treesource

Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

Publisher’s Notebook: The link between mass timber, forest management & carbon

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The 2017 International Mass Timber Conference included a tour of mass timber buildings in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Marcus Kauffman, Oregon Division of Forestry.

Forest management has been a hot-button topic for decades. Sadly, it continues today.

The divisiveness seems to come from the belief that there is a “right” way to manage forests, which of course leads to an us vs. them mentality. “If you’re not with me, you’re against me.”

Fortunately, more and more citizens seem to be re-examining this approach, recognizing that the sustainable growth of forests and the use of wood rather than fossil carbon-intensive materials is a better way to achieve a sustainable society. [Read more…]

Publisher’s Notebook: Happy holidays from Treesource!

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Dave Atkins and grandson Emerson

The smell of a fresh-cut tree is a wonderful thing. A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took our 3½-year-old and 10-month-old grandsons, Emerson and Rowan, out to our forest land to collect a couple of Christmas trees. Emerson cut down his own 3-footer to take home and decorate.

A homegrown tree is a great thing to enjoy for the holidays. And, of course, by removing excess trees from our land, we create more space for those remaining and make them healthier. After the holidays, the trees can be composted for further benefits to the environment, the essence of renewability and sustainability.

The end of the year, shortening days and gatherings with family are cause for reflection on the past year and looking forward to the year to come. We hope you have appreciated and enjoyed the stories Treesource has gathered and produced for you this past year, showing the wide array of wonderful things trees and forests do for us. We’ve also tried to shed light on the choices society faces in the wake of ever-larger wildfires and the mounting consequences of climate change. There are also many positive things we have learned and shared in 2018, and next year is full of possibilities. [Read more…]

Publisher’s Notebook: ‘I am concerned about saving the planet!’

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Dave Atkins
Dave Atkins

My question was simple: “Why are you here?”

And so was the answer: “I am concerned about saving the planet!”

This past weekend, I was on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the Alliance for Green Heat’s Woodstove Design Competition. As a board member of the alliance, I was supporting the effort by giving tours to people interested in what was going on inside this huge tent on the National Mall with a dozen metal chimneys poking out of the top.

That gave me the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of people from many parts of the country in a short period of time. Three of my guests captured the essence of many other conversations this past weekend and of the whole idea of using wood for energy. They revolved around renewability, sustainability and cleanliness.

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Publisher’s Notebook: Autumn’s travels reveal innovation in forestry, wood products

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Dave Atkins
Dave Atkins

I hope you’re having a wonderful autumn, including time in a forest, whether an urban or a more remote one.  I have been traveling a lot during the past month, for Treesource and personal enjoyment. One was a nephew’s wedding in Connecticut, held outside on an old farm/forestead. It was a beautiful setting; the leaves were just starting to turn, giving a hint of fall colors to come.

I also attended the North American Forest Partnership meeting in Atlanta and had the opportunity to connect with some of the 115 different organizations that are partners, including The Nature Conservancy, Choose Outdoors, U.S. Forest Service, Rayonier, Eastman Chemical and Enviva, along with many others. Some I am working with to plan stories for 2019 and others provided ideas for future stories.

I also attended the Society of American Foresters annual convention in Portland, Oregon. I met a number of interesting people and companies that generated more ideas for potential stories that center around the triple bottom line of balancing the environmental, economic and social needs of society. There were hundreds of presentations, many more than I could cover, including urban forest management; wildfire and fuels management; the effects on wildlife habitat from the retention of dead, live and down trees; and a variety of wood products. It was a very stimulating time with many topics Treesource hopes to incorporate into stories in the future. [Read more…]

Publisher’s Notebook: What is a forest?

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California’s sequoia groves fit many people’s definition of a forest. Photo: Bethany Atkins

Everyone knows what a forest is. Right?

As a forester and forest ecologist for decades, the definition of a forest is second nature to me and must be the same for everyone else. Right?

Wrong.

In fact, my notion of a universal definition was challenged several times recently in conversations with people who have markedly different perspectives from my own. [Read more…]