Forest Files February 2012
IN THIS ISSUE
Forest Frontiers: Greg McPherson
STANDING TALL: In the Company of Giants
Winter Playgrounds
Credit: Mt. Hood Territory/Flickr
For several months each year, many of America’s forests transform from green idylls into snow-covered wonderlands—and those that remain green offer enchanting new opportunities during the winter months. From skiing to snowboarding to snowshoeing to birds, butterflies and more, forests across the country are hopping each winter.
Discover America’s best winter playgrounds.
Tug of War in Adirondack Park
Credit: Carl Heilman
For more than century, Adirondack Park has been governed by a simple phrase: forever wild. Now, though, some are arguing that in order to create jobs and sustain the region’s economy, forever wild should no longer apply to the six-million-acre New York park.
Enter the battle waging in the Adirondacks.
Forest Frontiers: Greg McPherson
Courtesy: Greg McPherson
He has a fondness for James Bond’s science sidekick, Q. He misses the American elms of his childhood. He once had the police called on him while measuring trees. And he’s a premiere urban forest researcher, who studies the effect of trees on energy use, carbon sequestration and more.
Meet Greg in this special interview from the
upcoming issue of American Forests.
The Rainmakers
Credit: David Sim
Years and years of conventional weather wisdom claim that life-giving rain
falls due to the perfect combination of wind, temperature and pressure. What
if conventional wisdom is wrong? A controversial new-ish theory claiming
that forests — and not the wind — create precipitation is gaining traction
in scientific circles.
Find out more about the biotic-pump theory.
STANDING TALL: In the Company of Giants
Courtesy: Utah Big Tree Program
Some big tree hunters, foresters, a big tree coordinator and a botanist walked into a forest … and discovered a national champion:
“Set a little aside from the others, our tree stood out in a crowd. It was massive, gnarly and wild. … The visible girth and spread of the tree left little question in anyone’s mind that this was a winning tree!”
~Meridith Perkins, Utah big tree coordinator
Uncover the story behind the confirmation of a Utah national champion.