Maine Woodland Owners board members Doug Baston and Nate Webb are representing wildlife and woodland ownership views on the Maine Climate Council’s Natural and Working Lands Working Group.
Read MoreWe’re in an era where “climate shaming” has become fashionable. Don’t eat meat! Don’t fly anywhere! Now comes a local writer urging us not to use our woodstoves, because of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Read MoreDespite very challenging weather conditions our annual Forestry Field Day, held on Saturday September 7th, went off without a hitch.
Read MoreTom Doak, Maine Woodland Owners Executive Director, has been appointed to serve on the Task Force on All-Terrain Vehicle Trail Initiatives, and will represent the interests of woodland owners as the group works to develop a set of recommendations for the 2020 Legislature.
Read MoreBy Maxwell McCormack In last month’s issue, Lloyd Irland hit the nail squarely on the head. White pines had a banner year for production of
Read MoreWhen they had the opportunity to retire Maine Woodland Owners members Steve and Jo Laurich decided that their next move would be to realize a life goal: becoming stewards of their own woodlot. Their pursuit of a home on several acres of land isn’t a typical story of seeking rest and relaxation at the end of a career. The two were committed to spending this next stage of their lives working in the woods – but it had to be the right property.
Read MoreAfter recent staffing restructuring, Maine Woodland Owners is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennifer Hicks as its new Director of Communications and Outreach.
Jenn comes to the organization from Teens To Trails where she served as its Development Coordinator. Previous to that, Jenn was the Executive Director of Pemaquid Watershed Association which recently merged with Damariscotta River Association to become Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust.
Read MoreHarold Burnett has joined Maine Woodland Owners as its staff forester, a part-time role. Executive Director Tom Doak said, “Harold is a very experienced forester and well-known in the forest community. He will be a great help in managing our growing Land Trust.” Burnett took up his work recently and hit the ground running. Harold said, “I’ve laid out timber sales in Lamoine and Sullivan, begun familiarizing myself with the Penobscot and Winn woodlots, flagged boundaries in Standish, in advance of a blazing project, checked in on a harvest operation in New Gloucester, and conferred with several new, potential woodland donors to our Land Trust.”
Read MoreOur new location is 8 Mulliken Court in Augusta – a house converted into office space. We occupy the entire building. The new office borders Western Avenue, with a large sign that’s highly visible.
Read MoreThere are at least 1,850 bills this year at the Maine State Legislature, and the statutory adjournment date is June 19. Maine Woodland Owners has been actively lobbying on a number of bills that would impact woodland owners, including a Tree Growth Tax Law amendment, abandoned roads and ATV use.
Read MoreThe pace of action at the State House is picking up. While many bills have yet to be printed, a number of those of interest to woodland owners have been dealt with, or are pending. Here are some of the issues we’ve been dealing with:
Read MoreA new in-state service that tests ticks for the three most common tick-borne pathogens – Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis – is now available to Maine residents.
Read MoreA wealth of information is packed into the 15 page booklet, “A Woodland Owner’s Guide to Forestry for Maine Birds.”. It spells out the differences between hardwood, softwood, and mixed-woods as they determine bird habitat preferences. It describes threats to forest songbirds. It uses 16 priority birds as bellwethers for the rest of the avian world.
Read MoreDon’t be too surprised if a birder wanders through the neighborhood this month. The annual Christmas Bird Count will put hundreds of Mainers out on the street over the last few weeks of the year, as it has for the past 118 years.
Read MoreIt doesn’t take much imagination to picture Nature going about on autumn days and painting the leaves of trees and other plants red, purple, orange, and yellow. Every fall, we delight in the beauty of the trees and shrubs, knowing it’s only a passing pleasure.
Read MoreAn emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation has been confirmed in western York County, state officials announced on Sept. 12.
Read MoreA continuing informative series of articles about the emerald ash borer including advice, updated monthly.
Read MoreIt stands to reason that if we can replace steel and wood in buildings with locally produced wood, we can reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. But calculating how much difference it makes is, as the Grinch would say, “complicatacious.”
Read MoreAs I write this, many of the thorniest issues the Legislature is grappling with remain unresolved. There has been movement of a number of issues related to woodland owners, however.
Read MoreHave you ever used an electric chainsaw? Maine Woodland Owners board member Mike Dann tried one out on his woodlot and provided feedback.
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