According to the old English proverb, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” While this phrase is normally used with the weather, here in D.C., “like a lion” applies to something else: lawmaking. Congress is in session, and this month is chockfull of hearings, meetings and advocacy days, which are [...]
This week, I’ve travelled across the country to Vancouver, Washington, to attend the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition (RVCC) annual policy meeting. This will be my third year attending this meeting, and I always seem to leave feeling more connected to the work that I do. Working in Washington, D.C., I don’t often get the [...]
It is barely March, and throughout Washington, trees are budding. If you are not from here you may not realize it, but our nation’s capital is a city filled with trees of tremendous variety, and spring here bursts forth in a riot of colors and sweet smells (and major tree pollen!). City trees, of course, [...]
In the world of environmental news, forests are frequent stars. They’re just too important, tied to too many wide-reaching issues to stay out of the headlines for long. Lately, however, the spotlight has been on a different type of forests: ancient ones. We’re not talking about old-growth forests or living trees that happen to be [...]
You know when you have an itch, but scratching it only seems to make it worse, and you’re stuck in a perpetual cycle of misery? Well, nature experiences similar phenomena: feedback loops. In technical terms, a feedback loop is when an output from a past event influences the same event, creating a cyclical pattern that’s [...]
Here in the U.S., we are lucky to have some truly outstanding natural places protected for our enjoyment and education. We have no fewer than 155 national forests that encompass millions of acres and 58 national parks. But one place in particular set things in motion and created a precedent for the wealth of protected [...]
March is just around the corner, and for many college students, that means spring break. The first thing that may come to mind is a beach in the Caribbean or backpacking in Europe, but there are plenty of domestic, outdoor vacation destinations that can be just as exciting. Why not go hiking in one of [...]
Time is a fickle mistress. It’s supposed to be the one constant in life, right? It just ticks on second after second … except twice a year when we lose or gain an hour … and every four years when we all of sudden get an extra 24 hours in the form of Leap Day. [...]
There’s a lot we still don’t know about climate change, but one thing we do know is that forests are a vital piece of the puzzle. Forests are so intertwined with carbon, and carbon with climate, that there is no denying the role forests play in slowing climate change and addressing its effects. Despite the [...]
Have you loved this year’s unseasonable warm winter? Yes? Well, I have another question for you: Is that happiness worth the loss of maple syrup on your pancakes and waffles? While snow and freezing temperatures are cumbersome for us humanoids, they’re essential for maple-syrup producers across the country. In fact, without freezes, we’d be out [...]
