Forest Professionals BC

Welcome to The Root of It newsletter, where we share the stories, research and ideas shaping the future of forests and environmental stewardship.

You’ll not find many Southern writers praising fire except those who understand fire as an ecological tool. Janisse Ray does. Her passionate work on the longleaf pine ecosystem documents how fire clears underbrush, sets seeds free and opens up healthy habitat. Several years back Chuck Leavell of Allman Brothers Band and Rolling Stones fame drove me into tall pines free of underbrush at his Georgia woodland preserve. “This landscape sure looks familiar,” I thought.

Ivan Fernandez, University of Maine professor emeritus of soil science and climate research scientist, has been named the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the inaugural Maine Science Awards. Fernandez was selected for more than four decades of research on the biogeochemistry of Maine’s forests and his contributions to climate science and policy in the state.