Tom Doak of Maine Woodland Owners has done many presentations on his list of “The Ten Biggest Mistakes Woodland Owners Make.” Here is a new list to think about: “The Ten Biggest Mistakes Woodland Owners Make When Having a Harvest.” The two lists overlap some. I’ll share the story of one of those calls I don’t like to get, as a reminder of certain things to think about when planning to have your woodlot harvested. This is a true story, though without some of the identifying details.
Read MoreHibernation is underway in our woodlots. We can let the dogs out in the evening without worrying about them bumping into raccoons, skunks, porcupines and bears. Or can we?
Read MoreMaine Woodland Owners recently donated a full truckload of firewood to the Cumberland Wood Bank, with the 10 cords of wood coming from a harvest on a Cumberland woodlot owned by Maine Woodland Owners.
Read MoreA revitalized Forest Inventory Growth (FIG) website will help connect Maine students to the forests that now occupy 90% of the state’s land area.
Read MorePellet plants designed for small landowners are on the drawing board, and, in one case, ready to start up, as Maine wood markets adjust to the dearth in demand for softwood pulp produced by the closure of several paper mills.
Read MoreThe abundant red-orange fruits of autumn olive make it easy to spot this time of year. A single shrub can produce over 50,000 seeds.
Read MoreOnce again this year, a lot of white pine needles are turning brown and dropping off in large numbers. The cause is . . .
Read MoreShrubby honeysuckles are not only invasive, but large enough to take over a forest understory. Lonicera morrowii, L. tatarica, L. x bella)are deciduous shrubs of Northeastern woods, sometimes found around old cellar holes.
Read MoreAs the emerald ash borer (EAB) approaches the state, the Maine Forest Service (MFS) is preparing for likely quarantines, while foresters are hearing from and advising their clients about what the future may hold.
Read MoreThe 127th Legislature adjourned on April 29, and is unlikely to return until a new Legislature is seated in December. Here are highlights some of bills affecting woodland owners:
Read Moreby Lloyd C. Irland
(This is the seventh article in a series by Lloyd C. Irland, originally published in the May issue of Maine Woodlands).
Most careful readers of Maine’s forest history know that the masts for the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” came from the Maine woods. Several individuals prominent in her career were also from Maine. Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat; she now rests in drydock at Charlestown for a restoration, due to be completed in 2017. Here, briefly, is “the rest of the story”.
Read Moreby Llyod Irland
(This is the sixth article in a series by Lloyd C. Irland, originally published in the April issue of Maine Woodlands).
Reports by explorers Champlain, Weymouth, and Captain John Smith burst with superlatives describing the size of the trees they found on New England’s shores. They note their significance to the Navy’s needs, and the disadvantages should somebody else’s empire appropriate them. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lords of the Admiralty were being squeezed by their Baltic timber suppliers.
Read Moreby Lloyd C. Irland
(this is the fifth article in a series by Lloyd C. Irland, orginally published in the February 2016 issue of Maine Woodlands).
Our history books talk of periodic peasant revolts that shaped history, toppling dynasties, exacting concessions, or, more often, ending in bloody suppressions and changing nothing. Grievances over the forests played a role in many of them. We’ve seen the complex evolution of common rights in medieval Europe’s forests. These rights became increasingly unworkable and even dysfunctional in times of prosperity, widening trade, urbanization, and increasing population. About the year 1000 . . .
Read Moreby Lloyd C. Irland
(This is the fourth in a series of articles by Lloyd C. Irland, and was initially published in the December issue of Maine Woodlands).
So far this series has noted the obsession of medieval lords with the deer, boar, and game birds of the forest. We’ve paid less attention to how the common folk of the villages used the forest for food. I was tempted to call this, “Forest and Kitchen,” but then realized the people we speak of had no kitchens.
Read More(This article is the third in a series by Lloyd C. Irland, and was originally published in the November issue of Maine Woodlands).
In the Middle Ages, most farms consisted of scattered patches with rights to plow, graze pigs, cut wood, or harvest honey. A manor held by a minor lord might include several villages, each with a few dozen farms, tilled by villeins bound to the land . . . .
(The second article of a series by Lloyd C. Irland, this article was originally printed in the October issue on Maine Woodlands).
Medieval kings and feudal landholders tightly controlled rights to hunt on their land. Rules were detailed, making Maine’s book of hunting and fishing regulations look . . .
Read Moreby Llyod C. Irland
(This article is the first in a series, and was originally published in the September issue of Maine Woodlands).
Newspapers and magazines have been reminding us it’s the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the “Great Charter” signed under duress by King John in 1215. It turns out that, in addition to protecting the traditional rights of the barons, it also created medieval forest rights that are still with us today.
Read MoreSince 2000, deer tick populations have expanded throughout the state, and Lyme disease cases have increased exponentially. The 5- to 14-year-old age group, and those over 65, have been most vulnerable.
Read More“Trees are like any other crop,” David Rocque, Maine State Soil Scientist, says, in that they thrive with specific soil conditions. He warns against “shoe horning” trees in places where they won’t be happy. Rocque recommends . . .
Read MoreMost of Maine’s migrating songbirds will arrive at the beginning of May. Some can’t wait that long.
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