Extension News: Natural Resources Archives

Project matches farmland owners with aspiring farmers looking for land

"Today, more than ever, there's a need to match farmers who want to sell or rent their farms with people who want to go into farming," says John Porter, New Hampshire Extension dairy specialist emeritus.

"Farmland is expensive and hard to find, and there's a younger generation with a desire to farm and supply local food. Some landowners have indicated a willingness to make special arrangements for people who showed promise of carrying on their enterprise."

A formal program to match farm owners with buyers or renters
Toward that end, in 2000 the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, a cross-section of people dedicated to preserving agriculture in the state, proposed the idea of a program to join aspiring farmers to willing renters or sellers of farmland.

"We called it New Hampshire Farm Link," says Porter. "Tony Mincu, a Coalition member and a law student at the time, took on the task of formally organizing Farm Link as part of a community law project at Franklin Pierce Law School. There have been a few applications kept on file over the years and some informal match-ups, but there wasn't enough funding or staff to maintain a full-service land-matching program.

Farm Link finds a permanent home
"After several years of relative dormancy, looking for a new home, New Hampshire Farm Link has merged with New England LandLink, a program of the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI) in Belchertown, Massachusetts," says Porter "We're really excited about this move.

"New England LandLink, which serves all of New England and eastern New York, maintains a database that currently has 510-plus seekers and more 60 farm offerings. Merging with this regional program will provide a considerably larger pool of prospective farmers and available land and should be a win-win situation for everyone involved," says Porter. "LandLink director Warren Hubley is available by phone and email to provide personal contact (warren@smallfarm.org or 413-323-4531).

Looking for farmland? Want to sell farmland?
People who want to list their property or who are looking for land can obtain application forms from any UNH Cooperative Extension office or other cooperating agricultural agencies around the state, or directly from New England LandLink. It costs $10 to register for the standard LandLink services, which include contact information for any Web listings and advice about new properties.

Residents of New Hampshire's seacoast region can soon purchase locally and sustainably caught shrimp and lobster directly from local fishermen at seacoast-area Winter Farmers Markets.

With shrimp and lobster prices at near 20-year lows, this is an economic boon to consumers and local fishermen alike.

Fishing: A vital component of the N.H. economy
Throughout our history, New Hampshire's commercial fishing industry has helped to shape the state's character and sense of community.

As a vital component of the state's economy for more than two centuries, commercial fishing has grown to a multi-million dollar industry in New Hampshire, employing approximately 100 commercial fishermen and supporting approximately 250 jobs in other sectors, including food processing, tourism, and boatyards.

Tough times for local fishermen
However, the state's seafood industry is at a critical juncture that will determine its future viability. Fishing regulations aimed at protecting declining fish stocks have made it difficult for commercial fishermen to turn a profit. Coupled with rock-bottom prices for shrimp and lobster, commercial fishermen worry that their livelihood is in jeopardy.

Extension initiative to help fishermen develop direct marketing strategies
But how can the shrimp and lobster industries both sustain the resource and increase profits from fish sales?

The answer may lie in establishing direct markets for local and sustainably caught seafood. By selling directly to consumers, fishermen get to keep more of the profits.

Combining a Significant Issues grant from UNH Cooperative Extension with other grant funding, we began conducting research to look at the prospects for direct marketing of seafood. We're conducting a survey to build a marketing profile of consumers and also surveying fishermen and retailers.

We've also been working with the fishermen of the Yankee Seafood Co-op, based in Seabrook, to build stronger links between commercial fishermen and local fresh markets and area restaurants.

Winter Markets the first step
As one result of our initiative, the Co-op will begin selling shrimp and lobster at Winter Farmers' Markets sponsored by Seacoast Eat Local. What better venue for fishermen than a farmers market where agricultural producers are already selling a variety of locally produced foods?

While the financial benefit may be modest for fishermen this first season, we see the farmers' markets as a way to get the word out, give fishermen an opportunity to talk to consumers about sustainable seafood harvesting, and provide information about cooking and preparing fresh seafood.

The Winter Markets help lay the groundwork for a variety of direct marketing opportunities, including community-supported fisheries (similar to community-supported agriculture).

If you're interested in buying fresh, local, sustainably harvested pre-packaged shrimp and live lobsters, visit one of these Winter Farmers Markets:

Saturday, February 7, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., 21 Front Street, Exeter
Saturday, Saturday, March 7, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Stratham Town Hall, Stratham

By Charlie French, UNH Extension community economic development specialist and Ken La Valley, fisheries specialist
Photo of shrimp trawler by Ken La Valley

"Wetlands serve many important functions in our landscapes, including flood control, groundwater protection, and sediment trapping, but their role in providing habitat for ambhibians is often a main reason natural resource professionals and communities are interested in protecting wetlands," says Matt Tarr, UNH Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist.

"Wildlife biologists use amphibians as 'indicator' species, whose presence or absence serves as an important indication of overall environmental quality. Amphibian diversity is a good indication that we're providing habitat for a wide range of other wildlife species as well," Tarr says.

"New Hampshire has many different types of wetlands, including marshes, forested swamps, vernal pools, and ponds," he says. "But because not all amphibian species are found in every type of wetland, planners must protect a diversity of wetland types to maintain a diversity of wildlife species.

"Unfortunately, it's not always possible to avoid loss or alteration of individual wetlands during some development projects." Tarr says. "In these situations, natural resource professionals, town planners, and landowners have the difficult task of deciding which wetlands are most valuable to protect as wildlife habitat, and which ones the community can afford to lose or alter."

Guide helps planners make the tough decisions about which wetlands and wetland buffers to protect
To help these audiences make the tough decisions, Tarr teamed with UNH Widllife Ecology Professor Kim Babbitt to produce The Importance of Hydroperiod in Wetland Assessment: A guide for community officials, planners, and natural resource professionals.

The guide describes a biologically-based method for determining what species of amphibians will use any given wetland by assessing wetlands based on their hydroperiod, the length of time and portion of the year that a wetland holds water.

"Wetlands vary in their hydroperiod from less than a few weeks each year to to permanent lakes or ponds," says Tarr. "Between these extremes are wetlands that hold water for various lengths of time, including some wetlands that dry out only in years of low precipitation.

"Hydroperiod is a major factor in determining not only if a wetland will hold water long enough for a frog to complete its development from egg, to tadpole, to young frog, but it also determines what types of predators (e.g., fish and certain aquatic insects) might live in the wetland preying on young amphibians," Tarr says. "Assessing and understanding wetland hydroperiod is an important first step guiding management decisions aimed at minimizing or avoiding loss or degradation of wetlands that provide significant amphibian breeding habitat within an area."

Based on the most current amphibian research, including research Babbitt herself conducted in New Hampshire, the guide:

• Summarizes the current understanding of wetland hydroperiod and how it influences the distribution of amphibians in New Hampshire.


• Provides suggestions for identifying and assessing wetlands in New Hampshire based on their hydroperiod.


• Provides recommendations for guiding land management practices aimed at maintaining a diversity of wetlands and upland connections between wetland habitat, two important factors for maintaining viable amphibian populations throughout the state.

"Anyone with an interest in protecting and conserving amphibians will make better management decisions if they understand the important role wetland hydroperiod plays in determining habitat use and distribution of amphibians," says Tarr.

Download The Importance of Hydroperiod in Wetland Assessment: A guide for community officials, planners, and natural resource professionals

Purchase a high-resolution CD online ($10)

Contact Matt Tarr: 862-3594 or mtarr@ceunh.unh.edu

An interdisciplinary team of UNH Cooperative Extension staff collaborating with outside experts will offer the third Natural Resource Business Institute (NRBI) this fall.

The 13-week course provides individuals and families who want to start or expand a natural resource-based business with the essential information and preparation they need to be successful.

"Sustainably profitable farms and forestry enterprises, so-called 'working landscapes', are essential for preserving New Hampshire's natural resources for future generations," says Extension agricultural business management specialist Mike Sciabarrasi.

Course covers all aspects of starting a natural resource business

NRBI participants will:

• develop an operating plan for a farming or forestry business or business expansion as they learn about biological systems, product and service marketing, enterprise profitability and legal matters particular to natural resource businesses.
• learn to take inventory of a site's natural resources
• explore the human dynamics of running a family business (e.g., defining roles and responsibilities, handling conflict, managing time, and hiring outside labor).
• understand how government agencies and financial institutions work with farm and forestry ventures
• receive valuable feedback from a peer support network of other natural-resources entrepreneurs leave well-connected to a wide variety of advisors and technical experts

Target audiences

• individuals and families starting or planning a natural-resource business
• current land-based business owners considering changes or expansions to their operations
• families looking for ways to pass viable operations on to the next generation
• high school and college students exploring career options

Classes meet Wednesdays, September 10 through December 10, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Barton Hall, at the UNH Thompson School in Durham.

Cost is $175.00/person. The registration deadline is August 30, 2008

For more information or to register

Contact Michael Sciabarrasi at 862-3234, download a brochure, or sign up online.

Beginner basics and more

Who needs to understand the basics of geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) and how to use them?

"Everyone," says Shane Bradt, Cooperative Extension's geospatial specialist and head of the Durham-based Geospatial Technologies Training Center. "Everyone should have basic skills and understanding of geospatial technologies, because these technologies influence the way that people look at the world today and make decisions about it."

"Geospatial technologies include software and hardware that receive, integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display spatial/geographic information," says Bradt.

"Most data have locations. A GIS can contain all kinds of data that relate to a location, providing you with a context for asking questions about your environment and how things in the natural environment and society are changing around you. Geospatial technologies are used extensively in forestry, agriculture, marine science, criminal justice, public health, marketing, transportation planning, site design, pandemic planning, disease tracking, disaster management, conservation planning, even cultural anthropology--scientists recently used geospatial tools to study the topography of fossil teeth of early humans to determine their diet.

Follow these links to learn more and to register for our July workshops:

The GPS & You series allows people to acquire GPS skills without taking up an entire day and to choose topics based on their own interests. Workshops cover using GPS to navigate, using GPS to map features in your community, and using GPS to make interactive maps that display digital pictures. You don't need your own equipment to participate, although you may use your own.

GPS & You I: GPS Basics July 1 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

GPS & You II: Pictures, Points & Places - July 10 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

GPS & You III: Tracks & Routes - July 23 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

Community Mapping July 7-11 & 14-18 - 8am-4pm A 10-day course designed for educators and others interested in exploring natural and societal resources using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

GIS on Pennies a Day - July 23 - 9am-4pm Learn GIS basics and explore a variety of GIS programs you can get for little or no cost (for PCs and Macs).

Introduction to ArcGIS 9.2 July 28-30 - 9am-4pm Learn the basics of working with ArcGIS 9.2 in a hands-on learning environment; 3-day course useful for people who have no prior GIS experience, as well as those who have used ArcView 3.x, but are new to ArcGIS 9.2.

Photo credits: Shane Bradt
Top photo: With GPS, you can find your way in the world and collect information about your community.
Lower photo: GIS allows you to bring to together photos, maps and GPS data to create custom views of any place in the world.

Tree Farm Program a strong component of New Hampshire forestry

The American Tree Farm System has recognized six UNH Cooperative Extension educators for their significant contributions toward sustainable forestry on private lands.

Phil Auger received the Tree Farm Silver Hard Hat award for having certified 50 new Tree Farms. Jon Nute, Sam Stoddard, Nory Parr, Matt Tarr and Karen Bennett received the Tree Farm Bronze Hard Hat award for certifying 25 new Tree Farms.

What's a Tree Farm?
A Tree Farm is a privately owned forest managed to produce timber, with added benefits of improved wildlife habitat, water quality, recreation, and scenic values. Some municipal watersheds, school forests and other public ownerships are also certified as Tree Farms.

The oldest, most successful forest conservation program in the nation, the American Tree Farm System was founded in 1941 to encourage private forest owners to actively manage their forests in a sustainable manner for multiple values.

To qualify as a Tree Farmer, a landowner must:

• Dedicate at least 10 acres to growing and harvesting forest products.
• Have a written plan for the future management of their forest.
• Follow management recommendations prescribed by a licensed forester.
• Demonstrate a commitment to stewardship of their forest for multiple values.

These Tree Farmers contribute every day to the timber production New Hampshire needs to help meet the increasing demand for forest products. The do so while caring for our wildlife, protecting water quality, and providing recreational and scenic resources. Learn more about the New Hampshire Tree Farm Program.

UNH Extension offers forest landowner education
Forestry is the primary land use in New Hampshire, with 84 percent of our land base in trees. Private landowners own 75 percent of our forested landscape.

Since 1925, UNH Cooperative Extension's Forestry and Wildlife Program has provided statewide forest landowner education, with a licensed forester in each county Extension office, and three specialists housed at UNH's Durham campus.

County foresters educate landowners about woodlot care, long-term planning, timber sales, wildlife habitat, land protection, current-use taxation, and more. They work with communities through support to town boards, public officials, and community organizations. And they support a healthy, working forest landscape by offering the state's 1400 loggers, 250 licensed foresters, and 100 sawmills a broad range of information and technical assistance.

To learn more about managing your woodlot, call your county Extension office and ask for the forester.

Photo: Marty Boisvert of Pittsfield receieves his Tree Farm sign from Karen Bennett, UNH Extension forest resources specialist

With interest in renewable fuels rising even faster than the price of energy, some New Hampshire farmers have begun making their own fuel, processing recycled cooking oil or pressing oil from their own seed crops to make biodiesel, which they use instead of petroleum-derived diesel fuel to power farm equipment.

Hands-on workshop shows you how
If you'd like to learn more about what's involved in making and using biodiesel, UNH Cooperative Extension will host a workshop June 5, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at Tuckaway Farm in Lee, where farmer Dorn Cox grows sunflowers, presses oil from the seeds, and processes biodiesel for on-farm use in a unit he designed and built.

Workshop topics
"The morning session will feature a hands-on workshop with folks from Piedmont Biofuels in North Carolina, where they make 4000 gallons a day of biodiesel from poultry fat," says Becky Grube, Cooperative Extension's sustainable horticulture specialist. "Unfortunately, we had to limit participation in that session, and the slots have all been filled.

"But there's plenty of room in the afternoon workshop, where participants will break into groups and rotate through two stations, one to see the oilseed presses in operation and the mobile processing unit at Tuckaway Farm, the other to see Piedmont's mobile biodiesel processor, a combined heat and power biodiesel production system," Grube says. "Matt Rudolf of Piedmont will then lead a group discussion of the economics, safety, and quality issues of on-farm biodiesel production."

The workshop wraps up with a visit to UNH's Kingman Farm, where Grube and Cox will talk about growing sunflowers.

Ongoing farmer-driven research
"This workshop continues the farmer-driven research we started two years ago when Dorn came to UNH looking for a partner to help him evaluate how sunflowers perform in this area and to test the feasibility of small-scale oil pressing," says Grube. "Our Extension colleagues in Vermont and Maine have also been working on homegrown farm energy production. We have a lot more work ahead, but the future for on-farm energy production looks promising."

Workshop details
The morning session is full. The afternoon session and trip to Kingman Farm are free, but requires pre-registration. To register or learn more, call Suzanne Hebert at 862-3200.

Directions to Tuckaway Farm

Photo credit: Biodiesel sunflower crop at Kingman Farm, by Faye Cragin, UNH Cooperative Extension World Wide Web and Media Specialist

For more information
Oil Seed Sunflowers for On-Farm Biodiesel Processing Dorn Cox and Becky Grube report on their first year of collaborative research investigating the potential of various varieties of sunflowers for biodiesel production.

On Farm Oil Seed Production and Processing University of Vermont publication that summarizes a year of oilseed research in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Walk or Bike to Work

Want to get fit, lose weight, build muscle, lower your stress levels, save gas, and reduce air pollution?

Consider biking or walking all or part of the distance to work.

Many more of us could commute with our own two legs than do. You probably have a few good excuses for not powering yourself to work:

I live too far from work. It'll take too much time. I don't have a safe route to travel. I don't have a place to shower at work. I don't have a safe place to stash my bike. I don't want to appear weird. I'm too out of shape to go that far.

Many self-powering commuters have found creative ways to solve these and other problems.

One of the sites below may offer for a solution to yours. Although they speak specifically to bicycle commuters, many excuses and answers apply to walkers as well:

Save Time Commuting by Bicycle
The top 10 excuses for not commuting by bike
Another top 10 excuses
Overcoming bike commuting excuses
More overcoming
No more excuses

Check out The True Cost of Driving to calculate the dollar, pollution and social cost savings of commuting with your own two legs.

For a lot more information about commuting by bike, check out this new section of Lighten Up NH!

Listen to NPR reporter Alex Chadwick commute to work by bike.

Spring is finally here. The days are longer and warmer, daffodils are popping up, and the mulch volcanoes are erupting.

The mulch volcanoes? You know, those piles of bark mulch mounded up beneath many landscape trees. I don't know where or why this practice started, but too much mulch under a tree or shrub actually does more harm than good, and is a waste of mulch and money.

Mulch serves several purposes besides dressing up your landscape. It helps retain soil moisture, important because most "feeder" roots (the roots that obtain water, air and nutrients for the tree) grow in the top 12 inches of the soil.

Mulch that's deeper than three inches can smother feeder roots and compromise the tree's health. Roots may actually grow up through a too-thick mulch past the base of the tree and encircle the trunk, a condition called girdling. As the tree grows, these roots could choke the tree and cause a slow death.

Mulch should never touch the trunk of the tree. Because it holds moisture, mulch will keep the trunk damp, encouraging bark rot and disease. Also, insects and rodents may find homes in the mulch volcano and feed on the bark of the tree.

Spread the mulch in a uniform layer two to three inches deep and out at least to the drip line (the area beneath the outermost branch tips of a tree). You want the natural flare at the base of the trunk, where it meets the ground, to be exposed. You can renew mulch each year by adding a little to the surface; there's no need to remove old mulch, but don't allow it to become deeper than four inches.

Because mulch helps prevent roots from drying out, especially when newly planted, use a quality, natural mulch. Untreated plant-based mulches are best, since they help improve the soil as they decompose. These include wood chips, bark mulch, straw, leaves, and pine needles. Avoid wood-chip mulches made from construction materials, pressure-treated lumber and old telephone poles, as these might contain harmful chemicals.

Mulch can also prevent weeds from growing around the base of the tree. Particularly when the tree is growing in a small or confined area, unwanted plants (or even flowers) may compete with the tree or nutrients and water.

Finally, mulch provides a "safe zone" between your lawn and the tree. This makes lawn mowing easier, and protects the bark from mower or trimmer damage.

If you'd like to remove the mulch volcano from your tree, do it gradually over a few months. The trunk has been kept shaded and damp from the mulch, and sudden exposure to the sun could cause it to crack. If the feeder roots have grown up through the mulch, they could dry out and lose their ability to absorb water. Remove the mulch a little at a time, remembering to water the roots thoroughly for 20 minutes each time.

You may lose some roots to exposure during this process, but in the end your tree will benefit from having deeper roots and a healthier growing environment.

By Melinda Wright, Cooperative Extension Master Gardener and Tree Steward

Photo: the Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University Used with permission.

Project will locate, collect, and recycle marine debris

The star attraction at a ceremony held at the Yankee Fishermen's Cooperative in Seabrook April 18 was a dumpster. But this dumpster had a special assignment--collecting marine debris, abandoned fishing gear and other items that can harm the marine ecosystem.

When it's full, the dumpster will be hauled to a waste-to-energy plant, where the debris will be burned to make electricity.

The ceremony launched The NH Marine Debris-to-Energy Project. Funded by a grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the project aims to:

• Better characterize the sources and distribution patterns of ocean-based debris, especially "derelict fishing gear" (DFG)--nets, lines, pots, and other fishing equipment that has been lost, abandoned, or discarded in the marine environment. DFG is an extremely dangerous form of marine debris.
• Develop protocols for undertaking a unique underwater cleanup program to identify and remove DFG and other debris.
• Continue to investigate the sources of land-based debris.
• Mitigate the problem through education and outreach.

On hand at the Seabrook kick-off ceremony were the project's primary investigators: Ken La Valley, commercial fisheries specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension Sea Grant, and Jenna Jambeck, a UNH research assistant professor of civil/environmental engineering, as well as representatives from partner organizations: Jen Kennedy, director of the nonprofit Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, and Alan Davis, district manager for Waste Management.

In his remarks, La Valley noted that getting the help of local fishermen 'wasn't a tough sell."

New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter congratulated the project coordinators and Waste Management for joining forces, noting it showed a maturation of the environmental movement by demonstrating, "we can find the answers by working together."

Main project activities

• Researchers will make an initial assessment of the volume of underwater marine debris using sonar for the first time for this purpose in New Hampshire.
• Commercial and recreational fishermen will become actively involved in removing DFG at sea and collecting it in the Waste Management dumpster at the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op.
• Fishermen will have access to bins where they can discard their fishing line for recycling.
• Anyone collecting marine debris will be able to report it online via an easy Web interface.
• Cleanups along the New Hampshire coastline will expand, involving more volunteers and creating more aesthetically-pleasing, healthier and safer beaches.
• Members of the public, schools, and scientific researchers will have access to interactive marine-debris data and GIS maps.
• Teachers and their students across the world will have access to marine-debris data to use in their lessons, and local schools will be able to work directly with project investigators and partners in viewing data, participating in cleanups and contributing to the database.
• Project staff and others around the world can use the data and protocols developed in this project to target further pollution-prevention and outreach efforts.
• The quantities of debris in the ocean and on the shore, potentially harmful to wildlife, people, vessels, and the economy, will diminish.

Project timeline

Spring 2008 Develop and launch Web-based system (developed at UNH Cooperative Extension) for reporting of marine debris, install the dumpster at the cooperative, and install monofilament recycling bins at several fishing locations along the coast from Durham to Seabrook.

Summer 2008 Conduct underwater mapping, start collecting data from fishermen and cleanup volunteers through the project's Web site.

Fall 2008 Publish a best-management-practices manual, hold a public workshop about the project, and offer training for best practices for dealing with marine debris.

Throughout the project, organizers plan to conduct shoreline cleanups and conduct informational sessions for fishermen, the public, and schools in the area.

More information

NH Marine Debris to Energy Project
Get involved!




Posted April 24, 2008

UNH Cooperative Extension's 2008 NH Outside Calendar has taken first place in the "one-to-three-color popular publications" category of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) 2008 Critique and Awards program.

ACE is an international association of communicators and information technologists who work in universities, government agencies and research organizations in the public sector, as well as companies and firms in the private sector.

The judges awarded 97 of 100 points to the NH Outside calendar, calling it, "An excellent example of making the most of a one-to-three-color publication. The essays are especially good....A very attractive publication with an effective use of illustrations throughout."

Subtitled connecting you with the wisdom and wonder of the natural world, the calendar itself reflects the purpose of the 4-year old collaborative writing project. We started the project in 2004 to give our natural resources volunteers (master gardeners, wildlife coverts, community tree stewards, lakes lay monitors, and marine docents) who love to write another way to share the humor, insight, and wonder they've found in the world outside their doorways.

We recruit people with a passion for the natural world who also love to write and offer training, professional editing and ongoing support in exchange for their written work. Most of their essays reflect on a private experience or encounter with the natural world. Their only aim: to connect readers to nature in some concrete, meaningful way.

Every week we distribute a new essay to print media statewide and publish it to our NH Outside Web page. The award-winning calendar contains excerpts from published NH Outside columns, illustrated with original artwork by volunteer artists and spiced with daily tips and tidbits to help increase awareness of the outside world.

The Extension design and production team of Peg Boyles, Pam Doherty (designer par excellence), Alice Mullen, and Holly Young has already begun planning the 2009 edition. Stay tuned!

To learn more about becoming a NH Outside writer, or to receive our weekly essays for use in your publication or newsletter, contact Peg Boyles at 225-5505 or peg.boyles@unh.edu.

brochure series helps landowners learn about and help conserve important wildlife habitats found on their land.

The New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan: Habitat Stewardship Series brochures cover a variety of habitat types critical for wildlife species at risk in New Hampshire. The first four brochures, available now, focus on grasslands, marsh and shrub wetlands, floodplain forests, and vernal pools.

The colorful brochures include practical information for landowners. Pictures and text explain how to identify habitat types, describe the major threats to the health of those habitats, and offer information about wildlife species that depend on each habitat. The brochures also provide specific recommendations for landowners interested in helping protect and conserve the wildlife that depend on each critical habitat type.

The brochures were produced by UNH Cooperative Extension with support from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the N.H. Fish & Game Department. Landowners may download brochures or receive a single set free through the UNH Forestry Information Center (call 1-800-444-8978, email forest.info@unh.edu).

When complete later this year, the Habitat Stewardship Series will also include brochures on shrublands, northern hardwood forests, oak-pine forests, hemlock forests, and spruce-fir forests.

New Hampshire's first rite of spring

March is maple sugaring time in New Hampshire. This uniquely North American natural phenomenon Nature is not restricted to the calendar like school vacations, holidays or town meeting day, but is dictated solely by day-night weather changes. Cold nights in the 20's followed by warm days when the temperatures go up into the 40's, absent a chilling wind, are the requirements for the sap to run.

Our sugaring season can begin in late February and run into early April and even stop in between. Although sugaring season does coincide with mud season, no one knows how long the season is going to be until after it's over.

Tapping the trees
Although many maple producers still use the traditional bucket-with-spout-and-cover system for tapping their trees, others use high technology plastic tubing and pipeline systems, some of which include vacuum extraction to increase the amount of sap collected. This doesn't hurt trees and keeps the sap-lines empty which helps produce a higher quality sap for high quality maple syrup.

Today's maple producers are also using "health spouts" to lessen the impact of tree-tapping. With the new spouts, trees now heal over in less than one growing season. Regardless of the method of gathering sap, it must be collected after each "run" and boiled as soon and as fast as possible to make the best quality maple syrup.

Note: "Maple producer" is the modern name for what used to be called a "sugarmaker" in the days before containers became commonplace and most syrup was boiled down to the hard sugar for long storage.

"Boiling down"
Sap is "boiled down" in an evaporator, a special pan with flues in it to increase the surface area and speed evaporation. Boiling down has and continues to be the challenge of maple producers everywhere. Before the evaporator was invented, sap was boiled in a series of open kettles, and before then in hollowed out logs with hot rocks dropped in to evaporate the sap.

While some maple producers continue to use open evaporators similar to those that made their debut in the 1880's, others have embraced new technology. Peering inside a modern sugarhouse, a visitor will see an array of sap-processing equipment that may include evaporators with steam hoods, blowers and pre-heaters, and steam-away pans mounted atop a conventional evaporator, using recaptured steam heat to increase the efficiency of the boiling process. These latter systems look more like large boilers in ships than those traditionally found in the sugarhouse. In larger operations, visitors may encounter reverse-osmosis machines that concentrate the sugar content in the sap for later processing in an evaporator. Steam evaporators are also becoming more commonplace.

Maple sap is about 97.5 percent water, 2.4 percent sugar, and 0.1 percent minerals. Sap is made into maple syrup by boiling off the water and concentrating the sugar and minerals in the presence of heat. During the process of evaporation heat causes chemical reactions in the concentrated sap resulting in the characteristic flavor we know as maple syrup. The color and flavor of maple syrup is determined by the freshness of the sap and the speed of boiling.

Pure maple syrup must have a minimum density of 67° Brix, equivalent to boiling maple sap until it is 7.5°F above the boiling point of water. Proper density is important, not only for taste, but also for stability, preventing the syrup from forming crystals or fermenting.

It takes about one cord of dry wood to make 20 gallons of maple syrup. Oil-fired evaporators are gaining in popularity, as they tend to be more efficient and relieve maple producers of the work of cutting wood. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

Grading and packaging syrup
Maple syrup is governed by State law with respect to density, color, clarity and flavor. Sap becomes syrup when 33 percent of its water has been removed. During evaporation minerals appear as a sediment known as "sugar sand" or "niter" and are removed by filtering, resulting in a crystal-clear product. Syrup is then packed hot, between 180°F and 190°F, into glass, tinned steel or plastic containers. The hot syrup sterilizes the container to prevent the syrup from spoiling. Whether opened or not, maple syrup should always be kept refrigerated if possible.

Maple syrup is graded by color, flavor, and clarity. All table syrup is Grade A and all syrup must be the same density. Grade A-Light Amber maple syrup is "light" in color with a delicate flavor and requires considerable skill to make. It is usually made from the earlier "runs" when the sugar content is highest and daytime temperatures keep the sap cool. Grade A-Medium Amber has a richer flavor and Dark Amber, popular for cooking, is even stronger. Pure maple syrup contains no additives or preservatives.

Maple syrup is made into several other products by boiling it beyond the syrup stage in conjunction with other procedures (stirring, cooling) to produce taffy, cream, candy and sugar. Nothing is added, the end product is pure maple. These products are usually made from the light- and medium-colored syrups.

Syrup-making: Our first rite of spring
The maple season is an age-old tradition, part of our rural heritage. Stop by a sugar house--the sweet steam coming out the roof vent is your invitation to go in and visit. Even on chilly nights when the sap is being boiled, the evaporator provides warmth with the pleasant aroma of maple syrup in the brisk night air.

To find a sugarhouse to visit or to purchase maple products, contact the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association through their Web site or call the NH Maple Phone at 603-225-3757 for sugarhouse brochures and information about Maple Weekend, Saturday, March 29 and Sunday March 30.

Nominate a young N.H. maple producer for the Felker Award
The Walter A. Felker Memorial Award, promotes and encourages an interest in the production and marketing of high-quality maple products. The competition is open to New Hampshire residents younger than 18 years of age by the June application deadline.

The award winner receives a permanent plaque engraved to recognize their achievement as well as a $100 cash prize. Download the flyer for information about criteria and application for the Felker Award.

By Sumner Dole, Belknap County Extension forest resources educator emeritus

How to make maple syrup
The Basic ABC's of Maple Sugaring
Maple Syrup Quality Control Manual
Hobby Maple Syrup Production
Maple Producers Manual (order form)

Learn more
NH Maple Producers
Visit A Sugarhouse
Learn to make sugar on snow

Audio and Video
Maple Sugaring with writer Lois Shea and NHPR (audio)
Maple Videos (requires RealPlayer)
The How, When, Why of Forest Farming (click on the maple module)

N.H. Maple Events
NH Maple Producer's listings

3rd annual Grazing Conference March 8

Interested in the whys and hows of raising meat and milk animals on pasture? Both beginners and experienced farmers can learn more about producing and marketing grass-fed products at this year's grazing conference, Grass-Fed: From Pasture to Plate, March 8 at the Common Man Inn in Plymouth.

The daylong event will feature two nationally known grazing experts: Jim Gerrish, author of Management-intensive Grazing and columnist for the Stockman-Grass Farmer, and Sarah Flack, a grazing specialist and organic farmer from Vermont.

Gerrish will deliver the keynote address on the topic of Yeah, but that will never work on my place! also lead two workshops: Stock Density-the Most Powerful Tool in the Grazier's Toolbox and Extending the Grazing Season for More Money in Your Pocket. Flack will conduct a two-part workshop on Getting Started with Managed Intensive Grazing.

The afternoon sessions will focus on marketing grass-fed products. Featured speakers include grass farmers Ridge Shinn, Matt & Beth LeClair, Jim & Adele Hayes, and Ed Jackson.

Conference sponsors: Granite State Graziers, Natural Resources Conservation Service and UNH Cooperative Extension.

Download a brochure containing full conference schedule and speaker bios.

Register for the conference online

This spring about 1,000 New Hampshire landowners will slice the newly-defrosted ground to create thousands of welcoming holes for tree and shrub seedlings bought from the State Forest Nursery.

Howie Lewis, nursery forester, calls his nearly 40-acre nursery one of New Hampshire's best- kept secrets. Lewis says the nursery produces a unique product.

"We provide something nobody else does – tree and shrub seedlings native to New Hampshire, with seeds picked from specimens grown right here in the state. When you buy from the state forest nursery, you know the plant is suited to grow here."

A century-old enterprise
In operation in Boscawen since 1910, the nursery grows more than 50 species of trees and shrubs for reforestation, Christmas trees, and wildlife, and sells them at affordable prices. Seedlings, sold on a first come-first served basis, include conifers such as white, red and Scotch pine, Norway, blue, red, and white spruce, concolor, balsam, fraser and douglas fir, and hemlock.

The nursery offers many deciduous species as well, including arrow-wood, crabapple, fragrant sumac, grapes, highbush cranberry, dogwood, rose, nannyberry, beach plum, elderberry, winterberry holly, bayberry, hazelnut, red oak, cedar, sugar maple and white ash.

Special deals
Special "packages," each containing an assortment of 25 shrubs and/or trees, include a Christmas tree sampler, as well as wildlife-and-songbird, wetlands, native species, and winter survival packages.

"This is a very popular program," says Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Forester Jon Nute. "The seedlings are usually two to four years old, up to 24 inches tall, including the roots, and you can easily hold about a dozen in one hand."

"Some first-time buyers come expecting to pick up large potted landscape-type shrubs and are a little shocked when you hand them a bundle of 50 pine seedlings that can easily fit into a shopping bag," says Nute. "However, these small seedlings are hardy and easy to plant and just great to use in reforestation projects, windbreaks, and Christmas tree plantations."

Ready to order?
Individuals can order seedlings from January 1 through March 30 each year in quantities of 10, 25 or 100 per bundle, with costs ranging from 25 cents to $1.00 per seedling, with the seedlings distributed for planting at the end of April.

"When you're in the nursery business, spring starts a different time each year," says Lewis, "So we ship to a county pickup point in late April or early May, whenever the seedlings can be lifted from the ground. We work throughout the year getting ready for the spring shipment and hope we have many new customers this year." Customers receive a card in the mail announcing the pick-up dates.

Order early! We've just let New Hampshire's best-kept secret out of the bag.

By Karen Bennett, UNH Cooperative Extension Forest Resources Specialist

More information:

• View the State Nursery catalog and order online.


• To receive a catalog, contact the N.H. State Nursery, N.H. Division of
  Forests and Lands, P.O. Box 1856, Concord, NH 03302-1856, or call 603-271-3456.


• Planting and Care of Tree Seedlings


• Establishing the Christmas Tree Plantation

A new way of thinking about landscaping home grounds and public spaces

New Hampshire's rapid development over the past four decades has replaced natural plant and animal communities with landscapes that often appear as an afterthought, replicating the same few plants over and over again," says Mary Tebo, UNH Cooperative Extension's community forestry educator.

"This cookie-cutter approach weakens natural communities, reduces plant and animal species diversity, degrades soils and water quality, and destroys the look and feel of the land that form our sense of place. Another result of disturbance is proliferation of invasive plants that crowd out native plants and imperil endangered species. Invasives alone cover more than 100 million acres across the nation and cost U.S. taxpayers billions."

Looking to nature for guidance

"But what if we looked to New Hampshire's natural ecosystems for guidance? By following nature's lead we can create landscapes and gardens that not only add beauty and increase property value, but that also protect soils, promote species diversity, reduce pollution, minimize energy and labor costs, recycle wastes, support the local economy, and look and feel as if they belong in New Hampshire.

"That's the approach we take in our new book, Integrated Landscaping: Following Nature's Lead," says Tebo.

"Integrated landscaping features multi-layered plant systems that grow and change over time," she says. "It proceeds holistically. Every step in integrated landscape, from initial conceptual design, to plant selection, establishment and ongoing maintenance, anticipates or loops back to connect with every other step."

Besides Tebo, the book's authors include landscape designer and permaculturist Lauren Chase-Rowell, geographer and low-impact living advocate Kate Hartnett, and professional artist and teaching naturalist Marilyn Wyzga. The idea for the book emerged after a conference where the four women got to talking about the need for information that would help landowners faced with challenging environments such as wet or droughty areas or small, tight spaces make environmentally sensitive decisions about landscaping.

A grant from the N.H. State Conservation Committee (the "moose-plate" fund) got the book project underway.

A book anybody can use: homeowners, professional landscapers, municipal planners and community developers

"We've created a book anybody can pick up and create a beautiful, multi-functional landscape, whether their space is a postage-stamp garden, a parking lot island, a municipal park, or a large backyard," Tebo says.

"We invite readers to take a fresh look at their existing landscapes by asking questions such as: How does it follow nature's lead already? Does it keep soils covered? Are there any invasive species present? Are any plant layers missing? Plants that provide food or homes for wildlife? Can an individual tree or shrub become the foundation for a multi-layered plant system?"

Lavishly illustrated, Integrated Landscaping features original photos, drawings, and sketches on almost every page to provide clear examples of the concepts presented. The book also incorporates 12 plant-system models that help landscapers and gardeners apply the concepts of layering and visualize how plants can work together in a variety of different low- and high-stress settings.

Integrated Landscaping provides extensive plant selection charts and lists, worksheets for completing a comprehensive site inventory, plus appendices that offer more information on the many topics presented.

The 162-page book costs $20, plus $4 shipping and handling for mail orders

Order online

Peek inside Integrated Landscaping: Following Nature's Lead

I brushed a mere dusting of snow off the car when I left that parking lot south of here. Suddenly it was coming down real hard and blowing right straight into the windshield, getting harder to see the road.

Lowering the sun visor seemed to help a little. Should've wiped clean the headlights before I left. Too late now. I think I'm still on the road, hard to tell though, I might be edging into that cornfield. No pull-off plowed out yet to let me pull over. Not sure I would anyway.

That character is following so close he'd probably plow into me if I stopped. Guess my tail lights are his security blanket or something. Holy smokes, buddy! Back off a little!

Keeping winter roads open: expensive
White-knuckled driving. If you've lived in New Hampshire for any time at all, you've experienced it. It's a common occurrence in all northern parts of the U.S., particularly those flat open regions of the West and Midwest. Staying on top of wind-blown, drifting snow is a constant chore for plow drivers, and snow removal costs can run pretty high.

A while back a county in Idaho kept track of what it cost to keep open a two-mile stretch of road. It ran upwards of $20,000; that was back in the 1990s, with lower fuel and other expenses than today. Their solution, with an eye towards both lower expenditures and improved driving conditions, was to plant a "living snow fence" the next spring.

Utility of living windbreaks
Call them what you like: windbreaks, shelter-belts, living snow fences, these plantings are popular in many parts of the country. Done right, they're more than just a haphazard line of shrubs and trees. In a properly constructed windbreak, careful bio-engineering considers design, location and plant species selection to achieve the intended results.

Like a structural barrier, a windbreak works by slowing down wind speed, causing the snow to settle out of the air into a designated area away from buildings and roadways. Long-lived plant barriers also offer a lot of other benefits. I think they have a place on many farms and rural homesteads.

Wind makes it worse
Wind exaggerates normal weather conditions, making everything a good bit harder to do. A glance at wind-chill charts illustrates that pretty well. Air temperature zero degrees? Add a 20mph wind to that and it's now 39 below. Add snow and you've got a double whammy.

Dense, multiple-row windbreaks can pile up snow where you want it. Somewhat like a sheltered deer yard. Lower-density field breaks can be used to uniformly spread snow over a larger area.

Grow your own
The materials for constructing these are easy to obtain (see article on State Forest Nursery) and could already be growing on your property. Besides buffering winds, these living screens can screen and soundproof unattractive or noisy areas, improve wildlife habitat, possibly even add extra income from agro-forestry products.

Learn more about windbreaks

by Steve Turaj, Extension educator, Coos County

Changes in the state's Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA) go into effect April 1. To help natural resource professionals and concerned citizens understand the changes and bring them up to date on a variety of water quality issues, the N.H. Department of Environmental Services will hold a workshop Wednesday, February 13, at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center at Sandy Point in Greenland from 8:00 until noon.

This workshop will cover shoreland ecology and the underlying basis for the CSPA, updates and changes to the CSPA, and a field exercise to demonstrate how to use the CSPA on the shore. There will be plenty of time to discuss the changes and to be sure participants are comfortable with the CSPA.

Presenters include Arlene Allen, the Shoreland Protection Outreach Coordinator of the NHDES Wetlands Bureau and Jeff Schloss, Water Resources specialist at UNH Cooperative Exension.

Please come prepared to spend an hour outside for the field exercise. There is no charge for the workshop, but please confirm your plans to attend so the organizers can make sure there are enough materials. Send your name and contact information to Steve@Greatbay.org or call 778-0015 ext. 305 and leave a message with the same information.

Come early to sign in, review handouts, and meet others interested in this topic. The N.H. Department of Environmental Services, UNH Cooperative Extension and the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve sponsor this workshop.

Rooftop planting offers a host of benefits to urban environment

A balloonist floating over Manchester City Hall's Connector Building might look down on an expanse of perennial flowering plants growing in rooftop containers and think, "How lovely!"

But "green roofs" like this GreenGrid System deliver many benefits, both to the building below and to the overall urban environment.

UNH Cooperative Extension conceived the idea for the demonstration project and began recruiting partners from the Manchester community in 2002. The essential project components--an appropriate site, city approval, and funding--finally came together last May, enabling us to us to move forward and get the roof in place.

Benefits of a green roof
Most of the rain that hits a conventional city building's roof flows off over pavement and into storm drains, carrying pollutants such as gasoline, oil, antifreeze, sand and trash.

The GreenGrid roof will absorb up to 95 percent of an average rainfall. By slowly percolating through the plants and soil of the green roof, roof runoff occurs several hours after peak flows, giving sewer systems time to handle other runoff.

The plants and soils in a green roof serve many other functions, which include:

• Reducing the energy needed to heat and cool the building below.
• Saving money by extending the life of the original roof.
• Filtering air pollutants.
• Improving air quality.
• Absorbing noise.
• Reducing the risk of flooding and overflowing sewers.
• Providing habitat for butterflies and other pollinators.

The green roof components

• Four-inch deep containers manufactured from recycled plastic.
• Lightweight growing mix.
• Perennial plants in this system--sedums and chives--which withstand extremes of temperature and precipitation, and require almost no maintenance.

• The GreenGrid System didn't require any roof construction or redesign.
• Workers placed a slip sheet on top of original roof.
• Then they lifted the pre-planted containers into place.
• Installation took two hours.

Watch a slide show of the entire process, from filling planters to final installation on roof. Show includes both text captions and audio.

The Manchester City Web site will provide updates on the green roof, including updates on temperature monitoring and pollutant absorption.

Check out our project sign, soon to go up in City Hall Plaza

Learn more
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Roof page
Green Roofs/Healthy Cities Network
Penn State's Center for Green Roof Research
Michigan State's Green Roof Research Program
ecogeek Cool photos!

By Mary Tebo, UNH Cooperative Extension community forestry educator and Green Roof Demonstration Project coordinator

Manchester Green Roof Project Funders

UNH Cooperative Extension in partnership with N.H. Division of Forests and Lands and USDA Forest Service
TFMoran Inc.
McLane Law Firm
Manchester Development Corporation
Lavallee Brensinger Architects Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation, Manchester Region
Weston Solutions, Inc.
N.H. Dept. of Environmental Services
Anonymous Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation
Breathe NH
SEPP - Enterprise Fund, administered by the City of Manchester Environmental Protection Division

In-kind Supporters

City of Manchester
Intown Manchester
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
UNH Manchester
Posted September 19, 2007

A manual for N.H. Landowners and Landscapers

No matter where you live in New Hampshire, the actions you take in your landscape can have far-reaching effects on water quality. Why? Because we all live in a watershed, an area of land that drains into a surface water body such as a lake, river, wetland or coastal estuary.

Landscaping at the Water's Edge: An Ecological Approach, a new book from UNH Cooperative Extension, explains how landscaping choices affect ground water and demonstrates how, with simple observations, ecologically-based design, and low-impact maintenance practices, you can protect--even improve--the quality of our water resources.

"Every citizen should be concerned with the impact of his or her own actions on the environment," says Extension landscape specialist Cathy Neal, one of the book's authors. "The balance of nature is easily disrupted by humans, with far-reaching impacts on water quality, soil health and stability, animal and human health, and the living ecosystems around us."

"This book will help you understand the basics of how watersheds and shoreland ecosystems function so you can use the strategies and techniques presented to help prevent soil erosion, nutrient and pesticide runoff, exotic plant invasions, and other detrimental processes associated with developed landscapes," Neal says. "Applying the principles of ecological landscaping will support wildlife and plant diversity and maintain or even improve water quality in our lakes, streams, rivers, bays and estuaries."

In addition to Neal, the book's authors include nine other UNH Cooperative Extension educators with expertise in horticulture, soils, water resources, entomology, turf grass and landscape maintenance. These educators partnered with an ecological landscape designer and consulted with state regulatory agencies to provide the most current information to help landscapers and property owners make good decisions about landscape inventory, design and maintenance practices that will protect water quality in our lakes, ponds, rivers and estuaries.

Illustrated with full-color photographs, paintings and drawings that provide clear examples of the concepts presented, Landscaping at the Water's Edge: An Ecological Approach also contains appendices that include relevant information about state regulations, recommended plant lists and other resources.

Order your copy online.

Holistic Management training comes to New England via New Hampshire

Seth Wilner, UNH Cooperative Extension Agricultural Resources educator in Sullivan County, has won a $172,000 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Grant to train farmers, Extension educators, and other agricultural professionals who work with farmers in whole-farm planning and management using the Holistic Management method.

Wilner's project, titled Building Capacity in Whole-farm Systems and Planning using the Holistic Management Framework, will fund four three-day training sessions held over the course of two years, covering topics such as goal setting, decision making, farm financial planning and management, environmental assessment of changes to the land and ecosystem health, and implementing a farm monitoring system.

An innovative model for decision-making
"The Holistic Management (HM) framework evolved from Zimbabwean wildlife biologist Allan Savory's insight that destructive land-use and environmental patterns result from the way people make decisions," says Wilner.

"So, Holistic Management training starts by identifying everyone involved in daily decision-making in an operation or a farm-based business. Getting all the decision-makers involved in establishing a whole farm plan provides a common framework that allows everyone to assess decisions made on a farm," he says.

"The goals of Holistic Management are to enhance farm profitability, improve efficiency, improve communication, reduce conflict, and promote environmental sustainability."

Components of Holistic Management training
Comprehensive in its design, the training will include a mix of classroom and on-farm sessions. "The course teaches participants to work with farmers to develop farm plans that actively guide their decisions and management, says Wilner. "Participants will leave the training with the ability to guide farmers to examine their relationships and their beliefs, brainstorm new enterprises, articulate goals and identify what they want life on their farm and in their community to be now and in the future."

Participants will also learn to teach farmers how to run all decisions through a series of 'testing questions', or filters, before acting on them. This helps ensure that the action will be socially, economically, and economically sustainable, both in the present and for future generations," Wilner says."

Farmers as both students and teachers
Wilner will invite farmers already using HM to manage their own farms to co-teach some of the classes. "We'll have farmers as both students and trainers," he says. "Other interesting aspects of the training include the use of distance education methods such as an interactive website, a listserv, as well as help from a mentor to aid all participants over the course of the training. All participants will also work with at least two farms when they return home to implement the skills they learned in the sessions. "

Introductory seminar May 30
Wilner, certified as an HM trainer in 2003, will offer a one-day introductory seminar May 30 to introduce people to Holistic Management principles. Call him at 603/863-9200 for more information about the seminar.

Photo caption: Farmers work on whole-farm plans at workshop in Troy, N.H, in January
Photo credit: Seth Wilner

A good forest management plan can help landowners generate more income, enhance wildlife habitat, and leave the forest in better shape for the future

If you're one of the 84,000 people who own a piece of New Hampshire's forest, you're a steward of our clean water, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, fresh air, and natural and cultural heritage, not to mention the basis of our forest industry and much of our recreation.

Owning land gives many rewards and, as with most precious things, the more you pay attention to your land and care for it, the greater those rewards.

"It's important to think about what you really want from your land," says Wendy Scribner, UNH Cooperative Extension forest resources educator in Carroll County. "You can grow firewood and timber, create a haven for wildlife, cut trails--the list is endless," she says. Steve Roberge, her colleague in Cheshire County, agrees. "Owning land gives you many options. I'm here to help," he says.

You don't have to go it alone. Start with an Extension forester.
There are Extension forestry educators like Scribner and Roberge in each New Hampshire county. Their job is to help and advise forest landowners. If you don't know your local Extension forester, a call to the UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center at 1-800-444-8978 will connect you.

In addition to these forestry educators, more than 200 licensed foresters statewide offer a variety of services, including forest stewardship planning, current use assistance, forest inventory and appraisal, buying and selling standing trees, nurturing young trees (weeding and thinning), wildlife habitat management, marking trees to cut for regenerating the next forest, and laying out trails and other recreation improvements.

Project Teams Master Gardeners with Retail Centers

UNH Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) has partnered with a group of retail garden centers throughout New Hampshire in a pilot program called "Ask a Master Gardener." The program will tap the knowledge and expertise of highly trained Master Gardeners to help garden center staff answer home gardening and lawn care questions.

The program has two goals:

1. To increase statewide awareness of the UNHCE Master Gardener Program and the Family, Home & Garden Education Center toll-free Info Line (1-877-398-4769).


2. To form working relationships between retail growers/garden centers and the Master Gardener program that will benefit the volunteers, the businesses, and the customers.

The pilot program will run in 18 outlets from mid-April through June of 2007. For more information about the program, contact Family, Home & Garden Education Center Coordinator Rachel Maccini at 629-9494, ext. 130.

Most New Hampshire people by now have heard of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-spread viral disease of birds that sometimes infects mammals, including humans. The table below shows the recent history of the virus in New Hampshire:

EEE Cases Detected in New Hampshire

	Year	Birds	Human	Other mammals	Mosquito pools
	1982	unknown	0	several (equine)	unknown
	2004	3 emus	1	3 horses	19
	2005	54 (including 2 emus)	7 (2 died)	9 horses, 1 alpaca, 1 llama	15
	2006	5 birds	0	1 horse	40

Since 1964, eight humans have fallen ill with EEE in New Hampshire—seven in 2005, and one in 2004. The number of EEE cases in birds and all mammals fell in 2006, although the number of positive mosquito pools was up, a fact that probably reflects refinements to and expansion of monitoring efforts: 11,682 pools from 59 towns tested in 2006, up from 3,969 pools from 30 towns in 2005 Three times as many communities did some type of monitoring in 2006 than in 2005.

By the way, a “pool” is just a group of adult mosquitoes of the same species that are ground up together and analyzed for the virus. Pooling them makes virus detection more sensitive—you can test many more for the same amount of money.

Clearly the EEE virus was here in 2006, but no human cases were detected in the state, perhaps because of the combination of public education, monitoring, and mosquito control efforts.

In 2006 the numbers of Cs. melanura (the principal species that spreads EEE among birds) were the highest in memory. One expert says an EEE outbreak usually follows one year after a Cs. melanura peak. Also, several lines of evidence suggest that the mosquito species, Cx. morsitans, might be more important than we thought in EEE. State public health officials are looking at the data and making several modifications to 2007 plans.

What’s in store for 2007?
We can’t predict with certainty, but there are enough worrisome indicators to recommend that state residents prepare for a significant EEE threat in late summer: the possible unappreciated role of C. morsitans, very high C. melanura numbers on 2006, lots of virus found in mosquitoes in 2006.

Clearly, the weather conditions and pattern of buildup in 2007 will tell us if and when to worry. The areas with the highest risk are likely to be the same, with southeast Rockingham County the most likely hotspot, and late summer the riskiest time.

If you’d like to read more on the subject, this 13-page fact sheet should answer most of your question. The fact sheet includes links to much more information.

For a graphic illustration of EEE in the Granite State in 2006 check this map from the state Division of Health and Human Services. Here’s the Division’s 2006 arboviral test results report.

By Dr. Alan T. Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension entomology specialist

An interdisciplinary team of UNH Cooperative Extension staff has teamed with outside experts to offer a 13-week Natural Resource Business Institute (NRBI) this spring. This first-of-its-kind course will provide individuals and families who want to start or expand a natural resource-based business with the essential information and preparation they need to be successful.

“Sustainably profitable farms and forestry enterprises - “working landscapes”- are essential for preserving New Hampshire’s natural resources for future generations,” says Extension agricultural business management specialist Mike Sciabarrasi. “Extension educators believe outreach education is the best way to strengthen the economic viability of the state’s natural resource businesses.”

Comprehensive course will cover all aspects of starting a natural resource business
Sciabarrasi says NRBI participants will develop an operating plan for a farming or forestry business as they learn about biological systems, product and service marketing, enterprise profitability and legal matters particular to natural resource businesses. They’ll learn to take inventory of a site’s natural resources and explore the human dynamics of running a family business (e.g., defining roles and responsibilities, handling conflict, managing time, and hiring outside labor).

The wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L) is a fairly common roadside plant in New England. A mature plant can grow about 45 inches tall. It’s considered the same species as cultivated parsnip and is also closely related to the wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace). The parsnip has yellow flowers and Queen Anne’s lace has more feathery foliage and white flowers.
 
Some species in this plant family, including wild parsnip, can cause a painful, blistering rash if you cut or break the foliage, get the sap on your skin, and then get exposed to sunlight. The skin discoloration can last for months after the rash subsides. The term for such skin reactions is phytophotodermatitis. Many local physicians are unaware of this plant-caused skin reaction and attribute the problem to poison ivy.

The chemicals that cause this reaction are called furocoumarins, and occur in the leaves, stems and seeds. A related plant, giant hogweed, can cause even more severe burns.

The picture here is of a roadside plant in Lee taken August 1.The flowers have mostly gone by, but the seeds are highly visible. Apparently this plant is more common in northern parts of New Hampshire than in the seacoast, where I live. A colleague suggested I experience the dermatitis myself to get first-hand photos of the injury. No thanks!

If you want to eliminate wild parsnip plants on your property, you have a couple of options. Just mowing or cutting them down won’t eliminate them, because they usually re-sprout from the roots. (Plus it might expose your skin to the sap.) Cutting off the taproot just below the soil line with a shovel is an easy method if you have only a few plants. Wear gloves, long pants and long sleeves to protect your skin if you choose this approach. Dispose of the plants in the trash to ensure the seeds won’t get carried off by small animals or the wind to sprout somewhere else.

If you have a lot of wild parsnip plants, chemical controls might be appropriate. Spraying the foliage with the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup, Kleenup and other brands) is one effective alternative. Be sure you follow label directions and precautions when using this (or any other pesticide).

But remember, chemicals may not be appropriate in some situations where special restrictions apply. Check state and local regulations before you spray near wetlands or surface water bodies and highway rights-of-way, for example. Also, if your home drinking water supply relies on a shallow (“dug”) well, you may want to avoid spraying any pesticide (or other chemical) within a 100-foot radius of the wellhead.

By Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension Entomologist and Pest Management Specialist

A 20-year partnership between the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and UNH Cooperative Extension was recognized January 11 at a ceremony in Concord. UNH Cooperative Extension Dean and Director John Pike presented a commemorative plaque to N.H. Fish and Game Executive Director Lee Perry in observance of 20 years of jointly caring for New Hampshire's wildlife.

"The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has been a close and active partner with Extension for decades. Twenty years ago, the Department and UNH Cooperative Extension entered into an agreement for a joint effort to reach landowners, natural resource professionals, volunteers, the forest industry, community leaders and the public to protect and enhance wildlife habitat in New Hampshire," Dean Pike said.

"This successful program has made a real difference in people's stewardship values and practices. Fish and Game and UNH Cooperative Extension are on a common mission. We truly value this mission and the dedicated people at Fish and Game that we work with so closely," he added.

As a result of this partnership, more than 300 New Hampshire resource professionals have gained the ability to identify, maintain and enhance wildlife habitat for New Hampshire landowners. Over 250 trained volunteers in the N.H. Coverts Program help communities and landowners make informed decisions regarding natural resources. These efforts have helped community decision makers and the public better understand concepts such as biodiversity, the dangers of invasive species and the need for permanently protecting critical natural resource areas.

Founding leaders of the partnership between Fish and Game and UNH Cooperative Extension were present for the ceremony, including Roger S. Leighton and Gibb Dodge, former UNH Cooperative Extension Program Leaders and Howie Nowell, former N.H Fish and Game Wildlife Chief.

Does the sharp climb in heating oil prices—now above $2.20 a gallon, with no end in sight— have you dusting off that old wood stove in the corner or researching the latest wood stove technology?

If so, then you will also want to spend some time contemplating where you are going to get your firewood. As a rule of thumb, a cord of dry hardwood fuel yields about the same usable heat as 200 gallons of heating oil, a ton of hard coal, or about 4000 kilowatts of electricity. By comparing the cost of other fuels with cordwood, you can figure out the savings you’ll realize by burning wood to heat your home.

Fuelwood needs time to dry
Don’t expect to go out in the backyard when the weather turns cold to cut down a few trees to saw up and throw into the new stove. It takes time to cure and dry firewood. Burning green firewood is very inefficient, and it can be unsafe. The moisture content of green wood averages 60 percent to 80 percent by weight, depending on when it was cut.

Evaporating all that water in your stove will use as much as 15 percent of the potential heat in your firewood, so you are better off letting nature do it for you by air-drying your wood before you burn it. Burning green wood also promotes a buildup of creosote in the chimney, increasing the risk of a dangerous chimney fire.

It will take about six months to air-dry a cord of cut and split wood to 30 percent moisture content and a year or more to reach 20 percent moisture content. So if you haven’t started cutting and splitting your wood pile, you won’t catch up before cold weather arrives this fall. That means you’ll probably need to buy dry cordwood this year and plan on using any wood you cut now during the 2006-2007 heating season.

Brace for higher prices
If you haven’t bought a cord of cut-and-split firewood in a few years, you might be surprised by the prices. A quick perusal of your local weekly newspaper or “shopper” will show advertised prices exceeding $200 for a cord of dry wood.

Don’t be too quick to assume the high price of dry firewood is a reaction to the sudden surge in demand. The firewood business is labor-intensive and requires a lot of transportation. During the 1990’s, when oil was cheap and firewood profits where thin, most large firewood dealers started to automate the production of firewood through the use of firewood processors in an effort to stay competitive. These processors are designed to cut and split log-length wood (16-foot logs).

In response, many firewood dealers started to buy in log-length wood by the truckload from local loggers. This strategy worked well until demand for hardwood pulp surged two or three years ago. Suddenly, firewood dealers who were used to paying $30 to $40 a cord for log length had to pay $80 to $100 per cord for the same wood. They had to pass these costs along to their customers. Add surging prices for insurance (especially workman’s compensation) and fuel to run the equipment, and the old standard of $120 to $140 cord of firewood quickly rises to $200.

If you’re still balking at paying $200 a cord for firewood, don’t delay too long, because prices are bound to increase as winter gets closer and supplies disappear. Dry firewood has been very difficult to purchase the past couple of winters because demand exceeded supply.

Wood-buying saavy
If you’re in the market to buy three or four cords of dry wood for the winter, I suggest you look in your local newspaper or “shopper,” or ask your neighbors and friends about dealers they might know. Be sure you are buying dry wood. Ask the dealer how long the wood you plan to buy has been drying since it was cut and split. Learn the species mix of the dealer’s wood, too. The denser the wood, the longer it will take to dry. Oak, for example, may take more than a year to dry to 20 percent moisture content.

Be sure to clarify what measure of wood you are buying. By state law, a cord of wood is 128 cubic feet of air, bark, and wood. That’s a pile of wood 8 feet long by 4 feet high by 4 feet wide. A vendor may legally sell a fraction of a cord, but must represent it accurately as such (e.g., a half-cord). Remember that stacking a cord is an imperfect skill, so the cord will vary in slightly in size every time it is stacked.

Receiving and storing firewood
It’s a good idea to meet the delivery truck before the load is dumped to make sure you are satisfied by the mixture of species and cleanliness, and to tell the driver where you want the wood dumped. Most firewood dealers don’t want to return to your house to reload their truck.

Unless you’ve arranged otherwise, it’s up to you to restack the pile. Stack it outside in a well ventilated area off the ground (used pallets make a good platform if you don’t have a woodshed). Don’t cover your stacked wood until about a month or so before you begin to use it, to encourage natural air circulation to drive the moisture from the wood.

Even if you’re buying your firewood, the work of stacking it, loading your stove all winter, and removing the ashes will enable you to understand the old adage “wood warms you twice.”

By Tim Fleury, MerrimackCountyForest Resources Educator

For more information:

• Estimating Firewood from Standing Trees Describes a simple technique for woodlot owners who cut firewood on their own land.
• Fuel Value Calculator Compares the cost of different home heating fuels.
• Guide to N.H. Timber Harvesting Laws - Important to know the laws, if you are going to cut your own trees.
• NH Arborists Association - This site contains a list of certified N.H. Arborists, professionals who remove unwanted or hazard yard trees and may have fuelwood for sale.
• Safe Timber Harvesting - Read this if you plan to cut your own trees.
• The Warmth of Wood More on the benefits of burning native wood.
• Where Does Firewood Come From? Learn more about New Hampshire’s commercial firewood suppliers.
• Woodburning Saavy Please download our fact sheet to review or improve your knowledge of how to burn wood safely in your home.

As New Hampshire begins drying out from recent record floods and taking stock of damaged homes, businesses, roads, and agricultural plantings, public officials have issued a number of flood-related warnings and information bulletins.

Over a week after the flooding, many people whose homes were damaged have not yet been allowed to return and survey the damage. In the Goffstown area, about 50 families were evacuated and still haven't returned to assess and start cleaning up. State and federal health and emergency officials are working hard to provide information.

To learn more:

• Testing and protecting drinking water in a flood aftermath (bulletin contains other important safety information)
• Risks from household hazardous materials in flood-damaged buildings
• Dealing with mold
• Cleanups that might involve asbestos
• Post-flood fraud and scams alert
• Bike/walk-to-work day postponed

Click here for a complete list of flood related links.

UNH Cooperative Extension has an array of information to help New Hampshire residents recover from multiple problems caused by this weekend’s floods.

Storm damage can leave behind debris-strewn areas, contaminated water, spoiled food, displaced wildlife and conditions, if not treated properly, may lead to health problems.

With rain totals reaching as high as 11 inches in some areas, and more on the way, residents must assume that all water sources are contaminated until proven safe. Food contaminated by flood waters should be handled carefully and a determination made on what to keep or discard.

Topics include staying safe, recovering from a power outage, restoring storm-damaged buildings, helping children cope with disaster, salvaging water-damaged belongings, financial recovery and more.

To those in the flood areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges residents to do the following immediately:

• If your home, apartment or business has suffered damage, call the insurance company or agent who handles your insurance right away to file a claim.
• Before entering a building, check for structural damage.
• Do not use matches, cigarette lighters or any other open flames once you’ve entered a damaged building, since gas may be trapped inside. Use a flashlight.
• Keep electricity off until an electrician has inspected your system for safety.
• Flood waters pick up sewage and chemicals from road, farms and businesses. If your home has been flooded, start cleaning up as soon as possible. Throw out foods and medicines that may have come in contact with flood waters.
• Boil water for drinking and food preparation vigorously for five minutes before using.

If you have additional questions, please contact your local Extension office. Please click on all our links for further advice.

This spring about a thousand New Hampshire landowners will slice the newly-defrosted ground to create thousands of welcoming holes for tree and shrub seedlings bought from the State Forest Nursery.

Howie Lewis, nursery forester, calls his nearly 40-acre nursery one of New Hampshire’s best- kept secrets. Lewis says the nursery produces a unique product. “We provide something nobody else does – tree and shrub seedlings native to New Hampshire, with seeds picked from specimens grown right here in the state. When you buy from the state forest nursery, you know the plant is suited to grow here.”

In operation in Boscawen since 1910, the nursery grows more than 50 species of trees and shrubs for reforestation, Christmas trees, and wildlife, and sells them at affordable prices. Seedlings, sold on a “first come-first served basis” include conifers, such as white, red and Scotch pine, Norway, blue, red, and white spruce, concolor, balsam, fraser and douglas fir, and hemlock.

The nursery offers many other species, including arrow-wood, crabapple, fragrant sumac, grapes, highbush cranberry, dogwood, rose, nannyberry, beach plum, elderberry, winterberry holly, bayberry, hazelnut, red oak, cedar, sugar maple and white ash. Special “packages,” each containing an assortment of 25 shrubs and/or trees, include a Christmas tree sampler and special wildlife-and-songbird, wetlands, native species, and winter survival packages.

Besides being one of his best sellers, balsam fir is Lewis’ personal favorite. “I’ve worked with this species the most. I follow seedlings from the parents in the seed orchard through to watching them grow in the seedbed.” Balsam fir is a customer favorite because it has that classic evergreen smell. Seedlings sell out, so nursery staff suggest you order early.

Ordering starts in January and ends March 30. “When you are in the nursery business, spring starts a different time each year,” says Lewis, “So we ship to a county pickup point in late April or early May, whenever the seedlings can be lifted from the ground.” Customers receive a card in the mail announcing the pick up dates. “We work throughout the year getting ready for the spring shipment and hope we have many new customers this year.”

Lewis is enthusiastic about his trees and shrubs and hopes “New Hampshire’s best kept secret” is known by all.

By Karen Bennett, UNH Cooperative Extension Forest Resources Specialist

More information:

• To receive a catalog, contact the N.H. State Nursery, N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, P.O. Box 1856, Concord, NH 03302-1856, or call 603-271-3456.
• View the State Nursery catalog and order online.
• Planting and Care of Tree Seedlings
• Establishing the Christmas Tree Plantation

With the powerful essay by Carolyn Baldwin posted below, UNH Cooperative Extension launches NH Outside, a weekly column written primarily by UNH natural resources volunteers.

NH Outside aims to connect readers to New Hampshire’s wild and cultivated outdoor environments by motivating folks to get outside more often, to learn more about the topics we write about, and to become closer observers of the natural world.

UNH Extension supports more than 1,300 trained natural resources volunteers: Master Gardeners, Community Tree Stewards, Wildlife Coverts Cooperators, Lay Lakes Monitors, and Marine Docents. These folks come to our programs motivated by enthusiasm for sharing what they know and love about New Hampshire’s natural environment. In exchange for their training and support, they agree to volunteer time in a wide variety of local and statewide educational projects.

We've recruited, and will keep recruiting, a few natural resources volunteers who like to write, offering them support for improving their writing skills and an opportunity to see their words in print. Our own agricultural resources, forestry & wildlife, and water resources staff will contribute occasionally to NH Outside, as well as review technical content of the volunteers’ columns as needed.

We’ll offer the weekly columns to newspapers and newsletters statewide, so look for them in your local newspaper. We’ll also publish them in the new NH Outside section of our Web site, so you can read them here every week.

Are you interested in helping protect New Hampshire's wildlife? Are you an enthusiastic person, involved in your community? Do you manage your own land to help wildlife? Are you concerned about the loss of wildlife habitat in New Hampshire?

The New Hampshire Coverts Project is looking for applicants to attend the eleventh annual Coverts training, to be held in Hancock, September 7-10, 2005. Anyone with an interest in wildlife and land stewardship who is willing to commit 40 hours of volunteer time is invited to apply. The training is free.

The program has successfully trained more than 220 Coverts Cooperators who live in more than 100 communities throughout the state. Landowners, conservation commissioners, business people, land trust volunteers, doctors, teachers, and writers have all participated in the program over the years. These volunteers are making a difference for New Hampshire's wildlife and their habitats by managing habitat, promoting a land stewardship ethic, initiating community conservation planning, and helping to protect land.

UNH Cooperative Extension coordinates the program in partnership with N.H. Fish and Game, The Ruffed Grouse Society, and N.H. Division of Forests and Lands. For an application, phone Malin Ely Clyde at 862-2166 or email. The deadline for submitting applications is June 1, 2005.

To learn more about the Coverts Project and the training workshop, visit NH Coverts Project website.

Are leaves dropping from your maple tree? Are you seeing spots on the basswood leaves? Does the sycamore in your yard look scraggly?

Blame the cool, wet weather during May—perfect conditions for a population explosion among a group of closely related fungi that cause diseases collectively known as anthracnose. Most common on maple, sycamore, ash, oak and dogwood, anthracnose may also affect include linden (basswood), birch and hickory.

Symptoms of anthracnose
Anthracnose fungi often cause leaf drop of maple, oak, sycamore and occasionally linden and birch. Leaf drop is common if prolonged cool wet weather occurs while the new leaves are expanding—exactly the conditions southern New Hampshire experienced earlier this spring.

Other symptoms of anthracnose include dark, discolored areas along the veins or margins of the leaves, brown or black areas between the veins and leaf spots. Twig cankers and twig death are common on sycamore and dogwood trees. Leaf drop and twig death often gives sycamore a scraggly appearance with tufts of leaves at the end of otherwise bare branches. Many trees that drop leaves in June will put out a second flush of scattered, large leaves.

Other leaf spot diseases prevalent
In addition to anthracnose, a wide range of other fungal leaf spot diseases have appeared on lilacs, rhododendrons, azaleas, crabapples, and many other trees and shrubs this year. Because many of the same diseases were present last year (thanks to similar weather last spring), dead twigs and fallen leaves provided the source of infections for this year. Add in the wet weather this year and viola! you basically have what Extension forester Marshall Patmos calls a “giant Petri dish” of foliar diseases.

What to do
Although it may be alarming to see all the dead leaves on the ground beneath your maple, or the spotted leaves on your crabapple, anthracnose and leaf spots are generally considered a cosmetic or aesthetic problem that rarely requires chemical control.

In fact, chemicals applied now for anthracnose and most leaf spots will do little to control the diseases. The symptoms now visible were caused by infections that occurred when the leaves were expanding, and these established infections can’t be “cured.” Rarely are fungicides warranted as protection from infection in the early spring.

In fact, spraying large trees is not only impractical but also often unnecessary, since many healthy leaves remain on the tree. Fungicides are warranted only in severe cases where defoliation has occurred for three or more years. (One exception: anthracnose in flowering dogwood, which often requires fungicides for effective control.)

Management of anthracnose and leaf spots generally includes pruning infected twigs and cultural practices that improve tree vigor and prevent stress. These include fertilization after the leaves have fallen in the autumn or one month before the last frost in the spring will help maintain tree vigor. Raking and removing leaves in the autumn helps control many of the leaf spots but has minimal effect on anthracnose.

It’s important to remember that trees are resilient and leaf spots and anthracnose are just another part of the natural challenges Mother Nature exposes them to.

by Cheryl Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension Professor & Plant Health Specialist

If you see leaves dropping from your maple trees and spots on the oak leaves, or if the sycamore in the yard looks scraggly, blame it on a repeat of the fungal attacks that hit New Hampshire trees last spring.

The excessively wet, cool weather during May set up the perfect conditions for a population explosion among a group of closely related fungi that cause diseases collectively known as anthracnose. Most common on maple, sycamore, ash, oak and dogwood, anthracnose may also affect linden (basswood), birch and hickory.

Symptoms of anthracnose
Leaf drop is common if prolonged cool wet weather occurs while the new leaves are expanding—exactly the conditions southern New Hampshire experienced during mid- to late May.

Other symptoms of anthracnose include dark, discolored areas along the veins or margins of the leaves, brown or black areas between the veins and leaf spots. Twig cankers and twig death are also common on sycamore and dogwood trees. Leaf drop and twig death often gives sycamore a scraggly appearance with tufts of leaves at the end of otherwise bare branches. Many trees that drop leaves in June will put out a second flush of scattered, large leaves.

Other leaf spot diseases prevalent
In addition to anthracnose, a wide range of other fungal leaf spot diseases have appeared on lilacs, crabapples and many other trees and shrubs this year. Because many of the same diseases were present last year (thanks to similar weather last spring), dead twigs and fallen leaves provided the source of infections for this year. Add in the wet weather this year and viola! you basically have the perfect conditions for a wide range of foliar diseases.

What to do
Although it may be alarming to see all the leaves on the ground beneath your maple, or the spotted leaves on your crabapple, anthracnose and leaf spots are generally considered a cosmetic or aesthetic problem that rarely requires chemical control.

In fact, chemicals applied now for anthracnose and most leaf spots will do little to control the diseases. The symptoms now visible were caused by infections that occurred when the leaves were expanding, and these established infections can’t be “cured.” Rarely are fungicides warranted as protection from infection in the early spring.

In fact, spraying large trees is not only impractical and expensive, but also often unnecessary, since many healthy leaves remain on the tree. Fungicides are warranted only in severe cases where defoliation has occurred for three or more years. (One exception: anthracnose in flowering dogwood, which often requires fungicides for effective control.)

Management of anthracnose and leaf spots generally includes pruning infected twigs and cultural practices that improve tree vigor and prevent stress. These include fertilization after the leaves have fallen in the autumn or one month before the last frost in the spring will help maintain tree vigor. Provide supplemental water if rainfall is lacking for more than two or three weeks. Raking and removing leaves in the autumn helps control many of the leaf spots, but has minimal effect on anthracnose.

It’s important to remember that trees are resilient and leaf spots and anthracnose are just another part of the natural challenges Mother Nature exposes them to.

by Cheryl Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension Professor & Plant Health Specialist

Splitting and stacking firewood in the 80-degree heat of a steamy July afternoon, I got to thinking about the old-time saying, “Wood warms you twice.” As someone who’s burned wood, and only wood, to heat my home for 36 years, I came up with a long list of ways wood warms me and my family—and we don’t even fell the trees or clean our own chimney:

• Sawing the load of 16-foot logs into 16-inch rounds.
• Splitting rounds into two, four, or sometimes six or eight pieces so they dry faster.
• Stacking the split wood in the woodshed
• Hauling armloads of wood from the shed into the house during heating season.
• Loading the stoves and basking in their radiant warmth. Ahh!
• Preheating the water we use for bathing and dishwashing.
• Warming our bellies with winter soups, stews and sauces simmered on the stovetop.
• Cleaning out the ash pans and hauling buckets of ashes into the cellar for storage in steel garbage cans.
• Spreading the accumulated ashes on our lawns and gardens in the spring.

By any standard, our household firewood operation qualifies as primitive and labor-intensive. We have a new Husqvarna 350 chainsaw and tools to maintain it, two 8-lb. splitting mauls (just in case the motivation strikes two parties simultaneously), four wedges, a lightweight axe for splitting kindling and a cheap plastic wheelbarrow for moving split wood across the driveway to the woodshed. We accomplish the rest of the work with what my dad always called the “Armstrong model.”

Firewood economics

Living in a state that’s 84 percent forested, I’ve always assumed it makes economic sense to burn wood for heat, even in those years when I bought my wood cut, split, dried, and delivered. With the price of propane and home heating oil expected to jump $300-$500 for the average New Hampshire household this winter, a lot of Granite Staters may have thought about turning or returning to native wood to heat their homes.

But poor conditions for logging in the spring and strong pulpwood market competing for the same material have also driven up the price of firewood this year. Here in central New Hampshire, prices range from $180 to $200 a cord for split, seasoned firewood—up from about $140-$160 last year.

Since we bought our load of green logs for roughly $60 a cord, even after amortizing the cost of the chainsaw and adding what we’ll pay for the fuel and parts, we’ll still come out way ahead. I’ve seen charts that indicate woodburning households could pay between $170 and $225 a cord and still beat the price of heating oil at its current average of $1.49 per gallon.

Wood supports a way of life

Wood does more than keep me warm, though. It supports my values and my way of life. Wood heat dries the laundry we hang on wooden racks around the stove in winter, simultaneously humidifying the dry indoor air. It provides my family with a concrete form of homeland security, keeping us warm and able to heat water from the gravity-feed well when the power goes off. Wood ashes neutralize the acid soil in my big vegetable garden and add important minerals my veggies need for optimum health.

In a nation where obesity has reached epidemic levels and threatens to overtake smoking as the #1 public health concern, working up my winter wood supply certainly helps me keep my weight in check. The experts say a person my weight burns between 325 and 500 calories an hour doing various wood-working activities. This weekend, I spent more than 12 hours lifting, splitting, hauling and stacking wood—the exercise equivalent of walking or running about 55 miles. Not bad!

Burning wood supports the N.H. economy

Joe Broyles, energy program manager at the N.H. Office of Energy and Planning estimates that two-thirds of the nearly $2 billion New Hampshire consumers spend on energy products leaves the state. But the money I spend to buy my firewood stays right here in New Hampshire. The firewood business represents a significant and essential component of New Hampshire’s forest industries, which collectively provide jobs for 10,000 to 15,000 New Hampshire residents and pump $1.7 billion directly into our state’s economy.

Burning wood takes savvy: learn how

Even if you don’t cut down your own trees or learn to use a chainsaw and splitting maul, home woodburning does require savvy. You need to learn to evaluate the quality and energy value of the wood you buy. You need to learn how to season and store your wood, install and maintain your heating equipment for safe operation, burn wood safely, maintain your chimney and handle your ashes.

A couple of tips about selecting and buying firewood: “It’s worth building a long term relationship with your wood supplier,” says Sarah Smith, UNH Extension forest industry specialist. “That’s the best way to ensure your producer is selling you a good cord and a good mixture.”

UNH Extension forester Nory Parr adds, “Everybody talks about wanting only oak and ash—the premier hardwoods—but people should remember that all wood burns. Burn only junk wood from trees that don’t have a higher value as sawlogs or veneer logs and you’ll be leaving the forest in better shape.”

Consult these sources to increase your savvy about heating your home with wood

• Buying Firewood: Know What You’re Getting - Here we offer brief guide to buying firewood.
• Wood Heating Savvy - This fact sheet covers the basics of wood heating safety.
• Safe Timber Harvesting  - Read this if you plan to cut your own trees.
• N.H. Association of Arborists - This site contains a list of certified N.H. Arborists, professionals who remove unwanted or hazard yard trees and may have fuelwood for sale.
• Guide to N.H. Timber Harvesting Laws

by Peg Boyles, UNH Cooperative Extension Writer/Editor

As soon as the first few inches of snow falls, some New Hampshire landowners begin thinking about putting out food for the deer.

Don’t! You’ll do more harm than good, both to the deer and to their habitat. Research and experience has shown that the negative effects of winter feeding outweigh any benefit deer might get from being fed.

Two factors primarily determine deer survival during winter: the availability of high-quality food in the fall, and softwood (e.g., hemlock, spruce, fir) cover during winter.

Deer must store body fat for the winter. The amount of body fat a deer has when it enters the winter directly determines if it will survive until spring. Deer accumulate body fat by increasing the amount of food they eat in September and October, when high-quality foods, such as acorns and beech nuts, are abundant. By November, most deer have accumulated all the fat they will need to survive the winter.

During September and October feeding, fat accumulation in adult deer results in a 20 percent to 30 percent increase in body weight. Fawns, on the other hand, accumulate only about half as much fat, because they use most of the food they eat for growing muscles and bones.

Beginning in November, deer in the Northeast voluntarily begin eating less. They continue to reduce the amount of food they eat each day until around late February, when they are eating about 50 percent less food per day than they did in September. Throughout the winter, deer compensate for their reduced food intake by relying on their stored fat for energy. An adult deer may get as much as 40 percent of its daily nutrition during winter from fat reserves.

However, to maintain this level of stored fat use, deer must conserve their energy by reducing their activity (e.g., by traveling less) and by spending most of their time in softwood cover, where it’s warmer and the snow isn’t as deep. These energy-conserving behaviors are especially important for fawns because of their lower fat reserves.

Although deer can eat to reduce the amount of fat they burn, natural foods only slow the rate of fat loss; they don’t stop it. This is where some people begin saying, “That’s why people need to put out grain for the deer!”

But research has discovered that even deer feeding on nothing but grain lose weight during the winter. Even captive deer that have access to as much high-quality food as they want still reduce the amount of food they eat beginning in November, and they continue to lose body fat through February.

That’s because deer have evolved a survival strategy that involves eating as much food as they can in autumn, to put on as much fat as possible before winter. Once winter comes, instinct tells deer to eat less, move around less, and seek the protection of winter cover.

Research has also shown that large, dominant adult deer fill their bellies first at feeding sites, which means that smaller and weaker individuals, including the vulnerable fawns, will have wasted valuable energy traveling to the feeding site, where they may get little feed. Over time, feeding sites attract more and more deer competing for the same food supplies, which can lead to over-browsing and degradation of the natural habitat around a feeding site, as well as wreaking havoc on homeowners’ ornamental plantings.

Wildlife biologists also worry that deer feeding might help spread Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which affects deer and elk and is always fatal. To date, CWD has been found in 14 states, including New York, although it hasn’t been found in New Hampshire.

Although biologists don’t know exactly how this disease spreads, they believe its transmission requires close contact between animals. When humans put out food for deer, they create a situation where an unnaturally high number of deer become concentrated in a small area.

In fact, some states have banned winter feeding of deer to help stop the spread of CWD. Feeding deer because you just like to watch them is a selfish reason for placing our deer resource at so much risk.
 
So, what can you do if you want to help deer during the winter? You can work on your property and with your neighbors to create and maintain quality deer habitat. This includes working in stands of oak and beech to increase the amount of nuts available in autumn, working in softwood stands to maintain and create dense winter cover, and working in hardwood stands to increase the amount of woody browse available to deer. Together, landowners, hunters, and wildlife enthusiasts can ensure there will be enough habitat to sustain many generations of deer in New Hampshire.

by Matt Tarr, UNH Cooperative Extension Forester

Links to more deer and deer hunting information:

• Feeding Deer Harms Their Health
  
  
• Deer hunting in New Hampshire
  
  
• Chronic wasting disease: frequently asked questions
  
  
• Managing your woodland for white-tailed deer
  
  

Many folks harvest firewood from their own woodlots, using the activity to thin out lower quality trees, thereby improving the forest. People who don’t own forestland purchase wood from firewood dealers, loggers and, for small quantities, convenience stores or roadside stands. Wood is purchased log-length (8’-16’); tree length (over 16’); cut-to-length; cut and split, and green or dry. Obviously, the more the wood is processed, the higher its price.

Many firewood dealers purchase wood from loggers. Often the firewood dealer is a logger who harvests wood from his/her own wood lot. Others purchase stumpage or cutting rights from landowners, who have many reasons for wanting to harvest timber, including forest improvement, agriculture, development or a view.

Harvesting may occur in conjunction with a timber sale, where higher-value logs are sold to a sawmill to be processed into lumber or to a veneer facility for even higher value.

Regardless, timber harvesting is an activity regulated by law. The N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration and the N.H. Department of Environmental Services all have laws that pertain to timber harvesting. If you have questions about these laws, call the UNH Cooperative Extension forester in your county.

At times, pulp mills or paper mills that use low-quality wood may provide a more lucrative and convenient market for loggers, reducing the supply to the firewood markets and increasing the price for firewood consumers. Bad weather and muddy logging conditions can also upset the wood markets. Poor conditions for logging and competitive pulpwood pricing this year have resulted in a scarce and expensive firewood supply.

Street trees and other trees that grow in more urban settings often decline due to the harsh growing conditions. Some communities take down these trees and process them into firewood, which they make available to community members. Professional arborists, who remove hazard trees and unwanted yard trees in the course of their work, also often process and sell the trees they cut as firewood.

Used pallets provide another source of firewood. Because pallet manufacturers are the largest consumer of hardwood lumber in the United States, recycling pallets and pallet parts has become big business. Unfortunately, not all pallets get recycled. Yet, cut-up pallets make great hardwood kindling. If you do use pallets or other scrap wood in your home heating appliance, make sure the wood has not been pressure-treated or contaminated by paint or unknown spilled liquids.

By Sarah Smith, UNH Extension Professor/Specialist, Forest Industry

Homeowners lucky enough to have large trees adorning their property during the summer months consider themselves less fortunate at this time of year. There are all those leaves to be raked, bagged, and either composted or carted to the local landfill. With most of New Hampshire's towns facing landfill problems, it makes sense for homeowners to consider dealing with yard waste on their own.

Autumn leaves can be used by homeowners in two ways: by building a home compost pile or by shredding and mulching with them. In addition to leaves, practically any plant material can be composted for garden use. Leaves, grass clippings, old sod, manure, fine wood chips, straw, old hay, plant residues from the vegetable garden, and even garbage from the kitchen can be used. Newspapers can be composted, too, provided they are finely shredded and mixed with other compost materials.

Although theoretically your compost pile will generate enough heat to kill disease organisms, it is best not to use diseased plants form the garden for composting. Some disease organisms can survive for 7 to 12 years and may cause problems in the future when the compost is used. Weeds heavily laden with seeds should also be avoided for composting.

Most garbage can be used in the compost pile, but grease, fat, bones, fish and meat scraps should not be used because these materials attract animals. In addition fats are slow to break down, thus greatly increasing the amount of time before the compost pile is ready for use. Waste material from pets, such as cats and dogs, should be avoided, too.

Finished compost or "black gold", as I like to call it, can be used to improve the soil structure in vegetable, flower and landscape plantings. It improves the soil by binding soil particles together; increases the soil's water-holding capacity; and makes nitrogen and other nutrients more readily available to plants for growth.

To provide optimum conditions for soil organisms to break down organic matter, the composting material should be kept moist, have oxygen and be supplied with materials high in nitrogen. The nitrogen furnishes the nutrients required by soil organisms (bacteria and fungi) for rapid growth.

A compost pile can be built on open ground or in a bin made of rough boards or stakes and small-mesh wire fencing. Snow fencing works just fine. The sides of the bin should not be tight, because oxygen is essential for the material to decompose.

Composting materials should be layered, and for maximum efficiency, the pile should be 4 to 5 feet wide. To start a pile, spread part of your plant refuse out in a layer 6 to 8 inches deep. The pile should be large enough for at least four to five layers to be made from the material available. To speed up the process, high nitrogen fertilizer of some readily available formula (10-10-10, for example) can be spread on each layer at the rate of about ½ pound or 1 cupful to each 30-35 square feet. If an organic source of nitrogen is desired, commercially available fertilizers such as dried blood (13% nitrogen), cottonseed meal (6% nitrogen), alfalfa hay (2.5% nitrogen), or poultry manure (1% nitrogen) can be used. If alkaline compost is desired, ground limestone or wood ashes can be spread on the pile at the same rate, although this is usually not necessary. Sprinkling a few shovelfuls of garden soil over each layer will ensure the presence of decay organisms. With garden soil to provide beneficial microorganisms there is no need to purchase microbial compost starters. It is advantageous to build your pile with a flat top that slants towards the center to catch rainfall. Repeat the layers until you run out of material or until the compost is about five feet high.

Check your compost every so often to make sure it's moist. Next spring, the pile should be turned to bring the outside material to the inside of the pile. As you turn it, water the pile if it seems dry. On the other hand, a compost pile should not be too wet. Excessive moisture excludes air, so that beneficial aerobic microorganisms die. Anerobic microorganisms take over, and your compost pile begins to smell bad. At the first whiff of ammonia or other unpleasant odors, turn the pile. A productive, well-made compost pile does not smell bad.

Because it's colder outside, a fall-built compost pile decomposes more slowly than a spring-built one. It should, however, be ready for use next summer or fall. If you turn the pile once a month during warm weather the compost will be ready sooner. Do not turn the pile during cool weather as this allows too much heat to escape, slowing down the decomposition process.

Compost is ready to use when the individual constituents have lost their identity and become a dark crumbly mass. Unless you've added a lot of fertilizer it will be low in fertilizer value. But as a soil improvement it's hard to beat!

For more information call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center's Info-Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769 for "Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

Margaret Hagen,UNH Cooperative Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources, Hillsborough County

For Christmas my grandsons (with some help from their Dad) made me a bird feeder. The design is simple: an open frame about a foot square with a screen on the bottom, suspended from the four corners by cords that attach to a loop about two feet above the frame.
           
We hung the feeder on a small branch of a young beech tree, high enough so we could just reach to fill it, high enough (we hoped) to be out of reach of the deer, and far enough from the trunk to discourage the cat from exploiting the situation. The south-facing windows both upstairs and down provide a front row seat for observers. We poured a couple of quarts of sunflower seeds onto the screen and awaited the verdict of the intended beneficiaries.

In no time a flock of finches arrived. They mobbed the feeder, and those who couldn’t get the first bite waited impatiently, an unruly crowd pushing and shoving, a flying dance among the branches. The tree, in midwinter, sprouted feathered leaves, flying off all at once for no apparent reason, only as far as the adjacent maple. Soon they were back, twittering and competing for a place at the banquet.

Chickadees and tufted titmice hang around, taking a turn when the finches depart for a spell. Occasionally a nuthatch visits, although he seems to prefer the fancier and less crowded feeder outside the kitchen window.
           
Watching the finches is endlessly fascinating. On my window is a small feeder, only large enough for two or at most three birds at a time. Sometimes one will decide he is king of the castle and aggressively defend his throne, even sacrificing opportunities to feed as he fends off interlopers. But eventually he also flies off, and another, and yet another take his place. The little feeder requires frequent replenishment.
           
Winter is a special time on our hill. When the leaves drop in October, the view changes markedly. Sunrise, masked in summer by the foliage, can be dramatic, and it comes late enough that 7:00 a.m. risers like me can enjoy it. The lakes, blue before they freeze over, later appear as white, open spaces.
           
We who love winter are thought a bit odd by those who complain endlessly of the cold, snow and ice. But the changing seasons are a source of constant wonder. No other season compares with the brightness of a moonlit night on fresh snow. Shadows of the bare trees create a chiaroscuro on the open field. The structure of the landscape is visible from the road—stone walls, icy streams, boulders. The fields of 19th century farmers reveal themselves, although overgrown now, often with mature trees.
           
A true sign of spring, in mid-February, is activity in the sugar bush. A warm sunny day brings the sap up in the maple trees, and sugar makers get ready for the year’s first harvest. Deer trails course through the forest, reminding us of the constant life that inhabits what may seem a dead landscape.
           
The goldfinches, mobbing my feeders, begin to discard their drab winter plumage for their yellow garments, in preparation for spring rituals. The chickadee whistles his spring song, sometimes even on a warm day in January. The piliated woodpecker loudly declares his territory with a persistent drumbeat and occasional screech. Neighbors report flocks of robins, and even a bluebird is heard by the beginning of March.
           
Last year’s cold, snowy March brought January (and the mobs of finches) back in earnest. But it brought the sun, brighter and warmer, shining through the south facing windows, giving the furnace and wood stove a rest four several hours during the day.

I know the snow will melt, the skis will return to the basement, and the streams will awaken, roaring through the sugar bush. Making an expedition to check the sap lines becomes an adventure with a sometimes soggy interlude. Spring birds will return in earnest, and the finches will find food in the forest, while newcomers, the red-breasted grosbeak and the oriole, will honor my offerings, joining the ever-present chickadees and nuthatches and the charming tufted-titmouse.

By Carolyn Baldwin, UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Coverts Cooperator

Fishing poles in hand, my brother and I startled as the chunky, dark bird flew from beneath the black spruce forest. “Mark, it’s a spruce grouse!” I said, awestruck by the beauty of the rare cousin of the ruffed grouse, a popular game bird. “That’s the first one I’ve ever seen.”

When we entered the woods on a brook trout fishing expedition in the summer of 2001, that part of the forest hadn’t yet been conserved as the Connecticut Lakes Wildlife Management Area, nor had anyone conceived the notion of an action plan to protect the state’s wildlife. Looking back on that fishing trip, I realize how far we’ve come since then toward protecting many of the wildlife and habitats that are important to me and to the ecological and economic well-being of our state.

Two years ago I was asked to co-coordinate a New Hampshire Fish and Game Department  team that would create the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan. On the way to developing that plan, our team created a list of wildlife species and habitats in need of conservation attention—some of which I’m sure many of you have enjoyed over the years: eastern brook trout, wood turtle, purple finch, American woodcock, mink frog, and bobcat, to name a few.

While the federal government mandated and funded this mammoth project nationwide, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department made our Wildlife Action Plan truly New Hampshire-specific. Biologists scoured the records to make sure we knew as much as possible about where our critters live so we would start with the best available information.

Then Fish and Game contracted with experts from many conservation organizations and agencies to help write specific profiles on our wildlife species and key habitats. More than natural history, these profiles contained an assessment of the risks to the species and habitats, and listed actions that could help ensure the long-term viability of each one. They presented assessments of the current condition of New Hampshire’s wildlife habitat as a baseline against which we will measure our progress over time.

Our team pulled together all the species and habitat profiles and looked for continually reoccurring risk factors. Biologists then wrote descriptions of these most prominent risk factors followed by conservation strategies that would help New Hampshire reduce those risks, thereby improving conditions for wildlife.

While the writing was hard enough, getting the job done will be much harder. The Fish and Game Department recognizes that, and put forth an implementation plan
that includes descriptions of the next steps to take, emphasizing the importance of the work of individuals, communities, regional planners, conservation groups, state and federal agencies, and many others.

The bottom line? Fish and Game can’t do it alone. They are counting on many partners to come together with the common cause of keeping New Hampshire beautiful and ecologically sound. Wildlife is truly a public resource and each of us has a stake in ensuring its long-term protection.

I hope someday to take my three sons on that same fishing trip to the Connecticut Lakes Wildlife Management Area, where perhaps they will have the same awe-inspiring experience of seeing a rare spruce grouse, and perhaps even catching an eastern brook trout or two.

For more information

• N.H. Wildlife Action Plan: A Blueprint to Save Threatened Species
• New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan
• List of wildlife species and habitats at risk
• Condition of New Hampshire’s wildlife habitat
• Most prominent risk factors
• Conservation strategies
• Implementation plan

By Darrel Covell, UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist

Every fall the older, interior needles on evergreens yellow and fall. This occurs on pines, spruces, arborvitae and junipers, and it's perfectly normal. Each year these plants grow a new set of needles in the spring, and drop their oldest set in the fall.

Needle drop usually occurs in mid-fall. This year the needles on many hemlocks and white pine began yellowing early, in September. Environmental stress caused this early, heavier than normal needle. Stressed plants lose more needles, but as long as the terminal, or current year's growth, is fresh and green, the life of the plant isn't in danger.

Why is it so early and so severe this year? Trees and shrubs generally respond slowly to changes in their environment. They recover slowly, too. Last year's drought (more than eight weeks with no appreciable precipitation in some locations) was very hard on plant material.

Because hemlocks and white pine are shallow-rooted trees, their small, absorptive roots are particularly susceptible to drying and injury during drought periods. Roots injured and or killed by drought stress can take up to two years to regenerate.

This year's weather exacerbated last year's drought stress. In the spring, when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the root systems of most tress and shrubs become active and begin to grow. This period of growth lasts until the plant begins to put out its new leaves. Because of our late winter, this period of spring growth was shorter than normal.

In addition, the long, cool wet spring enabled many plants to put out lots and lots of new leaves. When hot weather finally came, with no warning, many plants had a difficult time sustaining their large leaf canopies. This resulted in more stress.

If you look around, you will see the lingering effects of stress on many trees. Drought followed by a severe winter, a late spring, excess moisture and a short, but intense heat wave has left its mark on many plants.

Evergreens are losing their needles earlier. The leaves on many landscape plants have brown leaf edges. Because of moisture stress during late summer and our short-lived heat waves, some leaves have patches of dead, light-brown leaf tissue running through them.

The outer leaves on many oaks turned brown in August. This was cause by a fungus called Botryosphaeria quercum, which typically shows up on oaks after a period of drought.

What does this mean for the future health of your trees and shrubs? In the grand scheme of things, not a whole lot. Plants for the most part are very resilient. In times of extreme stress, they will die back a bit from the top to protect the remainder of the plant. As conditions become more favorable, they slowly recover.

What can you do to help your plants recover? If we do get a long, dry fall (almost unimaginable, isn't it?) keep them watered until the ground freezes. Wait until next spring, or even the spring after that, to fertilize. Fertilizing stressed plants generally does more harm than good. And hope for a normal growing season next year. That's really what would do our plant the most good.

By Cheryl Smith (Plant Health Specialist) and Margaret Hagen (Extension Educator) University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension

Everywhere I go this October I see trees and shrubs on sale. In some cases prices have been slashed up to 75 percent. Fall is a great time to buy plants. Just make sure you buy them from a reputable store where they've been regularly cared for during the growing season.

The biggest favor you can do for your new plants when you get them home is to plant them correctly. Be sure to dig a hole that is wider than deep and plant your bargains with the top of the root ball as close to ground level as possible. Planting holes should be two to three times wider than deep.

Inspect the root system of your containerized or balled and burlapped plant carefully as it goes into the ground. Recent research conducted at the University of Minnesota indicates that many trees develop problems that shorten their lifespan because they are planted too deeply. Of particular concern are roots that might girdle the main trunk or stem as they develop.

Why is this important? Only half of each plant, the shoot system, grows above-ground. The other half, the root system, grows underground where it is often out of mind as well as out of sight.

Roots perform many vital functions and have a profound effect on overall plant health. Most people think of tree roots as an anchor, growing straight down. In reality, most tree roots are located in the top 16 to 24 inches of soil and occupy an area 2 to 4 times the diameter of the tree crown. Loosening that soil at planting time aids in future root growth.

In addition to anchoring plants, roots transport water and minerals from the soil to the rest of the tree. Water and minerals are used to manufacture carbohydrates which are then stored as reserves in the root system to produce spring foliage.

When plants are grown incorrectly in the nursery or spend too long in a container they often develop root systems that can threaten future plant health. These roots are known as stem girdling roots or SGRs. This happens because roots are often forced into an encircling growth pattern when trees are grown in containers or held as balled and burlapped stock. If trees are then planted too deeply, the encircling roots can eventually enlarge, compressing (girdling) the stem and damaging bark and wood tissue.

Above-ground symptoms often take 15 or 20 years to show up and most often include stunting of the foliage, decreased annual twig growth and a smaller trunk diameter. Trees with stem girdling roots often lean to one side and may have leaves that are scorched (brown) along the edges.

Most deciduous tree trunks normally flare or expand near the ground. Trees suffering from girdling roots often lack trunk flares, going straight into the ground like telephone poles.

If on inspection you discover that your new tree has encircling roots, simply prune them off. Then plant your tree so that the flare where roots meet stem is at or only slightly below the soil surface. If your inspection shows more than 1 to 2 inches of soil over the root flare, plant the tree higher than normal in the landscape. When the root collar flare and stem are at or above the soil surface developing stem girdling roots will be easily detectable and treatable long before they cause stress to the tree.

When planting, don't amend the backfill with peat moss, compost or other organics. Research has shown that drainage problems and reduced growth can occur from amended soils. Do be sure to provide the equivalent of an inch of rainfall weekly for the first two years after planting. Most of all, be sure to enjoy. There's nothing quite like the feeling that comes from planting something that will live for a hundred years or more.

For more information on planting trees call UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center 's Info-Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769 and ask for a copy of the fact sheet, "Steps to Follow When Planting Trees and Shrubs". Trained volunteers are also available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

By Margaret Hagen, UNH Cooperative Extension Educator, Hillsborough County

Each year in the United States, Americans spend more than one-half billion dollars feeding birds. In fact, one in three North American households makes available an average of 60 pounds of supplemental seed annually. Birds are fascinating to watch and dedicated bird feeders buy hundreds of pounds of feed each winter. Most have a bird book and binoculars to identify and study the birds. And most willingly take the time to replenish feed and water supplies several times a week. Fortunately, ornithologists speculate that if handouts were to stop tomorrow, there would be neither species extinctions nor major population declines. However, some recently enlarged ranges would probably decline.

If you've tried to attract and feed birds in the past, but the venture was never really a success, it may be because you were lacking a few basic pieces of information. Just a few tips on where to place your feeders, what to put in them, and what feeder types are attractive to which species can make the difference between success and failure.

Birds will visit feeders that are placed close to branches of trees and shrubs (especially evergreens) more readily than they will visit feeders in the open. Feeders in the open tend to be more exposed to the elements and to predators. If squirrels are a problem, use baffles and try to place your feeders just beyond jumping distance. Shrub borders near a garden or hedge-rows along the edge of your lawn are ideal sites for feeders. "Edges" between different types of vegetation will attract a wider variety of birds. Perhaps most importantly for you, feeders should be situated near a window for convenient bird watching. If you have no natural cover near a window, you can prop up an old Christmas tree or erect a brush pile to create some. Next spring you might consider planting a few shrubs attractive to birds adjacent to your feeder site.

What should go in your feeders? The simplest answer is that supermarket wild bird seed mix is what should not go in your feeders. Supermarket mixes tend to contain large proportions of red millet and milo. Few birds will eat those seeds, but manufacturers put them in because they're cheap. Instead, a simple mix of 50% sunflower seeds (unhulled oil type), 35% white proso millet and 15% cracked corn will appeal to a broad cross-section of seed-eating birds. You can buy in bulk from seed or animal feed dealers. Whether you buy seed mixed or separately will depend on whether you want to vary the proportions to attract the birds you want to see.

Having attractive bird feeds on hand is important, but placement of those feeds is equally important. Just as birds vary in size, shape, color, song and preferred foods, so do they differ in feeding behavior. Some birds feed almost exclusively in trees, others nearly always on the ground, and some will feed wherever they can find acceptable food. Using a variety of feeders makes sense; many can be made at home out of materials you already have.

Most common birds will visit platform feeders. They are simple to build, or you can buy hopper-style feeders that can be suspended by a wire or placed on a pole. You may want to add at least one hanging feeder filled with sunflower seeds, a rich diet especially attractive to chickadees, nuthatches, grosbeaks and cardinals. Thistle (Niger) seed is a favorite of finches, pine siskens and redpolls and can be offered in a special thistle feeder. Ground feeders like juncos, morning doves, sparrows and cardinals will feed on seed kicked off of platform feeders by other birds or on feed placed on the ground for them. For a complete feeding program, some fats (suet or peanut butter) should be added. Suet attached to tree trunks in wire baskets is especially attractive to woodpeckers.

Water is an effective magnet for birds; it is used year-round for both drinking and bathing. It's hard to provide unfrozen water in frigid weather, but it can be done by frequent refilling or by rigging up a heating device. In general, birds prefer water on or near the ground where it should be found naturally.

Feeding can help pull many birds through the extremes of winter. Birds will increase their visits to feeders in bad weather, especially after heavy snows and ice storms which make natural foods inaccessible. Small species, like chickadees, particularly benefit from feeding. So if you start to feed, try to continue feeding on a steady basis. Birds that habitually visit feeders may be slow to adapt to other food sources if feeding is interrupted or discontinued.

Finally, be sure to keep your feeding site clean so that disease doesn't become a problem. Periodically you will need to wash feeders and watering devices with a 10% Chlorox solution, and also rake the ground free of old seed (to prevent the growth of fungi).

Ideally, it's best to continue a winter feeding program into May when new spring growth and insects become available. But if bears are a problem, stop feeding immediately. Repeat bear visits are almost a certainty if food continues to be available. That can be both very risky and very expensive!

Call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center's Info-Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769 for "Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

A collaboration between UNH forestry student Jen Weimer, former UNH plant biology professor Robert Blanchard, and Extension foresters has produced an easy-to-search online collection of pictures and fact sheets for common insects and diseases of New Hampshire's trees and the forests of the Northeast.

Site visitors can search the forest pest pages four ways:

• by photograph under the Forest Pest category.
• by tree species under the Forest Pest Host category.
• by part of tree affected under the Tree Type and Part Affected category.
• by a Keyword Search function

“Jen’s given us a great start,” said Karen Bennett, Extension forest resources specialist. “Limited time and lack of adequate web references prevented her from including many of the pests on her list. As people have time to use the new site and give us their feedback, we’ll gradually expand it to include a wider range of tree species, diseases, and insect pests.”

New Hampshire residents whose homes were damaged by last weekend’s flooding face many tasks as they return to assess the clean-up. More rain is hampering these efforts and may create even more adverse conditions that could lead to additional flooding.

As homeowners prepare to go back into their flood-damaged homes, remember that going back home can be dangerous, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Because flooding can cause structural, electrical and other hazards. Physical dangers are not necessarily over after the water goes down. Hazards are not always obvious. They can be potentially life-threatening if precautions are not taken.”

So where do residents start? Concerns focus on cleaning up the mud and debris, financial worries, determining what can be salvaged and working towards making the home habitable again.

UNH Cooperative Extension has a wealth of material to help residents in the storm-ravaged areas of New Hampshire. Cleaning and disinfecting your home is a top priority, along with how to clean soaked bedding, what to do with all the foodstuffs left behind and how to eradicate any growing mildew.

In some cases, the first 48 hours are crucial to saving family heirlooms, photographs and books. On top of it all is the stress of coping with what appears to be a monumental task of returning home.

UNH Cooperative Extension’s Cheshire County office, where the most severe damaged occurred, has additional information available on a variety of topics. The office can be reached by calling 603-352-4550.


If you have additional questions, please contact any of the 10 local Extension offices in each county.

Last weekend’s floods caused severe and visible damage to roads and homes in the southwest part of the state. Some foresters and landowners are worried there is woodland damage too.

UNH Cooperative Extension’s Forest Resources Educator in Merrimack County Tim Fleury is concerned, but hasn’t been able to walk enough land to know the extent of the problem. “People are dealing with the immediate problems in their homes and communities. They haven’t had time to look at their woodlot.”

Fleury advises landowners to go for a walk in their woods and provides some practical tips. “Safety is the most important thing. Don’t go alone and do wear hunter orange.” He also advises you to bring along a shovel. “A shovel is your friend,” he says, “It’s easy to carry and can be used to tidy up your woods roads. You can fix small problems before they become bigger.”

Walk your woods roads and trails and clean out any debris in culverts and ditches. Fill in any gullies in the road. Don’t bend down to clean out large culverts or bridges with fast moving water. “It is too easy to slip and become wedged in the culvert or otherwise hurt yourself. Wait until the water recedes and you can safely fix the damage.”

Chuck Hersey, Extension’s Sullivan County Forest Resources Educator, agrees there’s probably extensive damage in the forest but, “We don’t know where and how much there is. We encourage people to call us to report the condition of their land. We track the effect of natural disasters on the woods. We can better help people today if we know about the damage and it helps us plan for the future.”

He expects most damage to be in the form of washed out roads and trails, culverts and bridges. “Standing water lingers in the floodplains and the low lying areas that grow trees adapted to water. They should be able to withstand this flooding. It’s the land that isn’t covered and protected by trees that was the most vulnerable.”

Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) directors of Parks and Recreation, Allison McLean, and Forests and Lands, Philip Bryce, closed several state parks, state forests and state trail areas in the southwestern part of the state to protect the safety of visitors. The closures are necessary to allow time to inspect and assess the damage to roads, bridges, dams, and trails. A complete list of the state parks and forests closed.

To learn how to contact your local County Extension Educator, Forest Resources, or to receive the free booklet, “Best Management Practices for Erosion Control”, contact the UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center at 800-444-8978.
 

Visit "Now What? Cleaning Up After the Floods" for links about flood recovery news.

Some plants found in our yards and gardens produce fall berries that look tempting, especially to small children, but are dangerous to eat. Children may be especially tempted to pick and eat berries if they've seen their parents picking berries such as blackberries, blueberries and strawberries over the course of the summer.

Unfortunately, the words POISON and TOXIC too often create fear when they should suggest a warning. Many medicines or common household substances used incorrectly can cause illness or even death. This is also true with certain plants, when left alone, they are harmless. Some plants when bruised, crushed or eaten in varying quantities may result in effects that are upsetting, painful, or even potentially fatal.

Most plants must be eaten to become toxic, while others just have to be touched (as in the case of poison ivy). Toxicity often depends on the amount of plant material ingested. For example, all parts of the sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) fall on the "slightly toxic" plant list. Since sunflower seeds are a common snack food, this may come as a surprise, but it is a perfect example of toxicity as a function of ingested amount. Ice cream can also make you sick if eaten in disproportionate amounts!

Whether poisoning will take place or not is usually determined more by the habits of people than by the presence of a particular poisonous plant. The danger depends mainly on whether it is likely to be eaten. At this time of year, children are attracted to berries as well as fleshy plant parts. Children should be taught at an early age to keep unknown plants and plant parts out of their mouths. They need to be made aware of the potential danger of poisonous plants.

Adults need to be familiar with the potentially dangerous plants in their yards, t heir homes, and in play areas close to home. If you suspect that a poisoning has occurred, call the New Hampshire Poison Information Center at 1-800-562-8236 and ask for instructions. Below are some common, poisonous berry-producing plants that children should learn to avoid. These plants are especially attractive to children in the fall when carrying their brightly-colored fruits.

Yew Berries from the evergreen tree or shrub (Taxaxeae) often used as a hedge and grown in gardens or around homes are particularly hazardous. These small red fruits are not poisonous, but are sweet and taste good, so children might be tempted to eat many of them. The seeds, however, are toxic and might be eaten with the berry.

• Baneberry ( Actaea rubra and Actaea alba ), a perennial herb species found in gardens and woodlands, grows one to two feet tall, and develops red or white poisonous berries in summer and early autumn.
  
  
• Jack-in-the-pulpit ( Arisaema triphyllum ),a common and pretty woodland plant, produces clusters of poisonous red fruits in the fall.
  
  
• Bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculata and Celastrus scandens ), woody, deciduous vines often grown in gardens and also found in the wild, produce showy orange fruits which are poisonous.
  
  
• Daphne ( Daphne mexereum ) is a shrub often grown for its lilac-pink flowers in early spring. It later develops poisonous white or red berries which are highly attractive to children.
  
  
• Pokeberry ( Phytolacca Americana ), a common weed that can grow up to eight feet tall, with a purplish stem, and large, smooth alternative leaves, produces toxic, purplish-black berries that resemble wild grapes. They are especially tempting.
  
  
• Chokecherry ( Prunus virginiana ) is a weedy tree that can grow up to 30 feet tall. Its red berries are not harmful, but the seeds inside contain toxic amounts of a dangerous substance, cyanogenetic glycoside.
  
  
• Black nightshade ( Solanum nigrum ), often found in pastures, waste place, meadows, and near dwellings, is an annual that grows one or two feet and produces poisonous large, black berries in late summer and early autumn.
  
  
• May apple ( Podophyllum peltatum )is a woodland plant that grows one to two feet tall and produces large, umbrella-like leaves. Each plant produces one flower in the spring which becomes a potentially poisonous plum-size fruit in the fall.
  
  
• Poison ivy ( Rhus radicans ), a woody shrub or vine, is harmful in all seasons. All parts of the plant are poisonous including the yellow-white, shiny berries in the fall.

The above list is not comprehensive. There are other common plants, both berry-producing and not, that can be harmful or even fatal if consumed by small children. The best way to protect small children from plant poisoning is to teach them not to eat any plant parts without adult supervision.

We can't ignore plants, for they are the hand that feeds us. However, common sense can go a long way in making people-plant relationship a compatible one.

By Margaret Hagen, Extension Educator Family, Home & Garden Education Center, Hillsborough County

The N.H. Division of Forests and Lands and the Plant Industry Division of the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, have been monitoring for the presence of hemlock wooly adelgid (adelges tsugae), a serious pest of hemlock species in nurseries, landscapes and native trees.

The hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) is a small, aphid-like insect native to Japan and China . First detected in the U.S. on the West Coast in the 1920s, it appeared in Virginia in the 1950s. Since then HWA has continued a northward migration in the Eastern United States , devastating stands of Eastern hemlock, T. Canadensis, and Carolina hemlock, T. Caroliniana.

The first New Hampshire infestation was discovered on naturalized stands of hemlocks in Portsmouth ’s Elwyn Park in the fall of 2000. Since then, HWA has been found in other areas of the state, showing up in Peterborough in 2001, Bedford and Epsom in 2002, in Jaffrey in 2003, and this year in Nashua and Hollis. So how did it get here?

According to Jen Bofinger, forest health specialist/Entomologist with the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, these insects can be dispersed by wind, birds or by forest-dwelling mammals. Humans also have contributed to the spread of this devastating insect by transporting infested hemlock trees.

To prevent the spread of this insect into our state, the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands and the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, have restricted the flow of hemlock products imported into the state. A quarantine restricts importing and transplanting hemlock nursery stock into the state from infested areas, unless hemlock seedlings and nursery stock are inspected and certified free of HWA.

HWA feed on eastern hemlock, T. Canadensis, and Carolina hemlock, T. Caroliniana, attaching themselves to the stems at the base of the needles, killing the needles and hindering the development of new growth. Feeding damage first appears as needle discoloration (from a deep green to grayish green to yellowing), followed by premature needle drop/defoliation, branch desiccation, and finally, loss of vigor. Major limbs may die back within two years on heavily infested trees. Dieback usually occurs and progresses from the bottom of the tree upwards, even though HWA infestation may be evenly distributed throughout the tree.

HWA are all females and complete two generations of development per year on hemlock. The adelgids display several different forms during their life history, including winged and wingless. Adults are brownish-reddish in color, oval in shape and are about 0.8 mm in length. The adelgid lays between 50 and 300 brownish-orange eggs under a cottony wax. The eggs will hatch over an extended period of time (March through April).

Half the eggs will develop into a winged, migratory form. Unable to reproduce on hemlock; the winged adelgids migrate in search of spruce to complete their development. Because there is no suitable spruce host available in New Hampshire ( North America ), these adelgids soon die.

The other eggs develop into wingless adults that remain on the hemlock tree. Newly hatched woolly adelgids (nymphs, or immature stage) emerge from the cottony egg mass as the new hemlock growth expands in May and June. These crawlers are black, oval and flat and are extremely small, making them difficult to see with the naked eye.

Once hatched, these insects migrate to the base of a needle and begin to feed. Here they will become dormant until the middle of October when they resume feeding. These nymphs continue to feed and develop during the winter and mature by spring.

There are a number of preventive actions you can take to help manage the spread of this devastating pest:

Monitoring: Frequent visual inspection of trees is one of the most effective means of determining infestations. Look for the dry, white “wool” that is produced. It will be located on the underside of the young twigs. Depending on the size of the trees binoculars may prove to be very helpful in locating infestations. Infestations will be hard to detect from July through September when the dormant nymphs produce very little wool. Other signs of potential infestations include thinning of needles, grayish-green needles, branch desiccation, and loss of vigor.

Improving Tree Health: Trees growing in poor sites or those experiencing stress from drought and other factors succumb to HWA attack more quickly than those growing under optimal conditions. Therefore, maintaining good growing conditions can play an important role in the survival of hemlocks in home landscapes.

Their shallow roots leave hemlocks vulnerable to drought stress. Provide one inch of water per week (including rainfall) during droughts. Roots on an established tree extend beyond the spread of its branches, so apply water to the entire root zone. Water deeply as needed and avoid frequent shallow irrigation.

Pruning dead and dying branches may also help improve the health of hemlock. This may help promote new growth by allowing more light to reach the foliage, and may reduce the likelihood of attack by other insect pests and diseases.

Cultural Controls: One way to reduce the risk of an HWA invasion is to practice caution when moving plants, logs, firewood, or bark chips from infested areas to ones that are uninfested.

If you believe you’ve seen the hemlock wooly adelgid, please contact the N.H. Forest Health Program at 271-7858.

by Rachel Maccini, Coordinator, UNH Cooperative Extension Family, Home & Garden Education Center

Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service

For more information:

• NH Forest Health Program (271-7858)
• UNH Cooperative Extension’s Family, Home & Garden Education Center’s Toll Free Info-Line, 1-877-398-4769, M-F, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• US Department of Agriculture’s comprehensive HWA Web site
• HWA photo gallery

• New Hampshire is 84% forested. In the U.S., only Maine has a greater percentage of trees (92%).



• Private individuals own 70% N.H forest land. (The forest industry owns 10%; 20% is owned by federal, state, and local government).



• Nearly 84,000 New Hampshire people own a woodlot.



• More than 1600 of these landowners are recognized as Tree Farmers for the careful tending of their forests. Collectively, Tree Farmers own about 800,000 acres, more than is contained within the White Mountain National Forest.



• Collectively, Tree Farmers own about 800,000 acres, more than is contained within the White Mountain National Forest.



• The average N.H. woodlot is 39 acres.



• Small family-owned forests provide clean water, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, fresh air, natural and cultural heritage, recreation and the basis of the state’s forest industry.



• An Extension Forestry Educator in each county provides assistance and advice to landowners. These foresters are a phone call away. If you don’t know your local forester, a call to the UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center

“In August of 2002, we received a frantic call from Campbell’s Scottish Highlands Golf Course in Salem. They reported caterpillars destroying thousands of sunflowers, marigolds, geraniums, and zinnias used to decorate the grounds,” says UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist Stan Swier.

Swier identified the caterpillar as the larval form of the sunflower moth, a pest not previously seen in New Hampshire. “The sunflower moth causes problems in the southern and western states, particularly where sunflowers are grown as a crop,” he says. “In the Eastern U.S, it hadn’t previously been reported north of New Jersey.”

Swier has also seen the sunflower moth in Durham and Madbury. “This moth must like New Hampshire, because it returned in 2003 and now again in 2004,” he says. “Originally, it blew up from the south and laid its eggs on late summer flowers. But this year we began seeing active larvae in late June. They’ve attacked nearly every plant on the golf course grounds.”

Swier hypothesizes the larvae may have overwintered in Salem and started a new generation this spring, leaving enough time for a second generation to mature before frost. “It could be here to stay, he says, “although it’s still too early to tell whether they really survived the winter or simply wafted up from the South on warm air currents generated by a freak spring storm.”

“The sunflower moth larvae are gregarious feeders. They’re striking in appearance, with dark brown and pale yellow stripes down their backs. You can find them feeding on undeveloped seeds in the flower heads,” says Swier. “Any pesticide labeled for caterpillars on outdoor flowers will control this pest. If caterpillars are small, the bacterial pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) should work. Follow label directions.”

For more information

• Fact sheet on sunflower moth
• Photos of sunflower moths and larvae
• This fact sheet helps you identify which moth you have on your sunflowers

July 17 event promises something for every forest landowner

Do you own a piece of New Hampshire forestland? More than 80,000 people do. These private landowners bear a large responsibility. They serve as stewards of our clean water, fresh air, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, and our natural and cultural heritage. Their land provides raw materials for our forest industries and opportunities for recreation that draw people to visit, live and work in New Hampshire.

Of course, these woodlands also return many rewards to their owners. As with most precious things, the more you pay attention and work at caring for your land, the greater those rewards.

Fortunately, in New Hampshire you don’t have to go it alone. Working on Your Woodlot, an action-filled day scheduled for July 17 at the Strafford County Complex in Dover, will provide you with practical hands-on information and connect you with others who can help you make the best use of your piece of the New Hampshire’s forests. Whether you own one or 100 acres, the day has something for you.

Workshops, demos, exhibits

“In the forest” workshops include identifying trees and shrubs, selecting trees for timber and firewood, safely using and maintaining chainsaws, managing riparian forests and fields for wildlife, using GPS, and locating and building access roads. Continuous live forestry operations will demonstrate moving logs and firewood with small equipment, sawing logs into boards, and making stove-length firewood with a small processor. You’ll also have plenty of time to look at equipment and exhibits from conservation organizations and talk with other landowners, foresters, and loggers.

We’ve assembled a photo gallery to give you a sense of the woodlot management activities you may see and hear about if you attend Working on Your Woodlot.

Details

State Forester Phil Bryce, Commissioner of Agriculture, Steve Taylor, and the Strafford County Commissioners will open the event at 9 AM. Activities will run until 3:30.

Come dressed for the weather, as the event will go on rain or shine. Remember your bug dope!

If you have special needs in order to participate in this program, please contact us two weeks in advance of the program date, informing us of your need to allow us time to make the necessary arrangements. The event is free and food will be available for purchase. Please pre-register by calling 603-431-6774, by Friday, July 16.

The day is co-sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension in Strafford and Rockingham Counties, the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, the Urban Forestry Center, and the N.H. Timberland Owners Association.

Karen Bennett, Extension Professor and Specialist, Forest Resources

Three varieties of leaf-eating caterpillars hit the Granite State in the last few weeks. Here's an update on what to look for, what to worry about and what not to worry about.

Eastern tent caterpillars are the most visible. They weave those unsightly webs, mostly in cherry trees, stripping the tree bare. They are more of a nuisance than a threat to trees, rarely killing healthy trees. They have nearly completed feeding and will soon pupate, emerging as moths in July. Expect defoliated trees to send out new leaves once the feeding stops.

Forest tent caterpillars are the "tent caterpillars" that don't make tent-like nests. They are active now, defoliating oaks throughout the state. They feed on other hardwoods including sugar maple. Like their relative, the eastern tent caterpillar, they don't cause irreparable harm to healthy trees.

Gypsy moth is also starting to feed. Because most of us remember the extreme defoliation this pest caused in the 1980s and 1990s, this caterpillar gets blamed for most of the work of the other two. Happily, a fungus introduced in the early part of the last century is preventing gypsy moth numbers from exploding. Though it is currently among us, it is unlikely the gypsy moth will defoliate as extensively as they did the past.

Populations of insects rise and fall with the controls in nature that keeps them in check. Insect parasites, predators, viruses, fungus, weather extremes, and even starvation when populations exceed the food supply, all help control them. There is little we can do to prevent them from attacking, though there are some effective treatments for specimen trees. For more information on appropriate treatments, call the toll-free Info Line at our Family, Home & Garden Education Center, 1-877-398-4769.

Trees have adapted to occasional defoliation and other stresses. No doubt, trees do better without being stripped of their leaves, but they are amazingly resilient and healthy trees recover as long as they aren't defoliated yearly.

By Karen Bennett, UNH Extension Forest Resources Specialist

Birch trees are a tremendous New England commodity. The wood is used for a variety of products, from furniture, flooring and fuel to kitchen utensils, toys and Popsicle sticks. The trees enhance the beauty of our landscape while providing food and shelter for wildlife. Yet birch trees offer another valuable resource that remains untapped here in the northeast-the sap.

Like sugar maples, the sap that flows up through birch trees in early spring is sweet and tasty. It also contains important vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Herbalists and Native American Indians have long known of its medicinal benefits but its place in the confectionery market is yet to be determined. Europeans are bottling birch sap, Alaskans are producing syrup from it, and a sole New Hampshire Master Gardener is making beer.

There are plenty of birches scattered throughout New England, so why aren't more enterprising yankees tapping birch trees? Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension forester agent Jon Nute told me he thinks it's tradition. Sugar maples are plentiful in what we call the sugar bush. We've established a nice niche in the maple industry. Marketing birch might be a tough sell. Perhaps all we need is a little education.

The production of birch syrup is an emerging cottage industry in Alaska. No sugar maple trees grow there but plenty of birches do, and the population is chock full of adventurers willing to try something new. Within the last decade, a handful of hearty souls have been developing a commercial operation that is causing other syrup producers to sit up and take notice. In recent years, they've been producing between a thousand and 1500 gallons of birch syrup annually and marketing it as a unique Alaskan delicacy.

Tapping birch trees is much like tapping maple, but the similarity between the two ends there. In spring, when the sap begins to flow, a hole is drilled into the tree and a spout, called a spile, is inserted to direct the sap into a bucket or through a plastic tube. (For what it's worth-early collectors of maple sap used buckets made from birch bark.) Here's the biggest reason New Englanders may be less than enthused about producing birch syrup: the actual sugar content of birch sap is about a third that of maple. To make one gallon of birch syrup you need u pwards of a hundred gallons of sap; maple syrup requires only forty.

Ninety-nine gallons of water is a formidable amount to extract to get a single gallon of birch syrup. Boiling works, but it takes a lot of time and fuel. Continued cooking of the sap also darkens the color. Dulce Ben-East, owner of Kahiltna Birchworks and one of the early Alaska birch sap entrepreneurs, told me reverse osmosis technology is most effective, but the equipment is expensive; another drawback for thrifty yankees.

The typical birch season doesn't run all that long, either. Those warm spring days we're looking forward to are a double-edged whammy for birch sap. It tends to spoil more quickly than maple so rising daytime temperatures may necessitate more frequent sap collection from buckets. Plus, as soon as those buds begin to break, the season is over. Birch sap then gets cloudy and the taste changes dramatically.

For all this trouble, you must be wondering, "Why bother?" The obvious answer would be taste. Ms. Ben-East describes birch syrup as having a completely different flavor from maple, one that's more complex and versatile. She says, "The flavor is deep and velvety, caramel-like; somewhat richer to me than maple and not quite as cloyingly sweet. Don't get me wrong--I love the flavor of maple syrup. However, I do not try to compare apples with oranges."

Curious New Englanders might choose the path New Hampshire Master Gardener Diana Proctor has taken, which requires far less sap and minimal effort. Diana has a keen interest in edible plants and medicinal herbs and takes advantage of any opportunity to learn more. One of the topics at an herb conference was on healing beers so she decided to give it a try with birch.

Using Stephen Harrod Buhner's book Sacred Herbal Healing Beers for her recipes, Diana tapped a couple of the birches on her property: one golden and one white. She gathered about two-and-a-half gallons of sap, which she boiled for an hour (for no other reason than to kill bacteria). Diana than added the appropriate amount of honey, allowed it to cool, added yeast and nutrients, and waited for it to ferment. Obviously, this is not the beverage you offer the kids. After a couple of weeks, Diana bottled her brew and waited a few more weeks. She reports the results were delicious, and got even better with age. This season, if she can get through the snow, Diana hopes to gather enough sap to make more beer and experiment with a batch of birch wine.

Tapping trees, whether birch or maple, does hurt the trees to some extent. Any opening in a tree, whether from your tap or a broken branch, offers an entry for insects and disease. The risk, however, seems not great. The maple industry certainly hasn't suffered any from this practice but, obviously, the jury's still out on birch. When the season is over, simply pull the taps and allow the trees to heal by themselves. Covering the wounds with "Band-Aids" of any type will do more harm than good. Although the trees will continue to ooze for a while, especially the birches, the trees are not stressed and will eventually stop.

Any variety of birch tree can be tapped for its sap, although golden and black have a more distinct "wintergreen" flavor. White paper birches are just as desirable as the others, and are certainly plentiful around New England. Using the maple rule-of-thumb, the trees should be at least ten inches in diameter and additional taps may be added for each five inches of girth, but you'll be hard-pressed to find many birches that size in our region.

For more information about birch trees and the birch syrup industry, tap the resources of the Internet. The web site of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension has some interesting articles and information on a fun program developed for schools called "Tapping into Spring." Kahiltna Birchworks will happily sell you their birch products, which include syrup as well as candy, but you'll also find the story of how their business is evolving. Diana Proctor has found plenty of wine recipes on the Internet but there's nothing like paging through resources from local wine- and beer-making supply outlets, bookstores and the library, especially while you're waiting for that sap to flow.

Call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center's Info-Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769 for "Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

Jackie Bower, Master Gardener University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County

What's the difference between dirt and soil? Old-timers were fond of saying "that's good black dirt." For them, it wasn't soil-it was dirt, with its full meaning of humus, mineral matter and decaying organic matter. It is the dirt of the old-timers that we call soil today, full of living things, decaying leaves, plant litter and even dead creatures. These are the things that change rock particles into that "good black dirt". Think of soil as a thin, living skin that covers the land, for soil is very much alive. To grow healthy, productive plants, you need healthy, productive soil. It is this living soil that provides the food plants need, when they need it and how they need it.

Have you ever planted seeds in soil and watched with amazement as tiny sprouts emerged and gradually grew into healthy, viable plants? Are you aware that in addition to water, which is very important, the type of soil that plants grow in and what actually goes on in that soil will determine how well plants grow?

When the old-timers referred to black dirt, in effect they were referring to the physical properties of the soil - it's color, texture, structure, drainage and depth. For it is these features that determine the suitability of soil for planting certain crops and its eventual productivity.

• Color - surface colors of soil vary from very light to shades of dark to black. Light colors indicate low organic matter content, while dark can indicate higher organic matter content.
  
  
• Texture - New Hampshire soils, fairly young as soils go, (10,000 years) contain sand, silt and clay and usually fall into the categories of loam, sandy loam and clay loam.
  
  
• Structure - soil structure relates closely to air and water movement within the soil. Good soil structure allows for movement of air and water more freely, while poor structure slows it down. Proper tillage or plowing and the addition of adequate organic matter can promote good soil structure.
  
  
• Drainage - is the amount and rate of water movement in the soil. Simply put, too much water and plants suffocate; too little water and plants will wither and die - in the end, the result is the same. Water moves fastest through sandy soils, silt holds more water and clay holds the most.
  
  
• Depth - soils that are deep (30-36 inches or more) and well drained, with desirable structure and texture, are best suited to good plant growth.

A second New Hampshire, white pine sawmill is closing its doors, leaving dozens of long-time employees searching for new jobs.

Timco of Center Barnstead follows Davidson Industries of Woodsville, another sawmill which made its own announcement it was shutting down in the coming weeks as well.

What is happening to New Hampshire's white pine sawmills? To answer that question, we must look back at how the industry developed and, in addition, we must look at the factors challenging all manufacturers throughout the United States.

In New Hampshire, white pine is king, or so the King thought. The industry developed prior to the American Revolution, when King James of England declared all white pine trees suitable for mast-making the property of England. The colonists revolted and in 1737 a "Mast Tree Riot" broke out in Fremont. Soon after, New Hampshire patriots joined the American Revolution.

White pine remains a serious timber species. White pine timbers frame many of the state's historic structures, white pine boxes moved products from fish to ammunition for World War II, and more recently, white pine enjoys national markets as flooring, paneling, door and window trim, furniture, and log cabin stock. White pine is indeed a versatile wood sought for its easy workability and warm patina.

With harvesting levels remaining below growth, white pine is positioned to provide a sustainable supply of timber for the regions' sawmills. White pine demand has increased dramatically in the last decade due to a soaring economy and a disruption of West Coast sources of ponderosa and sugar pine, a result of environmentalist pressure on federal land policy. White pine filled the gap and expanded markets dramatically to include new customers such as Midwest window manufacturers.

The species represents 66% of the state's sawmill production and is now shipped throughout the country. Due to the demand, New Hampshire's 10 largest, white pine sawmills increased production and invested in new technology to improve accuracy, utilization, and quality -- all things progressive companies do to remain competitive.

Despite all that, New Hampshire's sawmills, both hardwood and softwood, struggle to remain profitable. The high cost of logs due to intense competition is one factor. Competition comes from other mills in the region as well as from Quebec. The NH State Forester's office estimates 30% of wood harvested in New Hampshire is processed in Quebec.

In addition, like all manufacturers, high energy costs, labor rates, and soaring insurance premiums have contributed to a slim profit margin. If that isn't enough, wood from other countries is beginning to flood the markets. Countries such as New Zealand and Chile have huge plantations of radiata pine, a satisfactory substitute for white pine, which are mature and ready for harvest. Eastern Europe is shipping "Russian" pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Baltic birch plywood to the U.S. at competitive prices. The combined pressure of rising costs and low-priced imports have caused a few of the white pine sawmills to make the difficult decision to close.

Is this the end, will we no longer smell the comforting smell of freshly sawn white pine? Will the hardwood sawmills soon follow? Will New Hampshire's landowners lose all hopes of maintaining a working forest?

No, I don't believe so. New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the country, at 84% of the land cover. Many private landowners, who represent 80% of the forest land and the state and federal forests (20%), actively manage their forestland resulting in a flow of forest products to meet consumer needs across the country. Over one thousand loggers and truckers work across the landscape to deliver wood products to manufacturers.

Many private landowners generate needed income which helps to pay their taxes and to retain the forest as forest. This way they are not forced to sell their property to the highest bidder, which may lead to land development. As long as New Hampshire can maintain a substantial forestland base, the wood will grow and have the potential to support local manufacturing. Wood from other countries may be subject to international policies, transportation challenges, and fluctuation in currencies, thus leading to uncertainty.

New Hampshire's forests are an economic engine that drives tourism, as well as manufacturing. And, the forests contribute to clean air, water, wildlife diversity, recreation, and scenery. As long as we have our forests, a strong land and work ethic, and an industry focused on customer service and quality, the industry will survive.

Sarah Smith Associate Professor/ UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist, Forest Industries

July is Lakes Awareness Month. So designated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is part of the Year of Clean Water celebration in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

In accordance with this celebration, amateur water quality scientists in New Hampshire and across the continent will participate in the 10th annual Great North American Secchi Dip-in.

The "Dip-In" is an international effort in which volunteers produce a "snapshot" of the clarity of water in the United States and Canada. Sponsored by the North American Lake Management Society and EPA, the Dip-In is directed by Kent State University biologist, Dr. Robert Carlson.

From June 28 until July 13, it's expected that more than 2,500 volunteers from water monitoring programs will measure water clarity in their favorite lake, reservoir, river or estuary. Most will use an instrument called a "Secchi Disk," a flat, horizontal, black and white disk that is lowered from a rope into the water until it disappears. The disk itself is named after the Jesuit priest, Pietro Angelo Secchi, who used the disk more than 150 years ago in the Mediterranean Sea.

The depth the disk disappears from view is a measure of the transparency of the water. The water color and particles of silt or clay or small microscopic plants called algae affect the transparency, and therefore is a measure of some forms of pollution. Measuring water clarity over a season and from year to year allows for the tracking of water quality changes in the short and long-term.

The previous Dip-In's provided valuable information about water quality. The resulting summary maps made each year show considerable regional differences in transparency. Lakes in the northern parts of the United States and in Canada typically have the clearest conditions, while lakes in agricultural regions of the Midwest have some of the lowest water clarity. Transparencies found during the Dip-In range from one inch to more than 65 feet. In New Hampshire, lake water clarity measurements range from 16 inches to over 50 feet with an average of about 12.5 feet.

Analysis of the "Dip-In" questionnaires has found that opinions of water quality vary considerably from region to region. A person in Minnesota, New Hampshire or Canada, for example, may think a lake is degraded if the transparency is less than six feet while in other states, a lake with a transparency of only a foot may be considered beautiful.

Dr. Carlson suggests these regional differences mean people become accustomed to the quality they see every day. Most sobering may be the possibility everyone grows up thinking their environment is normal. Small changes in water quality may go unnoticed. Fortunately, there are volunteer monitors who record these changes in water quality year after year. Without their observations, our environment might change unnoticed.

New Hampshire is fortunate in that almost a thousand citizen monitors keep tabs on the water quality of its lakes and estuaries. The New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, under the coordination of UNH Cooperative Extension and the Center for Freshwater Biology, has been training and supporting volunteer monitors for over 25 years. The NH Dept. of Environmental Services has a similar program, the Volunteer Lake Assessment Program, that also supports volunteer monitoring throughout the state. The UNH Sea Grant/UNH Extension Great Bay Coast Watch has volunteers monitoring sites in Great Bay, harbors, and the tidal coastal rivers.

All these programs measure Secchi Disk transparency as well as other important water quality indicators. They allow agency scientists and University researchers to gain a better understanding of water quality trends throughout the state and to determine what activities and conditions lead to water quality changes. Measurements confirm that much of the variations are caused by polluted runoff created clearing of the land (removal of trees and native vegetation) and the increases in impervious areas like roads, driveways and rooftops.

Volunteer water quality monitoring data have proven to be instrumental in the protection and improvement of a number of lakes facing water quality degradation. Over the years this monitoring also has provided for the establishment of baseline conditions of our pristine lakes so we can insure that they remain that way.

Support your local volunteer monitoring program. To find our more about lake and stream volunteer monitoring call UNH Cooperative Extension at 603-862-3848 or NH DES at 603-271-2658. For information on the Great Bay Coast Watch call 603-749-1565. More information on the Great American Secchi Dip-In is available on the World Wide Web at: http://dipin.kent.edu/ .