A new study released by the Forest Service addresses the loss of eastern hemlock from forests in the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. The hemlock woolly adelgid, an exotic invasive insect, has caused widespread hemlock mortality," says Steven Brantley, a post-doctoral researcher and lead author of the paper.
A recent state-by-state study finds that U.S. urban trees store carbon and provide billions in economic value. America's urban forests store an estimated 708 million tons of carbon, an environmental service with an estimated value of $50 billion, according to a recent Forest Service study. The annual net carbon uptake by these trees is estimated at 21 million tons and $1.5 billion in economic benefit.
Everyone has a favorite tree – a source of fun, shade or solace when we just need a quiet place. Thanks to a recent report, “Vibrant Cities & Urban Forests: A National Call to Action,” we now know our trees also provide so much more. Trees can create jobs and help reduce chronic illnesses like asthma and obesity. Trees can increase home values and lower summer temperatures. Trees make our air cleaner and provide habitat for native animals. In short, trees are the key to a vibrant, healthy community.
Smithsonian scientists have embarked on an ambitious journey and none of them will be around to see the results. A century from now researchers will gather data from a forest in Maryland to see how, during the previous 100 years, varying levels of species diversity affected its development and how the forest reacted to climate change.
Last week the Maryland General Assembly passed HB 706, more commonly referred to as the Forest Preservation Act of 2013. State Forester Steve Koehn was integral facilitating the process that provided the General Assembly with the background and information to support the passage of the Forest Preservation Act of 2013.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will now consider forests in doing environmental impact reviews and has added this to their Environmental Impact Review Manual.
This week the Supreme Court reversed the May 2011 ruling in NEDC v. Brown that would require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharges from logging roads.
A New Mexico State House Memorial will ask the federal Forest Service to engage with state agencies and local governments in "meaningful" watershed health planning and management. The memorial calls on the state engineer, attorney general and state forester to take steps to enforce the obligations of the Forest Service under an 1897 federal act to protect watershed health in New Mexico's forests.
Using i-Tree software to calculate the value of their street trees, Pittsburgh has found that urban forests translate into serious dollars and cents–filtering air and water, sequestering carbon, reducing the urban heat-island effect, boosting property values, and so much more.
The emergence of ecosystem service markets as a tool for planning and conservation efforts is a growing trend. The Forest Service is supporting various programs and partnerships across public and private lands to conserve water resources, create markets, and test new protocols.
