Hope everyone is surviving the brutal cold today! Why not read the hot-off-the-presses Forest Digest while you warm up? (Or at least try to!)

  • Colombia seeks ‘environmental corridor’ across Andes, AmazonPhys.org
    The president of Colombia recently proposed an “environmental corridor” linking the Andes Mountains, Amazon rainforest and Atlantic Ocean. In an attempt to protect the region’s biodiversity, President Juan Manuel Santos is calling on leaders in Brazil and Venezuela to create the corridor, which encompasses 333.5 million acres.
  • Highland Park tallies thousands of trees lost to emerald ash borerChicago Tribune
    Chicago, along with many other areas in the U.S., has been infested with emerald ash borer since 2002, and not much progress has been made in its eradication. The only sure way to stop the outbreak is to cut down the trees that have been infected, and Chicago is planning on implementing this strategy with more than 1,000 trees. While this will greatly affect the forest cover in the city, officials intend to replant with a variety of species to incorporate biodiversity.
This new creation may be rainforests saving grace, if it can fully replace palm oil. Photo Credit: K. Marinko
This new creation may be rainforests saving grace, if it can fully replace palm oil. Photo Credit: K. Marinko
  • Palm oil may have met its match, which would be a boon for the planetTreehugger
    Palm oil may become a thing of the past thanks to scientists at the University of Bath in the U.K., who have created an oily yeast that matches the composition of palm oil. This could mean big strides in fighting deforestation in areas such as Malaysia and Indonesia, which house 87 percent of the palm oil industry.
  • Brazil Amazon: Drone to scan for ancient AmazoniaBBC News
    Past forest use may now be used to help shape future sustainable forestry techniques thanks to specially equipped drones that will be used to measure geoglyphs in Brazil to see how past inhabitants of the Amazon used the forest.
  • Privatization of UK woodlands is happening by the back doorThe Guardian
    The Forestry Commission in the U.K. is being harshly criticized after it released plans to lease many publicly owned woodlands to Forest Holidays, a company that aims to put up luxury cabins in the wooded areas. These new cabins are slated to be built on prime wildlife habitat and could threaten many endangered species as well as damage the whole forest ecosystem.
  • Obama Launches ‘Every Kid in a Park’ initiative-The Washington PostThe Washington Post
    National Parks could see an influx of fourth graders and their families thanks to Obama’s “Every Kid in a Park” initiative, which will allow these families free park admission for a full year. This could have great implications when it comes to getting kids more excited about nature and the benefits that it offers.