Well, she has to spend a good chunk of the day indoors writing, sending out queries for articles she wants to write, e-mailing editors about articles she has written and received comments on, interviewing sources for nature articles, talking to others who will provide leads to sources, doing online research, and on it goes.
One thing I'm adamant about. Every morning I venture forth with my dog and we take a trail in the surrounding wilderness and see what has changed since the last time we were on it. Sophie is the name of my companion, a seven-year-old Golden, and is much more understanding of my botanical and ornitholgical pursuits than she was as a younger dog. Still, when she gets bored, as often happens when I'm investigating a plant or a bird, she gets into trouble. She rolls in things that stink so bad it's impossible to imagine. She eats deer scat. Shall I go on?
How can I complain? She loves the forest as much as I do.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer in Randolph, New York, on June 14th was very timely considering I've been researching and writing a feature article "Invasive Forest Insects and the Future of Adirondack Forests" for Adirondack Explorer's September/October 2009 issue.
Randolph, in far southwestern New York, is not the nearest EAB site to the Adirondacks. Infestations can be found throughout southern Ontario, which is much closer to the Adirondack Park.
As forest entomologist Dr. Melissa Fierke told me in an interview, "The Emerald Ash Borer will wipe out all the ash trees in North America." The insects have resulted in the destruction of millions of trees already, and EAB is now too widespread to eradicate it effectively.
This news is very serious for the Adirondacks because 10 percent of our trees include the upland white ash, green ash, and black ash. (Mountain ash, which is prevalent in the southern Adirondacks, is not a true ash. It's a member of the Rose family.)
But state and federal officials are not giving up on trying to contain EAB and keep it out of New York. USDA-APHIS and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and other state and private agencies have collaborated to develop strategies to deal with the pest.
Education of the public is key in this effort, as is the 2008 state law which forbids the movement of firewood more than 50 miles from its source. Transportation of firewood is believed to be a chief cause of EAB's and other invasive forest insects' spread.
Randolph, in far southwestern New York, is not the nearest EAB site to the Adirondacks. Infestations can be found throughout southern Ontario, which is much closer to the Adirondack Park.
As forest entomologist Dr. Melissa Fierke told me in an interview, "The Emerald Ash Borer will wipe out all the ash trees in North America." The insects have resulted in the destruction of millions of trees already, and EAB is now too widespread to eradicate it effectively.
This news is very serious for the Adirondacks because 10 percent of our trees include the upland white ash, green ash, and black ash. (Mountain ash, which is prevalent in the southern Adirondacks, is not a true ash. It's a member of the Rose family.)
But state and federal officials are not giving up on trying to contain EAB and keep it out of New York. USDA-APHIS and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and other state and private agencies have collaborated to develop strategies to deal with the pest.
Education of the public is key in this effort, as is the 2008 state law which forbids the movement of firewood more than 50 miles from its source. Transportation of firewood is believed to be a chief cause of EAB's and other invasive forest insects' spread.
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