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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST I remember when I was hired at CFA back in 2007, it was said, “they are only about 3 to 5 years from getting the transgenic blight-resistant American chestnut approved.” Well, the wait is finally over. “On Friday, November 06, the Catskill Forest Association,Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST I’ve normally hung my deer in the past to improve “seasoning” or edibility. For the last 2 years, I brought it to a friend who has a walk-in cooler. This technique includes the entire deer carcass without the hide on, hanging for about 10Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST CFA completed its largest prescribed burn over in Sullivan County for a member on 6.8 acres. Currently, we’re focusing on burning grassy fuels before moving to the forest to gain experience, raise awareness of prescribed burning, and increase forage for wildlife. We’re hoping toContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Found this mess while scouting for deer the other day. I see this commonly throughout the Catskills. I call it “bear roulette.” Bear roulette is where someone gambles whether the garbageman will pick up their barrels of trash before the bear does. I alsoContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Another fire set on private land in New York State. This one was in Dutchess County to improve wildlife habitat & learn about fire behavior. Thank you to Zach Prusak of Tall Timbers who came up from Florida to show us how it’s done.Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, Ulster County surely is a blast from the past. It’s the last of the 19th century mountain houses that were once popular throughout the Catskills (and Shawangunks). The Shawangunk Ridge was “the mountain” that I grew up lookingContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Storm damage. This red maple split last week when that nor’easter made its way into the area. These large tight crotches–where 2 leaders or trunks come together–are normally where trees “fail” or tear apart. If this tree was pruned to 1 central leader whenContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST When I first moved to my current house in 2012, I cut out all the poor-quality trees surrounding the property line. I left behind this kind of sorry looking red maple. It wasn’t harming anything since it isn’t too tall. It’s multi-stemmed or extremelyContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Sometimes this tree can be confused–when the leaves fall off–with oak; Its bark is similar when it reaches old age. But it’s really big-tooth aspen or as some might call it, “poplar.” If you see it growing in a mature forest, it can beContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Recently was looking for that special, long-lived perennial forest herb–American ginseng. It likes to hide. The section of forest I was in was looking so “shangy” that I thought it would be easier to find, but it rarely is. This plant was hiding besideContinue Reading