nobody cares about. This perspective is almost certainly false, and recent research reveals why we may have gotten it wrong … there’s far more to seed banks than we ever suspected.
James C. Finley Center for Private Forests
Address
416 Forest Resources BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email PrivateForests@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-0401
- Fax 814-865-6275
James C. Finley Center for Private Forests
Address
416 Forest Resources BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email PrivateForests@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-0401
- Fax 814-865-6275
