A forest in motion
Dense, dangerously crowded stands of trees are giving way to healthy, spacious forests across Alabama. This transformation is because active forest management on Alabama’s national forests is moving faster than it has in years, and the efforts are improving forest health and supporting local…
#Alabama, #Thinning, #MechanicalThinning, #Timber, #Forestry, #TimberSales, #GoodNeighborAuthority, #HealthyForests, #PrescribedFire, #ForestRestoration, #HabitatRestoration, #Habitat
Reviving sagebrush wetlands: A conservation story
Sagebrush landscapes are often thought of as dry, rugged and lacking plant and wildlife diversity. I am here to tell you—nothing is further from the truth. Having spent years working in these ecosystems, I’ve seen firsthand how wetlands within these arid landscapes are essential to biodiversity and habitat restoration. These overlooked areas provide critical resources for species that rely on…
#SageGrouse, #Restoration, #Habitat, #HabitatRestoration, #Wetlands
Restoring old-growth River Cane Systems and cultural connections
Research partners taking measurements of restored river cane stands during the June 2024 site visit. (USDA Forest Service by Donna Kridelbaugh)
ARKANSAS — Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Roger Cain, ethnobotanist and member with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma,…
#Cultural, #AquaticRestoration, #HabitatRestoration, #EcologicalRestoration
A stand with a plan
James Donahey, forester and silviculturist for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, stands in a red pine plantation in decline. (Forest Service photo by Briana Shepherd)
To the average mountain biker or hiker on the Pine Brook Trail, there may not be anything about the area that stands out. Lots of trees, some dead and downed wood…
#Bats, #Landscapes, #Resilience, #HabitatRestoration
King of the cactus family lives on
The Tonto National Forest’s Julia Wolke (left) and Bec Veerman (right) team up to replant a saguaro during the 5th annual Save the Saguaros replanting event. They were among 150 volunteers who gathered Nov. 9 to aid the restoration of the Sonoran Desert’s ecosystem following the 2020 Bush Fire…
#EcologicalRestoration, #HabitatRestoration
Forest Service workshop champions importance of restoring peatland
Where peatland restoration is successful, rewetting conditions lead to recolonization by plants that are staples of a healthy wetland ecosystem, such as Sphagnum mosses, sedges, heath plants, tamarack and black spruce. (USDA Forest Service photo by Erik Lilleskov)
MINNESOTA — Ever heard of a…