Forest Health

Registration for the spring session of "The Woods in Your Backyard" online course is now open. Our Regular features include the Woodland Wildlife Spotlight, Invasives in Your Woodland, our events calendar, and the Brain Tickler challenge.

Eastern hemlock is a coniferous tree that favors the cool and humid climate along the Appalachian Mountains. Hemlocks can grow more than 150 feet tall and live for more than 800 years. Their short, dense needles provide excellent habitat for many kinds of wildlife, from warblers to bobcats. Unfortunately, healthy hemlocks are becoming increasingly rare due to the invasive insect called hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). New efforts by the Virginia Dept. of Forestry are combatting this invasive bug with another bug.

Registration is now open for the Spring 2022 session of “The Woods in Your Backyard” online course. Our course is designed primarily for small-acreage property owners who want to learn how to care for or expand existing woodlands, or to convert lawn space to woodlands.

Webinars on a variety of topics related to woodland health and wildlife in Maryland.

Entries in the Natural Area Management Services Directory are listed alphabetically.

Since its debut as a regular Branching Out feature in 2016, "Invasives in Your Woodland" has profiled a wide variety of invasive plant species that threated the health of Maryland's ecosystems.

In this issue, we look at bull thistle. It's a widespread invasive found throughout Maryland, where it has been declared a noxious weed.

In this issue, we look at plumeless thistle, also known as "spiny plumeless thistle." Its presence in Maryland might be more widespread than some reports suggest.

In this issue, we look at musk thistle, also known as "nodding thistle," one of four invasive thistles classified as a noxious weed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Each plant can spread over 100,000 seeds.

Learn to be a steward of the land this fall with the University of Maryland Extension General Forestry Course. This online course will be offered beginning Sept.1 through Dec. 15, 2022.