The Young Forest Initiative offers stories and news about early successional habitat and young forest management from local and national publications and our partners.
Young forest helps hide and camouflage snowshoe hares A primary species of the northern woods needs all the help it can get When windstorms or logging create small gaps in older forest, and these openings fill in with dense young spruce and fir, snowshoe hares find good hiding cover and food sources. The gaps collect and maintain snow cover longer than more-open woods, providing settings where white hare can blend in...
Will we become a country without our most enchanting insects? Nature writer cites "crisis of awareness" when it comes to native butterflies As human grow detached from nature, we lose our reverence for animals like butterflies, and that can be dangerous, both for ourselves and for these beautiful and fascinating creatures.
Lab work boosts breeding success in New England cottontails URI animal science students help native rabbits in conservation breeding program Research into hormone levels and mate-choice selections by female New England cottontails makes conservation breeding more effective.
Fewer loggers and sawmills may mean less-healthy forests Wildlife needs trees and forests of differing ages Making forests more resilient to climate change and invasive species may require more well-thought-out timber harvesting.
Timber harvest creates better turtle habitat Increased sunlight following a timber harvest can help turtles A strategically sited timber harvest increases sunlight that “turns up the temperature” on the ground, helping turtles successfully nest and lay eggs that will produce young.
What can we learn from following a bird? Woodcock practice “itinerant breeding” when headed north in spring When University of Rhode Island wildlife scientists tracked migrating woodcock with tiny GPS tags, they revealed a nesting pattern rarely seen in migrating birds.
Cutting the forest of the future Thoughtful logging boosts valuable hardwoods and wildlife habitat Logging that leaves some high-quality trees as seed sources can boost forest regeneration while also helping wildlife by creating areas of young forest.
Timely timber harvest to help wildlife Adding habitat diversity to a National Forest in New York A 700-acre project on Finger Lakes National Forest will improve forest diversity, restore native tree species, and create cover for wildlife, including important early successional habitat.
Rare Canada lynx sighted in Vermont Fifteen confirmed sightings of a dispersing lynx Biologist Brehan Furfey hopes Vermont's network of protected lands will help the young lynx reach the state's Northeast Kingdom "where it will find more young forest habitat and plenty of snowshoe hares to eat."
Butterflies home in on songbird habitat Monarch butterflies use habitat created for at-risk bird species A wide range of insects, including butterflies, use habitat managed to help golden-winged warblers and other birds that rely on young forest and shrubland.
