#Michigan urban forestry

[michigantopnews]

DNR awards $106,000 in grants to Michigan urban communities for tree planting

Michigan’s push for greener communities takes root with over $106,000 in grants awarded to 28 organizations for tree-planting projects statewide. $106K Awarded to Enhance Michigan’s Urban Forest Artist Rendering The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in collaboration with the DTE Energy Foundation and ReLeaf Michigan, has announced over $106,000 in grants for tree-planting…

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #28

July 19-26 2024

The EPA announced the award of $4.3 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. The grants support community-driven solutions to fight climate change, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition. The grants will go to 25 projects across 30 states, and one tribal community. When combined the projects will reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of CO2, roughly the output of 5 million American homes over 25 years. Major projects include $396 million for Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection as it tries to curb greenhouse gas emissions from industrial production, and $500 million for transportation and freight decarbonization at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced a plan to phase out the federal government's use of single use plastics. The plan calls for the federal government to stop using single use plastics in food service operations, events, and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035. The US government is the single largest employer in the country and the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services. Its move away from plastics will redefine the global market.

The White House hosted a summit on super pollutants with the goals of better measuring them and dramatically reducing them. Roughly half of today's climate change is caused by so called super pollutants, methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Public-private partnerships between NOAA and United Airlines, The State Department and NASA, and the non-profit Carbon Mapper Coalition will all help collect important data on these pollutants. While private firms announced with the White House plans that by early next year will reduce overall U.S. industrial emissions of nitrous oxide by over 50% from 2020 numbers. The summit also highlighted the EPA's new rule to reduce methane from oil and gas by 80%.

The EPA announced $325 million in grants for climate justice. The Community Change Grants Program, powered by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act will ultimately bring $2 billion dollars to disadvantaged communities and help them combat climate change. Some of the projects funded in this first round of grant were: $20 million for Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association, which will help weatherize and energy efficiency upgrade homes for 35 tribes in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, $14 million to install onsite wastewater treatment systems throughout 17 Black Belt counties in Alabama, and $14 million to urban forestry, expanding tree canopy in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The Department of Interior approved 3 new solar projects on public land. The 3 projects, two in Nevada and one in Arizona, once finished could generate enough to power 2 million homes. This comes on top of DoI already having beaten its goal of 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects by the end of 2025, in April 2024. This is all part of President Biden’s goal of creating a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged $667 million to global Pandemic Fund. The fund set up in 2022 seeks to support Pandemic prevention, and readiness in low income nations who can't do it on their own. At the G20 meeting Yellen pushed other nations of the 20 largest economies to double their pledges to the $2 billion dollar fund. Yellen highlighted the importance of the fund by saying "President Biden and I believe that a fully-resourced Pandemic Fund will enable us to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics – protecting Americans and people around the world from the devastating human and economic costs of infectious disease threats,"

The Departments of the Interior and Commerce today announced a $240 million investment in tribal fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. This is in line with an Executive Order President Biden signed in 2023 during the White House Tribal Nations Summit to mpower Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. An initial $54 million for hatchery maintenance and modernization will be made available for 27 tribes in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The rest will be invested in longer term fishery projects in the coming years.

The IRS announced that thanks to funding from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, it'll be able to digitize much of its operations. This means tax payers will be able to retrieve all their tax related information from one source, including Wage & Income, Account, Record of Account, and Return transcripts, using on-line Individual Online Account.

The IRS also announced that New Jersey will be joining the direct file program in 2025. The direct file program ran as a pilot in 12 states in 2024, allowing tax-payers in those states to file simple tax returns using a free online filing tool directly with the IRS. In 2024 140,000 Americans were able to file this way, they collectively saved $5.6 million in tax preparation fees, claiming $90 million in returns. The average American spends $270 and 13 hours filing their taxes. More than a million people in New Jersey alone will qualify for direct file next year. Oregon opted to join last month. Republicans in Congress lead by Congressmen Adrian Smith of Nebraska and Chuck Edwards of North Carolina have put forward legislation to do away with direct file.

Bonus: American law enforcement arrested co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. El Mayo co-founded the cartel in the 1980s along side Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Since El Chapo's incarceration in the United States in 2019, El Mayo has been sole head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Authorities also arrested El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The Sinaloa Cartel has been a major player in the cross border drug trade, and has often used extreme violence to further their aims.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Sierra Club:

As it is for many teens, Megan Fletcher’s world was largely where her feet could carry her: around town, the local park, two miles down a trail to the reservoir. In 2018, with not much to do after junior year, Fletcher applied for the Plumas Conservation, Restoration, and Education in Watersheds youth corps (known as P-CREW). “That sounds fun. I get paid to go hang out in the woods all summer,” she recalled thinking. Without knowing it, she was part of a larger movement aimed at closing the outdoor workforce equity gap.

P-CREW was designed to bring together rural and urban teens—especially those who live within the northern Sierra watershed and its downstream recipient cities, like Berkeley and Oakland. “Without the P-CREW program, I definitely would not be in this career at all,” said Fletcher, now assistant coordinator for the program at the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment. 

Equity in the outdoors isn’t just about access—taking a classroom of city kids to the woods. Consider Fletcher, who grew up surrounded by woods but had never seriously considered a career stewarding nature. Any attempt to drive greater equity in outdoor careers must also focus on labor.

Most people working in natural resources look demographically the same: white, male, able-bodied. For instance, only about 13 percent of fire workers in the US Forest Service are female. A 2015 study found that in mainstream environmental organizations, only 14 percent of staff were ethnic minorities. This does not reflect America: According to recent census data, 50.4 percent of the population is female, and 42.2 percent is a racial or ethnic minority, or multiracial.

Studies regularly cite lack of exposure to nature as a key barrier to joining the natural resources workforce. But other obstacles also contribute. Nia Morales, a University of Florida conservation social scientist, highlighted two major deterrents: structural issues (like financial barriers) and social issues such as “feelings of isolation,” “lack of representation of people that look like them or have their same lived experiences in the field,” or “overt discrimination.”

Jasmine K. Brown, a doctoral researcher at Michigan State University, studies such barriers in the history of forestry. “Communities of color have not had access to the educational programs that are required within the forestry, natural resources, and conservation space. We were intentionally, systematically excluded from these fields, and in some ways, still are today,” she said.

To truly change our societal relationship with the earth, the next generation of environmental stewards must come from across society and not from a narrow demographic sliver. P-CREW and youth corps programs like it offer one model for mitigating the barriers—giving teenagers of many genders, races, socioeconomic situations, and backgrounds a fighting chance to pursue natural resources careers. 

[annhowell8877]

Saginaw, Michigan's Environmental Initiatives and Sustainability Efforts.

Saginaw, Michigan, has been actively engaged in several environmental initiatives and sustainability efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for its residents and promoting sustainable development. Here are some key areas of focus and notable projects of Saginaw, Michigan:

1. **Water Quality and Management**-

**Saginaw Bay Watershed:** The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) focuses on improving water quality, managing stormwater, and enhancing habitats in the Saginaw Bay watershed. Projects include wetland restoration, green infrastructure installations, and educational outreach.-

**Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control:** The city has implemented CSO control measures to reduce the discharge of untreated sewage into the Saginaw River and its tributaries during heavy rainfall, thus improving water quality.

2. **Brownfield Redevelopment**-

**Brownfield Redevelopment Authority:** Saginaw has been transforming contaminated and underutilized properties into productive use through its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. This includes the cleanup and redevelopment of industrial sites, which helps reduce urban sprawl and protect green spaces.

3. **Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency**-

**Renewable Energy Projects:** There have been efforts to promote renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy installations, to reduce the city's carbon footprint.-

**Energy Efficiency Programs:** Saginaw has encouraged energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings through various incentive programs and educational initiatives.

4. **Green Infrastructure and Urban Forestry**-

**Green Streets and Alleys:** Implementing green infrastructure projects such as permeable pavements, rain gardens, and green roofs helps manage stormwater runoff, reduce flooding, and improve water quality.-

**Tree Planting Programs:** The city has invested in urban forestry programs, including planting trees in parks, streets, and public spaces to improve air quality, provide shade, and enhance the urban environment.

5. **Community Engagement and Education**-

**Environmental Education Programs:** Various local organizations and schools are involved in environmental education, teaching students and community members about sustainability practices and the importance of protecting natural resources.-

**Community Clean-Up Events:** Regular clean-up events and environmental awareness campaigns are organized to encourage community participation in maintaining a clean and healthy environment.

6. **Sustainable Transportation**- **Bike Lanes and Trails:** Saginaw has been expanding its network of bike lanes and trails to promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation. This also includes efforts to improve pedestrian infrastructure.-

**Public Transit Improvements:** Enhancing public transportation services to reduce reliance on personal vehicles, thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.

7. **Waste Reduction and Recycling**-

**Recycling Programs:** The city has implemented curbside recycling programs and hosts events for the collection of hazardous household waste, electronics, and other recyclable materials.-

**Composting Initiatives:** Promoting composting to reduce organic waste sent to landfills and encouraging residents to compost at home.These initiatives are part of Saginaw’s broader commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, aiming to create a healthier, more resilient community for current and future generations.

[cleanwaterchronicles]

DNR announces grants for 18 urban and community forestry projects across the state

Eighteen tree-related projects around the state will share nearly $400,000 in grants administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and funded through two federal programs.

The projects range from tree planting in communities such as Canton Township and Grand Ledge to tree removal, planting and education in Iron Mountain.

The grants are funded through the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry program and the Inflation Reduction Act. They provide urban forestry and arboriculture assistance for activities such as citizen outreach and engagement, planning, management, training, and tree planting and maintenance. The program is aligned with the federal Justice40 Initiative and is designed to ensure equitable and resilient urban forests throughout the state.

This initial round of grants represents a limited allocation of funding. More grant offerings are planned during 2024.

Some southeast Michigan grant recipients include Canton, Redford Twp., Eastpointe, Beverly Hills, and Detroit.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Forest Service received a historic $1.5 billion to its Urban and Community Forestry program to support tree-planting, urban forest planning and management, and related activities, particularly in disadvantaged communities. To date, the agency has invested over $1.3 billion in grant projects from entities that are working to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces and the many benefits they provide. For more information, visit the U.S. Forest Service UCF Inflation Reduction Act website.

The Michigan DNR Urban and Community Forestry Program is a  federally funded program providing  technical, educational and financial (grant) assistance to communities, nonprofits, educational institutions and tribes to build capacity for managing trees and forests in urban and community areas throughout the state.

Source: DNR Newsroom

[six-improbable-things]

Okay, but like, this is a thing?????? A LOT of places want volunteers for exactly the kinds of things described!!! For example, near my university there's a place that's doing a study on turtle populations and so a few weeks each year, they need people to go out in the marsh and check the turtle traps a few times a day. My friend got to hold a very angry Blanding's turtle last week.

And something like plant counts could also be done by volunteers, provided that they train you in plant ID or the ID is fairly simple. Citizen science is a big thing, and there's a LOT of fascinating studies and organizations that rely on it.

Please, if this post resonated with you, go look up your local nature centers and protected natural areas and see if they have any citizen science projects or need volunteers for onsite projects.

If you don't have a convenient such organization close by, there's also plenty of projects at the national or state level where they want people to report sightings or numbers of X species. Do some googling!!! Check out the websites of your closest major university, especially if they have a Forestry and Wildlife program or something similar. If you live in the US, check out the Department of Natural Resources website for your state, because they always have citizen science projects going on. (iirc, the Michigan DNR has a whole page dedicated to citizen science projects.)

And the best part is, you can do it on your terms, on your time. And also it gives you an excuse to get out in nature and really pay attention to it.

Also, you can participate even if you live in a well-developed or urban area!! Lots of cool studies being done right now about urban ecosystems and urban ecology. It's a whole field and it's fascinating!

I need you all to know that you can do this stuff. I had a whole list of links from my Conservation Biology professor from last spring, but I am apparently a FOOL and did not save them.

(only semi-related, but if you enjoy keeping track of the creatures and animals you see in your local area, check out iNaturalist, because as my professor said "It's basically Pokemon for nature-lovers.")

Maybe @great-and-small knows of some links to specific projects or organizations that I haven't mentioned? (Sorry for the tag, but I know you've posted about this kind of thing in the past.)

[fatehbaz]

Remember when Michigan governor Rick Snyder, a venture capitalist and businessmen, started disbanding and dismissing public and elected city councils and mayors, and instead installed authoritarian “Emergency Managers” with incredible power and without public oversight, and which ruled cities like fiefdoms? Remember how Governor Snyder is married to the chief spokesperson for Nestle Michigan, a corporation which was granted unprecedented rights to extracting water, while tainted water supplies poisoned thousands of people, causing thousands of home foreclosures and death? Remember how over 100 towns and cities across Michigan are home to thousands of “reserve officers” who are “volunteers” for police departments, and they carry guns, wear badges and uniforms, have little or no training, have no formal regulation, patrol streets, and are allowed to confront random citizens? Remember when the Detroit Free Press, in 2018, found that white supremacists work as largely unsupervised reserve officers? I wonder why a state famous for “race riots” and racially segregated city design would allow armed, unregulated, off-the-books police forces? Notice how Michigan hosts regional cultures both rural (farming/crops in southern Michigan; forestry/shipping in northern Michigan) and urban (Detroit; Grand Rapids; Lansing), which is sort of like a representative microcosm of the wider US population as a whole? Is it peculiar that a state once home to so many strong industrial labor unions and large non-white communities somehow succumbed to this?

Am I saying that corporate interests observed the impending industrial and automotive decline of the late 1960s and early 1970s; anticipated that Rust Belt cities were on the verge of becoming much more vulnerable and malleable; worked in tandem with Nixon-esque and Reagan-esque politicians; and saw this as an opportunity to turn Michigan into a laboratory to experiment with whether or not corporations could use diverse tactics to wrest control of a highly populated and relatively progressive state full of black communities and timber and automotive labor unions, setting a precedent for how they could eventually apply of this kind of corporate-aligned authoritarianism across the rest of the US once economic decline inevitably spread to other states? Maybe. Who knows?

[eclecticenvironment]

Hiya! My name is E Schwartz and I’m the one running this blog! This summer, I am participating in the Urban Water Innovation Network’s Undergraduate Research Program (UWIN-URP).

1.    What university do you attend and what is your major? Do you have any minors, concentrations, and/or clubs affiliated?

I attend the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse, New York. I’m earning my bachelor’s in Environmental Resources Engineering, with two corresponding minors in Mathematics and Water Resources. I am also the President of SUNY ESF’s Chapter of Engineers Without Borders, the Vice President of the Environmental Resources Engineering Club, and the Community Outreach Chair for the Student Environmental Education Coalition.

2.    Who are you project mentors and what are their affiliated universities?

My project mentors are Dr. Shirley Papuga and Dr. Kyotaek Hwang. Both are affiliated with Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

3.    What are you currently researching? How does it relate to ecology, hydrology, and/or environmental justice?

This summer, I will be researching the connections between green infrastructure, urban water flow, and carbon dioxide concentrations. My project mainly focuses on using eddy covariance towers and image analysis to track the greenness of urban canopies. However, the whole lab’s study will illustrate whether or not green infrastructure has an impact on improving air quality and reducing environmental injustices. This research topic greatly shows the impact that cities have on climate change, resource sustainability, and socioeconomic status.  

4.    What has been your favorite piece of literature that you’ve reviewed for your research?

My favorite piece of literature that I’ve reviewed so far is entitled ‘Global Change and the Ecology of Cities,’ written by Nancy B. Grimm and others. This source did a phenomenal job of addressing the connections between environmental justice and ecohydrology, which allowed for me to further understand the severity of environmental racism. 

5.    What has been your favorite part of the UWIN-URP program to date?

The best part of the UWIN-URP program has been getting to know my fellow undergraduates within the program. Everyone is incredibly sincere and compassionate towards the environment – I truly feel like I’ve joined a phenomenal community.  

6.    What is the value you see in undergraduate research? What is one thing you would recommend to somebody starting research for the first time that you wish you had known?

One of the things I’ve loved about my undergraduate research opportunity is the amount of career options that have opened up for me. Prior to this summer, I had never considered graduate school or long-term research. Now, I’ve really enjoyed it and am looking into graduate schools! If you’re starting research for the first time, keep your mind and options open. Research is significantly more transdisciplinary that I had ever conceived, which allows me to pursue all of my interests in one context.

7.    What type of career are you hoping for after you graduate?

I’m still not quite sure, to be honest! I’ve considered enrolling with the Peace Corps because I’m quite passionate about humanitarian engineering. I’m also considering pursing a master’s and doctorate related to ecohydrology and ecological conservation, with the intentions of continuing research. There’s also the possibility of me going to law school, as I’ve always had an interest in the environmental legal system.

8.    What do you like to do for fun apart from your research?

When I’m not conducting my research, I love to listen to vinyl records or make Spotify playlists. I grew up playing four brass instruments and I still play two of them today – French horn and mellophone for Syracuse University’s Wind Ensemble and Marching Band, respectively. I also love watching adult animation and playing Dungeons and Dragons on rainy days, while hiking and petting dogs on sunny ones!

[wbenvs3000]

Emerald Ash Borer: The Invasive Pest

Image displaying EAB larva tunneling in a ash tree, EAB tunnels “S-shaped galleries”, and adult EABs. Source: Nebraska Department of Agriculture n.d.

You’re in the middle of the forest on a warm sunny day and you stumble upon this beautiful emerald-green beetle on a nearby tree. The sheer beauty of this insect catches your attention leading you to take a close-up photo. This seems like a normal day in the forest, right? Well, what if I told you there is more to this picture than you can actually see? Did you know the beetle I’m describing is an invasive species causing significant damage? Did you know that society is the reason that this invasive species was introduced to North America? The forest may look untouched by society, but the reality is society can indirectly touch and impact the forest as a result of [our] behaviours.

Ash tree showing s-shaped galleries from EAB larvae infestations. Photo taken on July 7, 2020 at Rock Point Provincial Park in Dunnville, Ontario. Source: Personal photo.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive insect pest that was accidently introduced to North America from Asia. Throughout post-secondary, I have focused my studies on invasive species and forest health. I find this to be an interesting aspect of nature because those not aware of the EAB believe everything is normal/fine, when in reality it’s far from that! The EAB impacts ash trees and the first stages of its lifecycle takes place within the tree. At first the forest can look normal but in the matter of a few years, the EAB has the capability of killing an ash tree due to its aggressive lifecycle (Haack et al., 2002).

Ash tree displaying full canopy loss. Photo was taken on July 7, 2020 at Rock Point Provincial Park in Dunnville, Ontario. Source: Personal photo.

Eggs are laid in cracks of ash trees by adult females. The eggs hatch into larvae which then burrow into the tree and begin feeding on the inner tree. This burrowing causes s-shaped galleries inside the tree (in the sapwood) which cuts off nutrient flow within the tree (Bauer et al. 2016). They overwinter as larvae; the following year the larvae begin to pupate into adults. Once ready, the adults begin to chew their way out of the tree through D-shaped exit holes (Bauer et al., 2016). Once the EABs emerge from the tree they begin to mate three weeks later and the average female can lay up to 150 eggs in their lifetime (Bauer et al., 2016)!

Close-up of d-shaped exit holes in bark caused by the EAB. Photo was taken on July 7, 2020 at Rock Point Provincial Park in Dunnville, Ontario. Source: Personal photo.

During my studies I have learned that some ash trees have resistance to the EAB. While some trees are killed by this pest, there are some ash trees that are able to tolerate an EAB infestation and continue to live! I find this interesting because when I was first learning about the EAB there was no mention of ash trees having resistance/tolerance to the pest! But after studying the EAB for the last 7 years I have learned that blue ash is more resistant to EAB infestations while other ash (green and black ash) are more vulnerable (Anulewicz et al., 2007; Tanis & McCullough 2015).

Ash tree showing s-shaped galleries from EAB larvae infestations. Photo taken on March 19, 2021 in Mississauga, Ontario. Source: Personal photo.

Since the EAB is in my area, I used this as a teaching opportunity to educate my sister on this invasive species! This is one of my favourite aspects of interpretation; helping others learn more about nature! Interpreters have the ability to help others learn more about the natural features in a given area (Beck et al., 2018). Interpretation in my opinion builds a strong relationship between the environment and the learner (Beck et al., 2018). I love that I was able to educate my sister about the EAB, she said she felt more emotionally connected to the area; a good example as to how interpretation has helped to strengthen her emotional relationship with the environment!

References

Anulewicz, A. C., McCullough, D. G., & Cappaert, D. L. (2007). Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) density and canopy dieback in three North American ash species. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry, 33(5), 338-349).

Bauer, L. S., Poland, T. M., Miller, D. L., & Windell, K. N. (2016). Biology and Life Cycle of Emerald Ash Borer. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/eab/biology_ecology/planipennis/

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world. Urbana, Illinois; Sagamore-Venture Publishing.

Haack, R. A., Jendek, E., Liu, H., Marchant, K. R., Petrice, T. R., Poland, T. M., & Ye, H. (2002). The emerald ash borer: A new exotic pest in North America. Newsletter of the Michigan Entomological Society, 47(3-4), 1-5.

Nebraska department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Emerald Ash Borer. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://nda.nebraska.gov/plant/entomology/eab/

Tanis, S. R., & McCullough, D. G. (2015). Host resistance of five Fraxinus species to Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and effects of paclobutrazol and fertilization. Environmental Entomology, 44(2), 287-299

[amercuryinleo]

Hemp Will Save Our Planet

Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to tackle the climate crisis. So states a July 4 article in The Guardian, citing a new analysis published in the journal Science. The author explains:

As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. New research estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped into the atmosphere by human activities, a figure the scientists describe as “mind-blowing”.

For skeptics who reject the global warming thesis, reforestation also addresses the critical problems of mass species extinction and environmental pollution, which are well documented. A 2012 study from the University of Michigan found that loss of biodiversity impacts ecosystems as much as climate change and pollution. Forests shelter plant and animal life in their diverse forms, and trees remove air pollution by the interception of particulate matter on plant surfaces and the absorption of gaseous pollutants through the leaves.

The July analytical review in Science calculated how many additional trees could be planted globally without encroaching on crop land or urban areas. It found that there are 1.7 billion hectares (4.2 billion acres) of treeless land on which 1.2 trillion native tree saplings would naturally grow. Using the most efficient methods, 1 trillion trees could be restored for as little as $300 billion — less than 2 percent of the lower range of estimates for the Green New Deal introduced by progressive Democrats in February 2019.

The Guardian quoted Prof. Tom Crowther at the Swiss university ETH Zürich, who said, “What blows my mind is the scale. I thought restoration would be in the top 10, but it is overwhelmingly more powerful than all of the other climate change solutions proposed.” He said it was also by far the cheapest solution that has ever been proposed. The chief drawback of reforestation as a solution to the climate crisis, per The Guardian, is that trees grow slowly. The projected restoration could take 50 to 100 years to reach its full carbon sequestering potential.

A Faster, More Efficient Solution

Fortunately, as of December 2018 there is now a cheaper, faster and more efficient alternative — one that was suppressed for nearly a century but was legalized on a national scale when President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. This is the widespread cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-intoxicating form of cannabis grown for fiber, cloth, oil, food and other purposes. Hemp grows to 13 feet in 100 days, making it one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available. Industrial hemp has been proven to absorb more CO2 per hectare than any forest or commercial crop, making it the ideal carbon sink. It can be grown on a wide scale on nutrient poor soils with very small amounts of water and no fertilizers.

Hemp products can promote biodiversity and reverse environmental pollution by replacing petrochemical-based plastics, which are now being dumped into the ocean at the rate of one garbage truck per minute. One million seabirds die each year from ingesting plastic, and up to 90 percent have plastic in their guts. Microplastic (resulting from the breakdown of larger pieces by sunlight and waves) and microbeads (used in body washes and facial cleansers) have been called the ocean’s smog. They absorb toxins in the water, enter the food chain, and ultimately wind up in humans. To avoid all that, we can use plastic made from hemp, which is biodegradable and non-toxic.

Other environmental toxins come from the textile industry, which is second only to agriculture in the amount of pollution it creates and the voluminous amounts of water it uses. Hemp can be grown with minimal water, and hemp fabrics can be made without the use of toxic chemicals.

Environmental pollution from the burning of fossil fuels can also be reversed with hemp, which is more efficient and environmentally friendly even than wheat and corn as a clean-burning biofuel.

Hemp cultivation also encourages biodiversity in the soil, by regenerating farmland that has long been depleted from the use of toxic chemicals. It is a “weed” and grows like one, ubiquitously, beating out other plants without pesticides or herbicides; and its long tap root holds the soil, channeling moisture deeper into it. Unlike most forestry projects, hemp can be grown on existing agricultural land and included as part of a farm’s crop rotation, with positive effects on the yields and the profits from subsequent crops.

A Self-funding Solution

Hemp cultivation is profitable in many other ways — so profitable that it is effectively a self-funding solution to the environmental crisis. According to an April 2019 article in Forbes titled “Industrial Hemp Is the Answer to Petrochemical Dependency,” crop yields from hemp can range from $20,000 to $50,000 per acre. Its widespread cultivation can happen without government subsidies. Investment in research, development and incentives would speed the process, but market forces will propel these transformations even if Congress fails to act. All farmers need for incentive is a market for the products, which hemp legalization has provided. Due to the crop’s century-long suppression, the infrastructure to capitalize on its diverse uses still needs to be developed, but the infrastructure should come with the newly opened markets.

Hemp can break our dependency on petrochemicals not only for fuel but for plastics, textiles, construction materials and much more. It has actually been grown for industrial and medicinal purposes for millennia, and today it is legally grown for industrial use in hundreds of countries outside the US. Before the US ban, a 1938 article in Popular Mechanics claimed it was a billion-dollar crop (the equivalent of about $16 billion today), useful in 25,000 products ranging from dynamite to cellophane. New uses continue to be found, including eliminating smog from fuels, creating a cleaner energy source that can replace nuclear power, removing radioactive water from the soil, and providing a very nutritious food source for humans and animals. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive derivative of hemp, has recently been shown to help curb opioid addiction, now a national epidemic.

Hemp can also help save our shrinking forests by eliminating the need to clear-cut them for paper pulp. According to the USDA, one acre planted in hemp produces as much pulp is 4.1 acres of trees; and unlike trees, hemp can be harvested two or three times a year. Hemp paper is also finer, stronger and lasts longer than wood-based paper. Benjamin Franklin’s paper mill used hemp. Until 1883, it was one of the largest agricultural crops (some say the largest), and 80 to 90% of all paper in the world was made from it. It was also the material from which most fabric, soap, fuel and fiber were made; and it was an essential resource for any country with a shipping industry, since sails were made from it. In early America, growing hemp was considered so important that it was illegal for farmers not to grow it. Hemp was legal tender from 1631 until the early 1800s, and taxes could even be paid with it.

Banned by the Competition?

The competitive threat to other industries of this supremely useful plant may have been a chief driver of its apparently groundless criminalization in the 1930s. Hemp is not marijuana and is so low in psychoactive components that it cannot produce a marijuana “high.” It was banned for nearly a century simply because it was in the same plant species as marijuana. Cannabis came under attack in the 1930s in all its forms. Why? Hemp competed not only with the lumber industry but with the oil industry, the cotton industry, the petrochemical industry and the pharmaceutical industry. Many have speculated that it was suppressed by these powerful competitors.

William Randolf Hearst, the newspaper mogul, owned vast tracts of forest land, which he intended to use for making wood-pulp paper. Cheap hemp-based paper would make his forest investments a major money loser. Hearst was a master of “yellow journalism,” and a favorite target of his editorials was “reefer madness.” He was allied with the DuPont Corporation, which provided the chemicals to bleach and process the wood pulp used in the paper-making process. DuPont was also ready to introduce petroleum-based fibers such as nylon, and hemp fabrics competed with that new market.

In fact hemp products threatened the whole petroleum industry. Henry Ford first designed his cars to run on alcohol from biofuels, but the criminalization of both alcohol and hemp forced him to switch to the dirtier, less efficient fossil fuels that dominate the industry today. A biofuel-based infrastructure would create a completely decentralized power grid, eliminating the giant monopolistic power companies. Communities could provide their own energy using easily renewable plants.

None of this is new news. Hemp historians have been writing about hemp’s myriad uses and its senseless prohibition for decades. (See e.g. The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer, 1992; Hemp for Victory: A Global Warming Solution by Richard Davis, 2009.) What is news is that hemp cultivation is finally legal across the country. The time is short to save the planet and its vanishing diversity of species. Rather than engaging in endless debates over carbon taxes and Silicon Valley-style technological fixes, we need to be regenerating our soils, our forests and our oceans with nature’s own plant solutions.

[johnfrenchlandscapes]

How Your Landscaping Affects Your Overall Outlook on Life

Written by Admin and published on https://www.loveyourlandscape.org/.

It’s a little bit amusing the sheer number of people who forget that landscaping is important all the time; not just when you decide you want to list your house for sale. The art of landscaping is a precious one. Not only does lovely landscaping improve the overall appearance of your home, but it also helps to increase the value of your home, but we all know these things. Everyone talks about curb appeal and the added value careful landscaping adds to a home, but no one ever discusses the more intricate reasons to hire a great landscape design firm. Well, we’re going to tell you that there are reasons far outside the box that require great landscaping, and they have everything to do with how you feel as a person. Pretty in-depth and deep, right? We aren’t doctors or psychiatrists, by any means, but we firmly believe that the way your yard looks reflects how you feel about your home on the inside, and how you feel in general. Read on to find out a few of the biggest reasons we think that your yard deserves a bit more of your time and attention.

The Benefits of Landscapes

Lush green grass tickles our toes … flowers treat our eyes to bold, vibrant colors … and fragrant shrubs delight us with their sweet perfumes. It’s easy to appreciate the sights and smells afforded by lawns and landscapes, but did you know their real value is much more substantial than pleasing aesthetics and aromas? That’s right, well-managed landscapes offer tremendous benefits for people and for the environment. Let’s explore some of the little understood, but vitally significant, benefits of landscapes.

Environmental Benefits of Managed Landscapes

Natural Coolants – Grass is much cooler than asphalt or cement. It acts as an “air conditioner” for the surrounding area. In fact, lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare soil. But wait, there’s more. Trees shading homes can reduce attic temperatures by as much as 40 degrees.

Environmental Cleaners – Grass plays a vital role in capturing dust, smoke particles and other pollutants, and it produces oxygen.

Water Protectors – Healthy lawns absorb unhealthy runoff that might otherwise filter into bodies of water

Air Cleaners – Grasses absorb carbon dioxide and break it down into oxygen and carbon. In fact, a 50’x50’ lawn produces enough oxygen for a family of four.

Noise Minimizers – Lawns and plants dramatically reduce noise pollution; they can reduce noise levels by 20 percent to 30 percent over hard surfaces like concrete and pavement.

Turfgrass slows down and absorbs runoff into bodies of water.

Even in areas that have water restrictions and are experiencing drought, it is important that lawns and landscapes remain a viable component of healthy communities. There are a number of sustainable practices that will allow managed lawns and landscapes to reduce water usage but still provide important environmental benefits.

Benefits of Urban Landscapes

A growing body of research is demonstrating how important it is to incorporate tree canopies and parks into cities and towns. They provide a wide range of lifestyle benefits that improve the quality of life for residents.

Parks and tree canopies help reduce noise.

A recent study by the U.S. Forest Service found that neighborhoods with tree-lined streets and larger yard trees have reduced crime rates.

Studies show that just looking at plants and trees, even through a window, can reduce stress and lower blood pressure (Housley and Wolf).

Walking in a natural environment with plants and trees, even when located in the middle of a city, has been shown to improve attention and memory, according to a study by Marc Berman of the University of Michigan.

Neighborhoods that incorporate community green spaces have lower incidences of stress, have lower health care costs, and have an improved quality of life (Housley and Wolf).

Benefits of Commercial Landscapes

Businesses are more successful when they provide clients with landscaped areas around buildings and plants inside buildings.

A study found seven percent higher rental rates for commercial offices having high-quality landscapes*.

Shoppers claim they will spend nine to 12 percent more for goods and services in central business districts that have high-quality tree canopies.*

Shoppers indicate they will travel a greater distance and a longer time to visit a district with a high-quality tree canopy and spend more time there once they arrive.*

Companies that provide their employees with interactions with nature also benefit. Research conducted by Rachael Kaplan, Ph.D., showed that workers who could view nature from their desks had a much better job and life satisfaction and better health.

*The University of Washington’s Urban Forestry/Urban Greening Research 

Physical and Psychological Benefits

The benefits of human interaction with plants, trees, and grass are also well studied and documented. Research has found that people find stress relief and healing when interacting with nature or even viewing it through a window. Children with ADHD seem to focus better after being outdoors (Harvard Health Publications). Workers are more productive as well when working in environments with plants, and cognitive function is improved.

But, perhaps more important than what science tells us, is what people instinctively feel about the plants and green spaces in their lives–that the connection makes their lives better, and they want to make an effort to incorporate it into their lives.

Research from the Husqvarna Global Garden Report 2012 showed that “63% of respondents reported being willing to pay more for an apartment or house if it was located in an area with good green spaces, compared with, for instance, 34% willing to pay more for an area with good shopping and 33% for good cultural venues.”

Resources

There are many organizations researching and documenting the effect of plants and green spaces on the environment and on our lives including:

The University of Washington, Center for Urban Forestry

Nature Sacred

Project Evergreen

Green Plants for Green Buildings

American Society of Landscape Architects

The Lawn Institute

Nebraska Agricultural Extension Station Research Bulletin

Department of Interior

National Park Service

Original post here https://www.loveyourlandscape.org/benefits/the-benefits-of-landscapes/.

The post How Your Landscaping Affects Your Overall Outlook on Life appeared first on John French Landscapes.

John French Landscapes

[debull1-blog]

Blog Reflection 3

Since the 1950’s, the population of Detroit, Michigan has lost 60% of its population through a series of misfortunate contributors. As a consequence of this, parts of the once great city are now compared to empty farmland with roughly 70,000 abandoned buildings, 31,000 empty houses, and 90,000 vacant lots being the majority rather than functional buildings. Although the city of Detroit has had this sharp economic and demographic decline over the past 70 years, the remaining city-scape and urban/suburban abandonment around the city brings along huge potential for Detroit to take the abandoned land and rehabilitate it into a modern city of the future along with the opportunity to build larger public areas for when the population of people in the city begins to recover.

With so many abandoned lots, empty houses, and abandoned buildings, land in Detroit runs cheap. This poses a future economic opportunity for business start ups and people with large goals to gain momentum in a manufacturing city that is being viewed upon as starting over. As for the city itself, the opportunities are endless as well; large parks that show Detroit’s natural landscape, nature walks that stretch for miles through a slowly developing city district, and waterways of and around the Detroit River could be decontaminated considering all the oil spills that kill thousands of migrating birds each spring. If the city focuses on embracing diverse business startups and tries to clean itself up while it is down, then the city will be able to recover over time.

On the Detroit Future City Website, my favorite idea I could come up with was to find “mixed green” lots (lots with grass, saplings, adult trees and dirt mounds) that were in a row, and make a nature walk like mentioned earlier. This could connect multiple streets if it ran perpendicular to the roads and would give people a sense of community if they decided to move back. This idea could also be done much like a larger version of Knoxville’s market square, where it could create a whole new district from what would have been forestry-grasslands 20 years before.

[sciencespies]

If We Connect Fragmented Habitat, New Species Will Come, Study Shows

https://sciencespies.com/news/if-we-connect-fragmented-habitat-new-species-will-come-study-shows/

If We Connect Fragmented Habitat, New Species Will Come, Study Shows

One of the major problems facing native habitats is fragmentation. As human impact creeps further and further into woods, grasslands and savannas, barriers like roads, agriculture lands and urban development are slicing and dicing natural spaces into smaller and smaller parcels. For decades, researchers have argued that connecting up these conservation areas could help improve species diversity and keep the ecosystems healthier.

Now, an 18-year-long published in the journal Science is one of the first long-term experiments to confirm that hypothesis, showing that relatively small habitat corridors can have big impacts on conservation parcels.

The paper is based on a highly fragmented habitat found in the American South, the longleaf pine savanna. According to a press release, 90 million acres of these ecosystems once stretched from Florida to Texas and north to Virginia. The forests were park-like, with carpets of wildflowers stretching beneath them. Annual burns was a normal part of the ecosystem’s maintenance with flames rising up the tree trunks just high enough to give lush vegetation below room to grow when the blaze went out, explains Ben Guarino at the Washington Post.

The forests logged and replanted with other pine species for timber plantations. Fires were snuffed to keep the forestry industry going, which caused the remaining pines to grow too closely together. This created packed forests where a foot or more of plant-smothering pine needles accrues on the forest floor, leading to a devastating loss of understory biodiversity.

Today, only about 3 percent of intact longleaf savanna remains.

For the study, the team studied longleaf pine savanna surrounding the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, where the agency produces tritium gas for nuclear weapons. In 10 locations, the team restored 2.5-acre blocks of cleared savanna. Some were connected with 80- by 500-foot corridors of restored habitat. Other blocks were left isolated. Over the last 18 years, they’ve compared what’s going on in the connected habitat with the isolated patches.

They discovered that annually, there was a 5 percent increase in species diversity and a 2 percent drop in the number of species going extinct. While that might not seem like much, that biodiversity builds over time. By the end of the study period, an average of 24 more plant species were growing in connected habitats than isolated savanna.

“Like compound interest in a bank, the number of species increases at a constant rate each year, resulting in a much larger bottom line over time in habitats that are connected by a corridor than those that are not,” lead author Ellen Damschen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says in the press release.

Even after 18 years, that annual rate of species increase has not slowed. As far as conservation studies go, this one is unique for its longevity. Most research projects last just one to five years. Sharon Collinge, landscape ecologists at the University of Colorado, Boulder, not involved in the study, tells Guarino that this study confirms many assumptions about connected corridors.

“This is really the first to demonstrate this so clearly [that corridors work] for an experiment at this spatial scale and this temporal scale,” she says.

The study will likely be ammunition in a controversy currently happening in conservation biology. Last year, researchers presented a paper suggesting that fragmentation didn’t matter to species diversity too much; instead, they said the amount of overall habitat, fragmented or not, was what determined species survival. Nick Haddad of Michigan State University, one of the authors of the new Science paper, has argued against that interpretation. This latest study seems to support the idea that connectivity boosts diversity and species survival, and should be part of conservation strategy.

“We need conservation solutions that can protect existing species and restore lost habitat,” he says in press release. “When I created these experimental corridors as a graduate student 25 years ago, I never imagined that the effects of corridors on biodiversity would be so strong. It was inconceivable that the full effects would take two decades or more to be fully realized. I was and am astonished.”

While the study only focused on one habitat type, longleaf pine savannas, Haddad tells Guarino that he believes the results likely apply to many other habitats. “I think our results are general across systems,” he says, pointing out that the study created a model for situations where “suitable native habitat is surrounded by unsuitable non-native habitat.”

The finding comes at just the right time. Earlier this year, the United Nations declared the next ten years as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, with the goal of restoring 865 million acres of degraded land. It’s hoped that the restorations will combat climate change and help boost biodiversity across the globe. Connecting fragmented habitat will be a big part of those efforts.

“It’s a race against time when it comes to restoring plant biodiversity, especially in the face of accelerating climate change and landscape fragmentation,” Brian van Eerden, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Pinelands Program, says in the press release. “We need the best available science from long-term, large-scale studies like this to inform how to connect and manage our conserved lands to ensure the native species have the best chances to survive and thrive.”

#News

[clashofthekhaleesi]

If you’re anything like me, you think about trees even when you’re not at work. For many of us, the story is the same. You start being an arborist as a job but it quickly grows to a hobby, then a passion, now some may even call it an obsession. Our job revolves around trees- their present problems, their history, their predicted future. It’s pretty easy to incorporate your passion for trees into day-to-day life and your weekend/summer plans. So what are some fun things to do this summer involving trees that is outside of tree work? Here are 10 activities to get you going--- and your friends and family may enjoy too!

1- Take a Vacation to See a Record Tree

If you live in the USA, you're just a plane ride or road trip away from seeing some of the world’s most impressive, record-breaking trees. Even if you’re not obsessed with trees like an arborist is, the Redwoods and Sequoias in California are a site to behold. Standing among such giants is an amazing experience and you can’t possibly imagine the size or height of them until you’ve met one in person. The biggest tree in the WORLD (by volume) is a giant sequoia found right in California in the Sequoia National Park. Its name is "General Sherman" and is about 52,500 cubic feet in volume. While in California, you can also see the world's tallest tree - the Hyperion, an 800 year old Redwood that’s nearly 400 feet tall.

If you travel internationally and want to see the oldest tree in the world, journey to Sweden. The Old Tjikko is a Norway Spruce that has been around for 9,550 years. Here's a great article with facts, directions, and beautiful images for the trees listed above here: https://www.iliketowastemytime.com/2012/10/01/oldest-tallest-and-biggest-trees-in-world

2- Go For a Recreational Climb

This may seem boring, as some of you climb every day for work, but this is a chance to get in a tree with no expectations, no job to do, no limbs to avoid, no direction you must go, and no saw or homeowners!! Now THAT’S what tree climbing is all about! You simply just get to enjoy working through a tree whichever way seems the most fun or relaxing to you.

3- Volunteer

Find a cause and support it. Take even one day, one hour of your time and give back to the community you are a part of! We don’t have to tell you why this is an amazing idea! A local cause we’re excited to see expand in our own state is The ASM Foundation, a non profit that promotes the profession of arboriculture and urban forestry in the State of Michigan thru scholarships, preservation of history, and education.

You can check it out at https://asm-foundation.org/

4- Plant a Tree

This is huge. We can’t save every tree in our line of work, and sometimes home owners even ask us to cut down healthy, beautiful trees for their own personal reasons. Give back, plant a tree! Teach the younger generations the importance of trees while you do it! Add to your landscape and watch it evolve! Try out fruit trees, blossoming trees, research what’s best for your area and do your best to allow it to thrive! If you'd like to receive 10 free trees to plant, you can sign up to be an Arbor Day Foundation Member and they’ll ship them right to you! Check it out at https://shop.arborday.org/content.aspx?page=memberships

5- Visit or Participate in a Climbing Competition

All over the world, people are competing in tree climbing. Check out the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) to see when and where these International Tree Climbing Championships (ITCC) are held! You can attend and watch, offer to volunteer (which can be anything from judging to being a timer), or climb and compete! Men and Women divisions are scored on safety, speed, knowledge of gear and trees, climbing techniques, and more.

Not only is it a fun, athletic, and competitive way to switch up what you do every day--the knowledge you gain from just being there is unbelievable! If you’ve ever been to one of these “competitions,” you will know the atmosphere is more like a family. Everyone is cheering on their competition while also giving tips on how to get a better score, thing to avoid, and ways to improve. If you’re looking to be part of a community outside of your work place, look no further than the ISA! Get involved at https://www.itcc-isa.com/

6- Go to a Summer Conference

Winter isn't the only time to focus on education. Sometimes the best thing to do in the heat of the moment (literally and figuratively) is to remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing- What is it for? What is the reason? Why did you start on this path? These conferences are a great reminder and motivator of why you chose to be an arborist. See what’s going on in the tree world at https://www.isa-arbor.com/

7- Hang in a Hammock, Swing from a Tree Swing. Be a Kid Again

We just had to add this one in there because it’s fun, and what says summer more than a hammock or tree swing!? Maybe a rope swing over the water? Either way, allow the trees to be your playground, on the ground.

8- Visit an Arboretum or Conservatory

Need I say more? Natural environments that are maintained by mankind is the perfect example of what we can do when working together. Arboretums and Conservatories are wonderful places to learn and expand your knowledge of rare plants from all over the world! They can also give you inspiration for you or your client’s yards if you also have a knack for landscaping. If you want to see an example of nature transformed, then we highly encourage you to check out The Eden Project in the United Kingdom. They have a large visitor center nestled in a huge crater in the earth. Here, massive Biomes house the largest rainforest in captivity, stunning plants, exhibitions and stories. The rainforest serves as a backdrop to our striking contemporary gardens, summer concerts and exciting year-round family events. Learn more at https://www.edenproject.com/

9- Take a Hike

Find a local park or make a vacation of it. Take in the surroundings, practice your Tree ID, look for pests and diseases. Take the time to really be involved with the trees around you. Note how they grow where they are, try to see its history by markings or decay. Or simply just walk and enjoy the view!

10- "Ground" or Meditate in a Forest

Most of the time when we connect with the Earth,it’s loud, fast paced, chaotic. There are saws revving, limbs falling, chippers roaring. We have boots on, maybe even spikes or gloves. We’re IN the trees, but we’re not really connected with them. There’s a mental and physical barrier.

Meditation is simply a fancy way of saying- you rest your mind so you can consciously be in a different state of mind. It allows us to calm down and be in the present. Now let’s talk about Grounding. Simply put- go into the woods, take your shoes off, and stand on the Earth. This allows us to connect with the Earth’s natural energy by having our skin and body touch the ground. It’s said to help balance the body and be good for your health. That’s still in question.

What’s a proven science is that spending time in nature can be healing, healthy, and helpful. So the nest time you take a walk, kick off your shoes, stand under a tree, and clear your mind. You’ll reenter your day with a better frame of mind!

We hope at least 1 of these 10 Summer Tree ideas resonated with you! What one will you most likely fit into your Summer schedule? Do you have any additional ideas you want to share? Leave us a comment below!

via Bartlett Arborist Supply: Blog Posts

[jayu123-me]

Forest Forest Land Management Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Growth and Forecast 2015 – 2023

The forest cover across the globe is shrinking due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Forest Land Management is the process of management, conservation, development, restoration and maintenance of forest land. Forest Land Management involves forest administration plans, wood sales, timber sales, maintenance of proper records, wildlife supervision, reforestation and recreation services. Forest condition assessments allow forest authorities to comprehend the current conditions, detect potential complications, and develop plans to achieve future outlooks regarding the forest land.

Wood has a wide range of applications in various industries such as bioenergy, biofuels and bio-materials. Scientificdevelopments have transformed the conventional markets such as wood chips, pulp industry, paper industry, and lumber for housing and construction industry. Timbers are used for furniture; flooring and appearance-grade applications. Timber trade has transformed due to enactment of various environmental laws in regions such as North America, Europe and Australia. These laws aim to examine the legality of forest products before their sale and trade. This makes certification a prerequisite for various timber management industries and the ones with certification can have an edge in a restricted market place.

The growing population and rapid urbanization of developing countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa and others boost demand for timber market. These are dynamic, high-growth markets which offer remarkable scope for forest land management market.

Request Brochure @

Forest land management market is segmented on the basis of type of application industries, type of services and geography. Various type of industries such as construction & housing, pulp and paper, bioenergy, furniture and feature timbers have applications of forest land management market. Forest land management encompasses various types of services such as investment services, appraisal and valuation services, technical services for due diligence, reforestation, wild life management and recreational services.North America, South America and Central America, possess the largest forest cover.Europe, including EU and Russia have the second largest forest cover.

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Africa holds the third place in the world’s forest area, followed by the Asia Pacific region.The primary driver of growth for forest land management marketis the rising global demand for wood and timber. Rising construction activities and industrialization across the globe has boosted forest land management market. Increasing awareness about climate changes and preventive measures for the same have all brought focus on forest land conservation and wildlife welfare. All these factors are expected to boost the forest land management marketduring the forecast period. Developing countries such as China, India, Brazil and Malaysia are expected to the fastest growing markets for forest land management.

Some of the major players in the market include American Forest Management, Forest Land Management Inc., Milliken Forestry Company Inc., Forest Land Services Inc., Dowdy’s Forest & Land Management, Steigerwaldt Land Services, Inland Forest Management Inc., Southern Company, Forsite Consultants Ltd., Saratoga Land Management Corporation, Prentiss & Carlisle Co. Inc., Rayonier Inc., Ecotrust Forest Management Inc., Upper Michigan Land Management & Wildlife Services, Inc., Forest and Land Management Ltd., DuPont Forestry Management, The Forestland Group LLC, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Muswellbroook Forest Nurseryamong other

[mikomillers-blog]

Farm Bill would benefit Detroit's urban agriculture

Detroit - Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Monday championed reforms to encourage urban agriculture in the 2018 Farm Bill.

Stabenow, a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urged President Donald Trump to sign the bipartisan legislation that would widen a safety net for farmers, encourage conservation efforts and protect food assistance programs.

Both chambers of Congress passed the bill by wide margins last week after the 2014 Farm Bill expired Sept. 30.

“I see through the lens of Michigan, and Michigan really is on every page,” Stabenow said during a press conference at Eastern Market. “I'm proud we were able to get this done in the midst of all of what has been happening in Congress…This is something that will be a wonderful Christmas present for many, many, many people.”

READ THE FULL STORY https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2018/12/17/stabenow-farm-bill-michigan-urban-agriculture/2332256002/