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Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

The Big Tree: 1,000-year-old oak survives Hurricane Harvey

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The Big Tree survived Hurricane Harvey and inspired its fellow Texans to stay strong. Photo: Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The next time you’re in Rockport, Texas – and, no, this isn’t a good time to go – you’ll want to look up the Big Tree at Goose Island State Park.

The 1,000-year-old oak survived Hurricane Harvey’s wrath last month, just as it stayed put during 40 previous hurricanes – and innumerable droughts, floods, fires, windstorms, and even a Civil War battle that razed the nearby town of Lamar.

When it outlasted Harvey, Texas Parks and Wildlife was quick to spread the word.

“The 1000-year-old Big Tree at Goose Island State Park near Rockport is okay!” the department announced via Facebook. [Read more…]

Witness trees stand sentinel over America’s hallowed places

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The Oklahoma City Survivor Tree Photo: Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

A witness tree begins its life like any other tree. It sprouts. It grows. And then it’s thrust into the spotlight, playing an involuntary part in a significant historic event. Often, that event is a devastating, landscape-scarring battle or other tragic moment. Once Civil War soldiers march on to their next battle, say, or a country turns its attention to healing after a terrorist attack, a witness tree remains as a biologically tenacious symbol of the past.

Witness trees have been known to hide bullets they’ve absorbed beneath new layers of wood and bark, and they heal other visible scars over time. While they may look like ordinary trees, they have incredible stories to tell. [Read more…]

Fossil forests: From East to West, exploring America’s petrified trees

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Petrified trunk in Yellowstone National Park. Photo: Greg Willis via Flickr.

When thinking about our forests, thoughts of rich earth, lush foliage and intriguing wildlife typically come to mind. But, any true forest lover should, at least once, visit a forest that isn’t alive at all — America’s beautiful petrified forests. These preserved antiquities offer fascinating insights into the makeup of forests stretching back millions of years and are often breathtakingly beautiful. Take a peek at some of the petrified forests in the U.S., and be sure to add them to your next sightseeing destinations. [Read more…]

Primm Meadow: A cathedral of pines amidst the apocalypse

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The ponderosa pines of Primm Meadow are 200 to 500 years old. Photo: Shirley Atkins

GOLD CREEK, Montana – Juxtaposition. Primm Meadow would be spectacular all on its own, as a park-like cathedral encompassing 112 acres of majestic ponderosa pines. But its location amidst what might otherwise be considered a “forest apocalypse” makes it all the more amazing.

Let me back up.

[Read more…]

Mexico’s cloud forest: Searching for elusive wild cat species with the locals

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Mexico’s National Commission for Biodiversity reports that Mexico has more than 50 species of pine and more than 150 species of oak. Nearly a quarter of the world’s oak species only can be found in Mexico. Photo: Matthew Hyde

SIERRA de CACOMA, Mexico — The caravan of Toyota pickups careened down the twisting mountain road. I sat in the back seat of the third car, praying we wouldn’t tumble off the steep mountainside on the next turn.

An hour in, the caravan pulled over a wide turnout on the dirt road. It was time for a parada tecnica, a pit stop. A fat man with his shirt halfway unbuttoned jumped out of the lead car with a bottle of tequila in each hand. He did a quick shimmy, the music started, and everyone was out of the cars and dancing. “La Banda Está Borracha” — “The Band is Drunk” — blared from one of the trucks.

We were driving through the cloud forest in the Sierra de Cacoma, the coastal mountains of Jalisco, Mexico. Towering firs and pines surrounded us on all sides, moss and lichens hanging from their branches. The thick fog glowed orange as the sun set. [Read more…]