Forest Health

Paula Whyman ʼ87 and her husband bought 200 acres on a peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she undertook the daunting task of clearing invasive plants and encouraging native plant life on this long gone-to-seed cow pasture and orchard—an experiment she's written about in her new book, “Bad Naturalist: One Woman's Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop.”

In December 2024, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the creation of Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge. The first donation of 31 acres from The Nature Conservancy is one of several planned over the coming months of more than 300 acres. USFWS officials  will continue to work to secure voluntary conservation of up to 40,000 acres of important wildlife habitat within four watershed-based focus areas in Maryland.

AI advice for your woodlands is getting better, but be sure to be specific in your request so you receive information from local and trusted sources.

Publications to help you better manage your woodlands.

Regular readers of this feature will note that the vast majority of species highlighted here are not native to North America. This issue, however, looks at a Osage-orange, a species that is both native to North America and that has been introduced to new environments in such numbers that it is considered invasive in many areas.

In this issue: Read about the how new and old can make a positive mix, and the importance of conserving existing forest buffers. Our two popular online courses return for the fall. Our "Native Trees of Maryland" looks at the red maple, and "Invasives in Your Woodlands" looks at Japanese hop. And don't forget the events calendar and the Brain Tickler challenge.

Read some "parting thoughts" from Extension Forester Jonathan Kays prior to his retirement. Our regular features include the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight," "Invasives in Your Woodland," plus the events calendar, the Brain Tickler challenge, and the News and Notes section.

Canada Thistle is also known as creeping thistle, as well as green or perennial thistle, depending on the source. Others express their opinion about it by calling it hard thistle and cursed thistle. Canada thistle is an aggressive and colonial perennial, with both male and female plants. It is considered a noxious weed in Maryland and many other areas across the U.S.

Learn about the "blue paint law" that will make marking your woodland boundaries less time-consuming. There's news about two recent awards for the Woodland Stewardship Education program, and information about the native Southern Pine Beetle. Our regular features include the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight," "Invasives in Your Woodland," plus the events calendar, the Brain Tickler challenge, and the News and Notes section.

The Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB), native to eastern China and Korea, is a wood-boring pest which feeds on a number of hardwood trees, eventually killing them, impacting both urban trees and forested sites. Wildlife habitat will be impacted due to loss of forest shelter and food sources. Industries such as such as lumber, maple syrup, nursery, commercial fruit, and tourism will feel an economic impact.