News Digest Environment and Agriculture

  • Rallies held across New England on climate change - 05/05/12
    Northern Forest Region By: The Associated Press Hundreds of people across New England are drawing attention to what they see as a link between extreme weather events and climate change. Do…Read More
  • NY lake’s freezing and thawing shows warming trend - 05/05/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Mary Esch Wolf Lake in the Adirondack High Peaks region is considered a “heritage lake,” one of the most pristine freshwater bodies in the northeastern United Stat…Read More
  • Trees are taller out West — but why? - 05/04/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Brian Palmer Last year, a team of climbers led by arborist Will Blozan measured the tallest tree in the Eastern United States: a 192-foot tulip tree in the Great Smoky…Read More
  • Maine sets traps to combat invasive emerald ash borer - 05/03/12
    Maine By: Alex Barber The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia that can kill ash trees, has not been found in Maine yet, but the Maine Department of Conservation, U.S. Department of A…Read More
  • Towns ready to go it alone on Lake George boat inspections - 05/03/12
    New York By: Jon Alexander The chief executives of two lakeside towns said Thursday that they’d locally regulate incoming boat traffic at area launches, requiring mandatory inspections and dec…Read More
  • Conservation Partnership Program Grants Awarded Locally - 05/03/12
    New York By: Editorial Staff Conservation Partnership Program grants totaling $1.4 million were awarded to 53 nonprofit land trusts across the state according to a statement by the New York Stat…Read More
  • Free Invasive Species Training Offered - 05/03/12
    New York By: Editorial Staff Those interested in joining statewide efforts to track invasive species can attend an iMapInvasives online mapping tool training session. Anyone can help keep the Ne…Read More
  • The Nature Conservancy Invites Conservationists Worldwide to Conservation Gateway - 05/02/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Business Wire The Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Gateway launched its “Calling All Conservationists” campaign today. “Calling All Conservationists” invite…Read More
  • Maine buys 5,700 acres for $2.7 million - 04/30/12
    Maine By: Staff The state of Maine has purchased more than 5,700 acres south of Millinocket in Piscataquis County, including two miles of Seboeis Lake shoreland. State and conservation adv…Read More
  • Irene gives boost to invasive plant in Vermont - 04/30/12
    Vermont By: Lisa Rathke Last year’s hurricanes and flooding not only engulfed homes and carried away roads and bridges in hard-hit areas of the country, it dispersed aggressive invasive specie…Read More
  • Report: World’s progress too slow on climate control - 04/29/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Brad Plumer Each year, the International Energy Agency puts out a study of which technological advances are needed to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. The …Read More
  • Mild winter could lead to huge honeybee die-off come fall - 04/29/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Mechele Cooper Beekeepers need to be especially careful this year. A mild winter and unseasonably warm early spring have created conditions reminiscent of 2010, …Read More
  • Gillibrand votes no as committee passes farm bill - 04/27/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Staff The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee approved the Farm Bill Thursday, by a vote of 16 to 5. The bill is expected to cut agricultural spending by almost $25 bill…Read More
  • Small Adirondack land deals may slip through NY's fingers - 04/27/12
    New York By: Brian Mann This week, the Cuomo administration paid out roughly $1.5 million to land trusts across the state. The money will mostly go to help with administration costs and to fund …Read More
  • Writer Rachel Carson Still Relevant, 50 Years after 'Silent Spring' - 04/26/12
    Maine By: Murray Carpenter Fifty years ago, a writer with Maine ties published a book that boosted the nascent ecology movement, prompted President Kennedy to convene a science advisory committe…Read More
  • NY's Public Wild Forest Lands - 04/26/12
    New York By: Dave Gibson Public wild lands protected by law in New York State can fall under the public jurisdiction of a variety of state agencies. Some of them are part of the system of state …Read More
  • Study: Organic farming can sow efficiency too - 04/25/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times Organic agriculture generally comes at a cost of smaller harvests compared with conventional agriculture, but that gap can be narrowed wi…Read More
  • Do urban 'heat islands' hint at trees of future? - 04/24/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Earth & Climate City streets can be mean, but somewhere near Brooklyn, a tree grows far better than its country cousins, due to chronically elevated city heat leve…Read More
  • 2011 was a tough year for Vermont environment - 04/24/12
    Vermont By: Dave Gram Vermont’s environment had a rough year in 2011. That’s according to a report issued Monday by the Agency of Natural Resources on the health of the state’s envir…Read More
  • Report Assesses Vermont's Environmental Health - 04/23/12
    Vermont By: Jane Lindholm We like to think Vermont is "green" but when you look beyond the postcard image, how is Vermont’s environment really doing? The Agency of Natural Resources is resumin…Read More
  • Adirondack Council seeks APA reforms - 04/22/12
    New York By: Maury Thompson The Adirondack Park Agency was a model for regional planning in environmentally significant areas when the agency was founded in 1971, said John Sheehan, spokesman fo…Read More
  • Maine Nature Conservancy launches $100 million campaign - 04/20/12
    Maine By: The Associated Press The Nature Conservancy in Maine is using Earth Day to launch a fundraising campaign to protect the state's lands and waters. The "Sustainable Maine, Sustaina…Read More
  • Tree-killing beetle found closer to New England - 04/19/12
    Northern Forest Region By: George M. Walsh The invasive beetle that has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees over the past decade has been found east of the Hudson River for the first time, m…Read More
  • Bats rebound in NY caves first hit by white-nose - 04/19/12
    New York By: Michael Hill Researchers found substantially more bats in several caves that were the first ones struck by white-nose syndrome, giving them a glimmer of hope amid a scourge that has…Read More
  • UMaine climate researchers develop Web tool to test air quality by community - 04/16/12
    Maine By: Jackie Farwell A new interactive Web tool developed by climate researchers at the University of Maine allows users to punch in a ZIP code to learn about their neighborhood’s air qual…Read More
  • Green People - 04/10/12
    New Hampshire By: Virginia Prescott Many climate scientists argue we’ve passed the point of being able to slow down Co2 emissions that contribute to greenhouse gasses. A few advocates for mamm…Read More
  • Small dairies create market for entrepreneurs - 04/10/12
    Vermont By: Lisa Rathke Frank Kipe thought he had everything he needed to launch a business selling what he described as the world's most expensive ice cream: two Jersey cows, a 10-acre farm and…Read More
  • Study: Fungus behind bat die-off came from Europe - 04/10/12
    New York By: Alicia Chang The mysterious deaths of millions of bats in the United States and Canada over the past several years were caused by a fungus that hitchhiked from Europe, scientists re…Read More
  • Little pushes controls of invasive species - 04/09/12
    New York By: Chris Morris A bill introduced in the state Senate aims to make the possession and sale of invasive species illegal. The legislation is sponsored by state Sen. Betty Little, a…Read More
  • Sen. Little backs bill to combat invasives - 04/03/12
    New York By: Jon Alexander A local state senator is working on a proposed law that would outlaw the sale and possession of invasive species. The law is scheduled to pass in the Assembl…Read More
  • UNH leads ecosystem, land use project - 04/01/12
    New Hampshire By: Staff With a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of New Hampshire will lead a research and education project to explore the state's forests a…Read More
  • As the climate warms, the risk of fires is becoming unusually, unseasonably high - 04/01/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Molly Walsh It was supposed to be a controlled burn to prepare the fields for planting behind a handsome yellow Italianate house, the old Foote Mansion. But very…Read More
  • Adapting to climate change - 03/30/12
    New York By: Mike Lynch The Wild Center hosted a meeting on climate change Thursday focused on the ClimAID report issued in November by the New York Energy Research and Development Authority. …Read More
  • Maine farmer leads organic growers’ continued fight against Monsanto - 03/29/12
    Maine By: Jen Lynds Organic farmers will appeal a case dismissed in February that pitted them against corporate agriculture giant Monsanto in federal court. The group that brought the laws…Read More
  • Cooperative effort brings Moultonborough fire tower back on line - 03/28/12
    New Hampshire By: Dan Seufert The Red Hill Fire Tower, the state's northernmost fire-observance tower south of the White Mountains, will be staffed full time this spring and summer for the first…Read More
  • Warmer Winters Reflected in Bird Counts, Range Shifts - 03/28/12
    New York By: Editorial Staff When bird watchers joined this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), they recorded the most unusual winter for birds in the count’s 15-year history. With 17.4…Read More
  • Expert Says Cold Weather Won't Save Maple Season - 03/27/12
    Vermont By: VPR Staff An expert on Vermont's maple sugar industry says the return of seasonably chilly temperatures won't save this year's season for many sugarmakers. University of Vermo…Read More
  • Burton and Gallus call for public meeting on Umbagog - 03/27/12
    New Hampshire By: Barbara Tetreault Executive Councilor Raymond Burton and state Senator John Gallus are inviting the entire N.H. Congressional delegation and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine…Read More
  • Maine’s 2011 wild blueberry harvest worth $70.1 million - 03/26/12
    Maine By: Tom Walsh Maine’s 2011 wild blueberry harvest tipped the scales at 83.1 million pounds, according to yield results calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s 10…Read More
  • Conservation group acquires 192 Canaan Bog acres - 03/26/12
    Maine By: Doug Harlow Land management and conservation group Somerset Woods Trustees has acquired 192 acres of the ecologically sensitive Canaan Bog in East Skowhegan as part of a land swap with…Read More
  • Green Mountain National Forest Expands - 03/26/12
    Vermont By: VPR Staff The Green Mountain National Forest is expanding. The Trust for Public Land has purchased 680 acres of private land in Readsboro that will link previously unconnected…Read More
  • Nature Notes: Asian Longhorned Beetle at Westborough's Border - 03/23/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Staff Reports The invasive tree-eating pest, the notorious Asian Longhorned Beetle, or “ALB” for short, has recently been detected in neighboring Shrewsbury, makin…Read More
  • Despite Warm Weather, It's Maple Syrup Weekend in New Hampshire - 03/23/12
    New Hampshire By: Brady Carlson This weekend is maple syrup weekend in New Hampshire – true, you might not be thinking of sugar and sap given this week’s record breaking temperatures, but mo…Read More
  • Concerning stories of a changing climate - 03/22/12
    New York By: Kim Smith Dedam Anna Kowanko understands what natural disaster looks and feels like first-hand. She watched last fall as water tore through the streets in Upper Jay and swept …Read More
  • Mainers Bask in Record Heat as Climate Scientists Worry - 03/21/12
    Northern Forest Region By: Patty B. Wight Normal temperatures this time of year hover in the 40s, but today it shot into the 70s. That broke the previous record set back in 1946, when it hit 60.…Read More
  • Wildfire Season Comes Early - 03/20/12
    New Hampshire By: Sam Evans-Brown The state agency responsible for protecting forests from wildfires is warning that state forests are more at risk of burning this year. Forest Ranger Brya…Read More
  • State Law Would Ban, Regulate Invasive Species - 03/19/12
    New York By: Editorial Staff The Lake George Association (LGA) is supporting a bill on invasive species recently introduced in the New York State Legislature by Assemblyman Robert K. Sweeney (D-…Read More
  • Creating healthier food cultures in schools, communities - 03/14/12
    New York By: Todd Moe Amy Cotler is an author, chef and local food advocate, who says it's an exciting time for the locavore movement, but more needs to be done. Cotler is author of the book, Th…Read More
  • NY State will help farmers pay to replace feed, crops damaged in Irene and Lee - 03/14/12
    New York By: Staff Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that the state will give $950,000 in additional recovery aid to New York farms affected by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. …Read More
  • Adirondack Council: Revise Development Rules - 03/13/12
    New York By: Editorial Staff The Adirondack Council is calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature to make sweeping changes to the rules for private land use and development in the …Read More