All Articles Page 4

Identifying Potential Heirs Properties

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Heirs’ property is inherited land that comes with a catch – a clouded title. “Without a clear title, families are at risk of losing their land and their wealth,” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Cassandra Johnson Gaither. Heirs’ property owners often cannot access credit, sell natural resources, or participate in state and federal land improvement…  More 

SRS Shares Science at BugFest

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On September 17, more than 35,000 insect enthusiasts gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, NC. U.S. Forest Service employees were among them. As in years past, the Southern Research Station had a table at BugFest. Hundreds of children and adults stopped by to learn about SRS research and to see…  More 

Heirs’ Property in the South

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Children often inherit their parents’ homes and land. But what happens when there is no will or title? For many people, this is not an abstract question. “Heirs’ property is inherited land that two or more people own,” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Cassandra Johnson Gaither. “The property is typically passed to heirs without a…  More 

FIA Update on Alabama’s Forests

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
In the forests of Alabama you’ll find longleaf pine woodlands, bottomland swamps, sinkholes, and springs. You’ll see fox squirrels, indigo snakes, gopher tortoises, and pitcher plants. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the U.S. Forest Service collects field data on forest resources across the state, visiting around 700 of the more than 5,600…  More 

Conserving Eastern Hemlock

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Where can you go to find an eastern hemlock tree? Although threatened by the hemlock woolly adelgid, eastern hemlock has an extensive range. “Eastern hemlock grows throughout the southern Appalachians,” says U.S. Forest Service collaborator and ecologist Kevin Potter. Potter is also a forestry faculty member at North Carolina State University. “Hemlock grows in the…  More 

A Tour of SRS Experimental Forests

by Stephanie Laseter, experimental forest & range network lead  • 
For some, the term experimental forest may conjure images of petri dishes on the forest floor. “It’s true that Experimental Forests are living laboratories,” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Stephanie Laseter. “SRS manages 19 experimental forests. Each one represents a specific ecosystem and provides unique research opportunities.” Laseter recently organized a five-day tour of eight…  More 

Carolina Hemlock Populations: Isolated and Imperiled

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
Hemlocks are under attack. U.S. Forest Service scientists and their partners are working to save the native conifers from the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect from Japan. Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) trees can survive HWA infestation for a decade or more but often die within four years. Carolina hemlocks grow in tiny, isolated…  More 

Harvest Disturbance Recovery in Wet Pine Flats

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
Just after Hurricane Hugo roared over the Atlantic coastal plain in 1989, U.S. Forest Service research soil scientist Bill McKee (now retired) visited Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina. Some of its wet pine flats were so badly damaged that they looked like they had been clearcut. McKee was joined by Michael Aust and…  More 

Urban Forest Strike Teams Support Storm Recovery

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
Thousands of federal, state, and private agencies have been deployed to areas that were impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate. These first responders are there to help the people in the storm’s path. However, there is another group of responders that go into storm-ravaged towns to aid the trees: the Urban Forest Strike Teams (UFST).…  More 

Annual Forest Health Checkup

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Insects, diseases, droughts, and fire threaten forests. Each year, the U.S. Forest Service assesses threats facing the nation’s forests. Forest managers, scientists, and decision-makers rely on the annual reports. SRS recently published the 2016 Forest Health Monitoring report. The report is the 16th in the annual series, and is sponsored by the FS Forest Health…  More