Loose Leaf wishes all of our readers a very happy Fourth of July! No matter how you commemorate the day, we would like to share another edition of Forest Digest to celebrate the trees that beautify our country, from sea to shining sea.

Here’s this week’s news in trees:

“Crews Making Progress against San Juan Fire in Arizona” — Associated Press/HuffPost Green
These crews are on fire! Well…figuratively. Firefighters endeavor to contain a blaze that has singed nine square miles in the eastern mountains of Arizona.

“Everglades restoration project has had modest impact, report shows” — Reuters
One small step for the ecosystem … A long-term project to restore Florida’s Everglades has had a minute influence due to sporadic federal funding.

“Scientists ask Obama to protect old growth forest” — Phys.Org
American and Canadian scientists are taking their concern straight to the top. Last week, 75 experts wrote President Obama petitioning for a policy to protect America’s old-growth forest.

“More carbohydrates make trees more resistant to drought” — ScienceDaily
Here’s someone who certainly won’t be going carb-free. Ecologists at the University of Zurich have found that the more carbohydrates a tropical tree stores, the better it will be able to endure droughts.

“How Global Forest Watch is changing the way we fight deforestation” — TreeHugger
Global Forest Watch is a relatively new website that tracks changes in forests that demonstrates the power of technology. Governments and environmental groups in several countries are implementing the service to help protect their forests.