Ashes to Ashes

     With the leaves down, trees like the one at the left, stand out in the forest.  You can pick them out, even while driving down the road.  Have you seen them?  These are trees that have a very light brown bark.  Actually they are loosing their bark - woodpeckers are rapidly chiseling it off.  These trees are dead, or nearly so. Don't blame the woodpeckers; the tree was already 'mostly dead' and they are just looking for food.  This tree's demise is the result of yet another invasive species from Asia - the emerald ash borer.

    


     Emerald ash borers are small metallic green beetles that appeared near Detroit in 2002.  In the last twelve years, they have infested 18 states and are voraciously devouring our native ash trees.  Emerald ash borers are about 1/2" long and can fit on a penny.

Emerald ash borer exit hole

     A female emerald ash borer lays about 100 eggs on the bark of ash trees.  The larvae hatch and eat through the outer bark.  It is the larvae of the borers that do the real damage.  They eat the inner bark and new sap wood of the ash tree.  The adult beetles emerge from 'D-shaped' exit holes about a year later. Within four years of the initial egg laying, the tree is dead.  So far these insects have killed 100 million trees and there isn't much to slow them down.

     Currently scientist are experimenting with several pesticides that are injected into ash trees or applied to the soil around the trees.  There has been some limited success, but they must be applied every 1 to 2 years and consistent treatment will probably harm the tree.

     Some scientists have experimented with releasing parasitic wasps that control the borers in Asia.  The obvious problem here is introducing another alien insect to deal with the one that we already have. Hopefully, these methods, plus the possibility that some individual ash trees my be naturally resistant to the borer, will enable at least a few trees to survive.
     Ash trees have some of the toughest wood of any North American tree.  For centuries this wood has been used for snowshoes, canoe paddles, sleds, wagons, skis, tool handles, hockey sticks, and (of course) baseball bats.  In fact, the famous Louisville Sluggers, used my most major league baseball players, come from white ash trees in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. 

     Unfortunately, the future of these trees is very much in doubt.  Many believe that we are witnessing the same devastation that past generations saw with the American Chestnut blight (see my previous post: http://lutherlynnature.blogspot.com/2012/12/100-american-chestnuts.html).  The future of the North American ash species will probably lie in programs many years down the road.  We will have to rely on future generations to bring back our ash trees.

      There is something you can do, though, to at least slow the spread of the infestation:  Don't transport firewood.  The adult borers often hide in firewood and transporting it can cause the devastation to spread.  For more information, please see the USDA website:  http://stopthebeetle.info/

      Also, please don't take out your frustration on another emerald colored beetle.  The six-spotted tiger beetle is one of my personal favorites.  It is a great predator and eats lots of small insects and spiders.



Six-spotted Tiger Beetle



Winter De-Fence

     This time of year many of us are receiving garden seed catalogs in the mail.  It can be fun to page through them and imagine what great vegetables we could grow this coming summer.  Personally, I find greater enjoyment paging through the tree catalogs that also arrive this time of year.  I like to imagine the mature trees that could one day shade large areas or produce large quantities of fruit.  I have planted my share of fruit and shade trees; however, the most successful trees that I have planted have been windbreaks.

     Windbreaks are plants (or structures) that protect homes, driveways, and planted areas from the wind.  They are common around many old homesteads.  The use of windbreaks was once common knowledge, but now, it seems to be, well, uncommon. 
      It is suggested in some publications that well-placed windbreaks can save a homeowner nearly 50 percent on heating and cooling bills.  Even a savings of 20 percent, makes a windbreak a major component of an energy conservation strategy.  Most of us can relate to wind chill.  As the wind speed increases, the air feels colder - and so do we.  Reducing the wind velocity around a home reduces the chill factor and lowers home heating costs.
     In the late 1990s, I planted a variety of evergreen trees behind the house at Terra Dei Homestead, here at Lutherlyn.  Some were small pine and spruce seedlings that I transplanted from the forest nearby.  A few were trees that were given away by the Butler Garden Club for Arbor Day.  None were taller than 18 inches.  However, fifteen years later these trees are taller than the house at Terra Dei and they are doing a great job of blocking the northern winds.

Terra Dei's 15-year old windbreak

     Windbreaks also provide cover for wildlife.  Many birds select evergreen trees as shelter in the winter.  It is difficult keeping those little bodies fueled all winter long, so any way of reducing the chill of the wind increases their ability to survive.

      In 2006, my wife and I (along with our church's youth group) planted 200 white and red pine trees along our driveway.  The trees were two years old when we planted them and about twelve inches tall.  Coming up on seven years, most of the trees are over 10 feet tall and have formed a substantial barrier to the wind.  Six years ago, we could count on our driveway drifting shut when there was snow on the ground.  Now, we have very little drifting and a beautiful row of evergreens.

    As you are looking at those seed and tree catalogs that are arriving in the mail, stop to consider energy conservation, as well as food production.  For a very small investment of time and energy, you can end up with substantial energy savings down the road.  There is nothing like a strong "de-fence" against the winter winds.
    For more information about Terra Dei Homestead, please visit LEEP's website:  www.lutherlyn.com/EE and follow the link to Terra Dei Homestead.

Successional Forests

    Our forests are one of Lutherlyn's most important resources.  The Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program would certainly be much different if we didn't have such a great forest resource.  Lutherlyn contains somewhere in neighborhood of 300 acres of forest and, as you hike the trails, it feels like that forest has been here for centuries.  For the most part, that is not actually the case.
     Three hundred years ago, the area that would become Lutherlyn, like most of Pennsylvania, was almost entirely forested.  Much of Pennsylvania was covered in White Pine and Eastern Hemlock forests, although there were also plenty of oak and chestnut trees, too.  By 1920, the lumber industry had finished devastating Pennsylvania and moved on to other states.  In the last 100 years, much of this land has returned to forest through a process called succession.
     Succession is a natural ecological process whereby disturbed areas naturally return to climax communities.  In our region, the climax community is a forest ecosystem, but oaks and hemlocks do not spring up from large areas of bare ground.  Succession is a process.

Chapel Hill from Main Camp ~ 1952

     One area at Lutherlyn particularly intrigues me when thinking about succession.  The forest between main camp and Terra Dei Homestead has changed a great deal over the past 60 years.  Here is a picture taken from main camp shortly after Chapel Hill was constructed; its probably from the summer of 1952.  Notice that there are very few trees between the craft cabin and Chapel Hill.  If the camp staff had stopped mowing that area, small trees would have moved in within 3 years, but they would have been hawthorns, crab apples, sumac, and locust - not what most people at that time considered "good" trees.

    Evidently, though, a forest was desired because the picture below, from 1954, shows that rows and rows of Scots Pines have been planted in the area.  Pines were planted in many camps at that time.  They were fast growing, so it didn't take long to get a forest and they could be thinned periodically and used to build cabins or sold for lumber.  This area was never thinned, however, and the Scots Pines have continued to grow for the last sixty years. 

      Sixty years ends up being the natural life expectancy of most Scots Pines, but during the last six decades those pines have sheltered many young trees that have grown up to take their place.  So this process of succession continues with Red Maple trees now taking over the forest that was planted to be pines.  Some Norway Spruce trees have also made their way into this forest from those planted nearby.  The picture below was taken early this fall.  Notice the Scots Pines falling over, while the Red Maples and Norway Spruce rise up to take their place.

     This forest is not done changing.  The process of succession is on-going.  As the maples mature, they will shelter oaks and hickories that could become the climax forest community.  Alternatively,  in a hundred years or so, these trees could be out-competed by White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks, but there aren't many of those close by to provide seed for that future forest.  If we are looking 100 years down the road, we also have to wonder what our forests will look like once our climate has warmed.  Whether Lutherlyn's forest is going to reach a climax community may have more to do with what you and I do as stewards of this planet than what trees start to grow.

100% American Chestnuts!

    The American Chestnut tree is now a thing of legend.  At one time, it is said, the tree made up nearly 1/3 of the Appalachian forest.  Some chestnut trees were said to live 500 to 600 years, grow 100 feet tall and up to 8 feet in diameter!  That is a legendary tree.
     The American Chestnut tree also provided food for humans and animals in the form of nuts; they were a favorite food of the (now extinct) passenger pigeon.  Many nuts were sold to provide income to sustain families.  The wood of the chestnut was used for constructing homes, furniture, tool handles, and fence posts.
     The whole chestnut "economy" came crashing down a hundred years ago.  In the 1880s, some folks brought Japanese and Chinese chestnuts to the United States in the hopes of creating hybrids with the American Chestnut.  Unfortunately, they also brought a fungus along, too.  The asian chestnuts had a resistance to the blight caused by the fungus, but not the American Chestnut.  In 1904, the blight was discovered on a tree in the Bronx Zoo and by 1908 it was in Pennsylvania.  By 1930 nearly all of Pennsylvania's chestnuts had the blight and by 1950 the American Chestnut was gone.  Still today, old stumps may still produce some growth, but it soon succombs to the blight, too.

American Chestnut leaves

     This is the point where the complex genetic code of organisms allows for light at the end of the dark tunnel.  Genetic variation in individuals provides a possibility that a few individuals may be resistant to a disease that harms the rest of a population.  It is also possible to breed individuals to possess this resistance.  Currently, there are two different strategies for bringing back the American Chestnut.
     The American Chestnut Foundation has crossed the American Chestnut with the Chinese Chestnut and then back-crossed all of the descendents for 5 generations to end up with a tree that is 99% American Chestnut and 1% Chinese Chestnut.
     The American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation searched out American Chestnut survivors and has been breeding them for 40 years.  These are 100% American Chestnuts and are descendents of trees that have natural resistance to the blight.  These trees are not immune to the blight, but a majority of their offspring can survive with the blight.  The ACCF works in conjunction with the public and distributes chestnut seeds to be planted throughout the region.

Lutherlyn's American Chestnuts

     At Lutherlyn, we planted two crops of chestnut seeds from ACCF, one in 1999 and another in 2001.  From those crops, we currently have 11 flourishing American Chestnut trees at Terra Dei Homestead.  Two of these trees are over 20 feet tall and over 4 inches in diameter.  This year, for the first time, three of the trees produced nuts!
     It is extremely gratifying to see these chestnuts reproducing.  It allows us to imagine a day when American Chestnuts will again become part of our forest ecosystems.  The American Chestnut's return means that the tree that the Iroquois once used to build longhouses and settlers once used to build log cabins and split rail fences will again be a part of our forest.  It will once again support wildlife and people and may, one day, regain its legendary place in Appalachia.

    For more information on these two organizations, please click on the links below.
         American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation
              American Chestnut Foundation

Fee-bee

    I'm glad that most of the leaves have fallen off the trees, its much easier to look for birds.  I like birdwatching. . . but, boy, do I find it frustrating. . .especially in the summer.  There are lots of different kinds of birds, you can tell by the variety of calls.  However, trying to find them in the summer with all of the leaves on the trees is painstaking and often, in my case, fruitless.
    I think that is why I am fond of eastern phoebes.  I don't really have to worry about finding them.  They are also very interesting birds to watch and easy to identify.  However, it continues to amaze me that most people don't recognize a phoebe. 
    The eastern phoebe is not a year-round resident in western Pennsylvania, but it is one of the first birds to arrive in the spring and one of the last to leave in the fall.  It eats some seeds and fruit, but it mostly enjoys insects.  It is fond of wasps, bees, flies, beetles, and moths, according to Wildlife of Pennsylvania by Charles Fergus (one of my go-to natural history books).
    Phoebes are one of the few species that seems to have benefited from the human population growth in North America.  They like to build their nest on human structures.  At Lutherlyn, we have had them nest near both primary doors to the Environmental Education Center.  We caught this picture just above our back door this summer:



Phoebe nestlings (Photo by John Miller)

  
They also nest in most of our picnic shelters and, now, in the new Worship and Music Center.  At home, I've had them nest under our porch and under the garage roof.  When you approach a phoebe nest, the parent leaves, but he/she doesn't go far.  This makes phoebes very easy to spot.  Well, this and the fact that they continually flick their tails.



(photo by  Tim at http://www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/)


    I appreciate birds that have characteristics that make their species easy to identify - like the tail flick of the phoebes.  The eastern phoebe even helps by telling you its name.  Their most common call during most of the summer is fee-bee.
    According to the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, eastern phoebes may have been the first bird to be banded.  It seems that John James Audubon wrapped a piece of silver wire around the leg of a phoebe in 1840 and recorded its return in 1841.
     Phoebes construct very sturdy nests. They create a base using mud and attach the nest to just about any shelf-like projection.  They then use grasses and other fibers to make a circular nest cavity.  The outer part of the nest is often covered with pieces of moss, as in the picture above.  The nest is lined with fine grasses or hair for a very soft interior.
     Now is a good time to go looking for bird nests.  With the leaves down, it is easier to see them.  Take a ruler with you when you find one and measure the nest's outside diameter, height, inside diameter, and depth of cavity.  Most birds build rather specific nests and with these measurements, and The Peterson Field Guide to Birds' Nests, you can often identify what bird made the nest.
     When March's warm weather returns, keep your eyes and ears open for the phoebes - they will be telling you their name. . .if you take time to listen.

What a Show!

(I wanted to write this post the day after it happened in June, but blogging and summer camp seem to be mutually exclusive.)
   It was Tuesday, June 12 and I was assisting Pastor Gil Walkoenig of Gettysburg Seminary in teaching a course on Ecotheology in Northern Appalachia.  This was a week long course hosted by Lutherlyn that looked at the region, our history of extractive industries, the resulting human and environmental impacts, and opportunities for ministry.  On Tuesday we were headed for Allegheny National Forest to learn about forest preservation and forest fragmentation.

   We were just a few miles from our initial destination, Hearts Content Scenic Area (a stand of old growth forest within the Allegheny National Forest), when Gil noticed a bear on the left side of the road.  I stopped the van and then reversed as the bear walked in the direction from which we were coming.  He seemed to be walking toward a utility pole.  I thought to myself, "wouldn't it be great if he stood up and scratched his back on that pole."  And he did!  The bear stood up on his hind legs and rubbed his back on the pole.  He then dropped back to all fours and began walking away. . .until he changed his mind and returned to the pole.  As he reached the pole, he stood up again and began scratching his back.  This time while he was scratching his back he also decided to take a bite out of the pole.  He made it look easier than taking a bite out of an apple.  Taking a bite out of a utility pole was easy for this bear.  He even left the pole, only to return moments later and do it again.

photo by Betty Deuchler

The bear may have considered this pole a "prominent tree," as bears will sometimes bite trees to mark their territory or signal their interest in mating.  Mating season runs from June to mid-July, so we happened upon this bear at the correct time of year to see this behavior.  Still the strength of the bear's jaws really surprised me.  The amount of strength that it must take to bite through something as strong and fibrous as a tree, is amazing.

The Call of the . . .

      Last Wednesday, April 18, a group of sixth grade students from McIntyre Elementary School were exploring ecosystems with me.  As we left the deciduous forest and passed by the Lower Lake, we heard a trilling sound.  (It sounded like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA5sTqGis4A&feature=related )  I love to ask students what they think that sound is.  They guessed birds, crickets, cicadas, and squirrels.  When they learn what it is, they are just as surprised as I was when I learned this sound 20+ years ago


American Toad by Jason Sturnor 72



     This is the male American Toad.  Most people have had some contact with toads.  They are not very fast, so kids can catch them, and they don't bite (since they don't have teeth).  They will venture quite far from the water where they are born and can often be found near homes and gardens.

     Toads are great for teaching about defense mechanisms, or adaptations that enable an animal to survive its predators.  When toads are picked up by predators, children, or environmental educators, they are likely to urinate.  Although it does not discourage environmental educators, a lot of children will subsequently put the toad down so they can wipe their hand off.  Predators, I'm sure, have an even more pronounced reaction, since they have often picked the toad up with their mouth. 

     Toads have a few more tricks up their proverbial sleeve, though.  They can puff themselves up so they are harder to swallow and they excrete a foul-tasting toxin through their skin.  The large parotoid gland behind each eye secretes a powerful steroid that will affect a predators heart, so biting into a toad can be a dangerous undertaking.  Don't overlook their twist on one of the most common adaptations:  camouflage.  A little close observation of toads in various habitats will show you that they are camouflaged to their surroundings, but what happens if they change surroundings. . .THEY CHANGE COLOR!
     We have a toad that lives near our back porch at my home.  She is usually a light brown color that enables her to blend in well with the soil near our house.  Two years ago, though, she decided to hide under the black bag of charcoal beside our grill.  When I lifted up the bag of charcoal, I found a black toad!  It was our same neighborhood toad, but her body color had adjusted to her surroundings.  I don't know how long it takes for toads to change their color - they are certainly not chameleons - but they are able to change their skin color to fit in with the color around them.
     It at all possible, please take some time in the next week or so and go to a pond at night.  Listen for the call of the male toads.  Take your flashlight and quietly sneak up to the edge of the pond.  Maybe you will see a male inflating the air sac under his chin and courting a female.  You may see the larger females in the shallows of the pond responding to the calls of the males or the twisted strands of eggs that they have laid.  No matter what, it will be a special night.  There is nothing like the call of an American toad.