Saturday, July 30, 2011
Old Growth Forests
Old growth forests are considered an endangered habitat in Pennsylvania. However, just as with some endangered species, with care, effort, and enough time, forests can recover many of their old growth characteristics. While there is endless discussion about what exactly constitutes old growth, in general it means that a true old growth forest would be near climax and has suffered few, if any, intrusions by humans. It means that it would be as you would have found it prior to European colonization or perhaps even before Native Americans began imposing their imprint on it. Breaks in the canopy would be caused by falling trees, dying of old age or struck by lightning. "Tip-ups," the masses of roots turned up when a big tree falls over, would be common.
By that kind of a definition, there is virtually no old growth left at all in the Eastern United States, because disease has removed major components of most of our forests and extinction or extirpation have removed important contributions to the forest ecosystem. The chestnuts are gone, the passenger pigeons and the wolves are gone. The balance among the plants and animals is quite different than it was 500 or 1,000 years ago.
In spite of all that, there are still important forest remnants with old growth characteristics with much to teach us. They provide what we have left of the starting point, the bench mark against which our era can measure itself. Time and care can re-create what in the future will pass for old growth, in spite of its differences from the old growth of the past, so preserving future old growth sites is also an important work. That is why second-growth ravines such as those leading up to the plateau from Sinnemahoning Creek along Bucktail State Park Natural Area are included in this list. Such places are mature second-growth forests now. With time, they will become true old-growth.
Finally, it is also important to include representatives of different ecosystems in old growth, not only the typical hemlock-white pine or hemlock-beech associations of the well-known Cook Forest and Heart's Content. It is for those reasons that places are included in this tour such as Bear Meadows (a large ancient bog) and Cranberry Swamp, giving visitors a broader vision of the varied components of the entire macro-system. While it is true sometimes that "we can't see the forest for the trees," it is just as true that we should not confuse the forest with the trees. In other words, while we speak of old-growth forests in terms of the major tree species found there, old-growth is really a term describing entire ecosystems. The other plants and animals who live within the tree-defined framework are vital to the whole.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/index.aspx
By that kind of a definition, there is virtually no old growth left at all in the Eastern United States, because disease has removed major components of most of our forests and extinction or extirpation have removed important contributions to the forest ecosystem. The chestnuts are gone, the passenger pigeons and the wolves are gone. The balance among the plants and animals is quite different than it was 500 or 1,000 years ago.
In spite of all that, there are still important forest remnants with old growth characteristics with much to teach us. They provide what we have left of the starting point, the bench mark against which our era can measure itself. Time and care can re-create what in the future will pass for old growth, in spite of its differences from the old growth of the past, so preserving future old growth sites is also an important work. That is why second-growth ravines such as those leading up to the plateau from Sinnemahoning Creek along Bucktail State Park Natural Area are included in this list. Such places are mature second-growth forests now. With time, they will become true old-growth.
Finally, it is also important to include representatives of different ecosystems in old growth, not only the typical hemlock-white pine or hemlock-beech associations of the well-known Cook Forest and Heart's Content. It is for those reasons that places are included in this tour such as Bear Meadows (a large ancient bog) and Cranberry Swamp, giving visitors a broader vision of the varied components of the entire macro-system. While it is true sometimes that "we can't see the forest for the trees," it is just as true that we should not confuse the forest with the trees. In other words, while we speak of old-growth forests in terms of the major tree species found there, old-growth is really a term describing entire ecosystems. The other plants and animals who live within the tree-defined framework are vital to the whole.
There really aren't any remnants of the horizon-to-horizon forest that was encountered by the first European settlers. Most of that was cleared for farms. Most of the remainder was logged off by the 1920s. What we have left now as "old growth" were, with one or two notable exceptions, largely the inaccessible, steep slopes or accidents of boundary overlaps. It's those that we celebrate here. They give us a fascinating glimpse of the majesty and complexity that was Pennsylvania old growth forest.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/index.aspx
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Boxerlovinglady's Quote du Jour
"The cure for anything is salt water; sweat, tears or the sea." - Isak Dinesen
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve
Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest unit of the U.S. National Park System and, with its trademarks of high peaks and massive glaciers, one of the most spectacular. Designated as a national park in 1980, Wrangell-St Elias sprawls across 13.2 million acres in the southcentral region of Alaska. It abuts against Canada's Kluane National Park and together their 20 million acres represent one of the largest wilderness areas left in the world, the reason the two parks were recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage site in 1979.
At Wrangell-St. Elias four great ranges, Chugach, Wrangell, St Elias and the eastern end of the Alaskan Range, converge in an area the size of six Yellowstone National Parks to form a crossroads of the mountains. The St Elias Range merges with the Wrangells in the heart of the park and then arcs eastward past the Canadian border where it forms the highest coastal range in the world. Within the park's borders are nine of the 16 highest peaks in the country, including the second highest, Mt St Elias (18,008 feet), Mt Bona (16,421 feet), Mt Blackburn (16,390 feet) and Mt Sanford (16,237 feet). From its glaciated roof of mountains and peaks, the park's terrain descends to the north as treeless tundra and then boreal-forested uplands. To the south the glaciers extend from the mountains almost to the tidewaters of the Gulf of Alaska.
Wildlife includes Dall sheep and mountain goats in the alpine region, caribou around the Wrangell Mountains to the north and moose in the bogs and brushy areas of the lowlands. Bison were released in Copper River Valley in 1950 and along the Chitina River in 1962 and remnants of those herds remain today. Black and brown bears roam throughout the park. Within 60 miles of Chitina, the McCarthy Road ends at a foot bridge across the Kennicott River. On the other side is one of the park's most noteworthy features; the now-deserted Kennecott Mine town site, a National Historic Landmark. After copper was discovered in the area in 1900, a group of wealthy investors formed the Kennecott Copper Corporation (named when a clerical worker misspelled Kennicott), built the Copper River and Northwest Railroad including its famous Million Dollar Bridge, established the company town of Kennicott and from 1911-38 made more than $100 million mining some of the richest copper veins the country has ever known. Since no gambling or drinking were allowed at the company town, McCarthy quickly sprang up nearby as a place where miners would find 'wine, women and song,' in its saloons, restaurants, hotels, and pool halls. A number of the buildings from that era still stand in both Kennicott and McCarthy, making the area the best remaining example of early 20th century copper mining.
Beyond exploring the old mining towns, other activities include backpacking and hiking, mountain biking, birding, camping, sport fishing and hunting, horseback riding, whitewater rafting and kayaking, mountaineering and ice climbing, wildlife viewing and flightseeing. In the winter visitors arrive to cross-country ski, snowmobile and snowshoe.
http://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Parks%20and%20Public%20Lands/Wrangell-St%20Elias%20National%20Park.aspx
At Wrangell-St. Elias four great ranges, Chugach, Wrangell, St Elias and the eastern end of the Alaskan Range, converge in an area the size of six Yellowstone National Parks to form a crossroads of the mountains. The St Elias Range merges with the Wrangells in the heart of the park and then arcs eastward past the Canadian border where it forms the highest coastal range in the world. Within the park's borders are nine of the 16 highest peaks in the country, including the second highest, Mt St Elias (18,008 feet), Mt Bona (16,421 feet), Mt Blackburn (16,390 feet) and Mt Sanford (16,237 feet). From its glaciated roof of mountains and peaks, the park's terrain descends to the north as treeless tundra and then boreal-forested uplands. To the south the glaciers extend from the mountains almost to the tidewaters of the Gulf of Alaska.
Wildlife includes Dall sheep and mountain goats in the alpine region, caribou around the Wrangell Mountains to the north and moose in the bogs and brushy areas of the lowlands. Bison were released in Copper River Valley in 1950 and along the Chitina River in 1962 and remnants of those herds remain today. Black and brown bears roam throughout the park. Within 60 miles of Chitina, the McCarthy Road ends at a foot bridge across the Kennicott River. On the other side is one of the park's most noteworthy features; the now-deserted Kennecott Mine town site, a National Historic Landmark. After copper was discovered in the area in 1900, a group of wealthy investors formed the Kennecott Copper Corporation (named when a clerical worker misspelled Kennicott), built the Copper River and Northwest Railroad including its famous Million Dollar Bridge, established the company town of Kennicott and from 1911-38 made more than $100 million mining some of the richest copper veins the country has ever known. Since no gambling or drinking were allowed at the company town, McCarthy quickly sprang up nearby as a place where miners would find 'wine, women and song,' in its saloons, restaurants, hotels, and pool halls. A number of the buildings from that era still stand in both Kennicott and McCarthy, making the area the best remaining example of early 20th century copper mining.
Beyond exploring the old mining towns, other activities include backpacking and hiking, mountain biking, birding, camping, sport fishing and hunting, horseback riding, whitewater rafting and kayaking, mountaineering and ice climbing, wildlife viewing and flightseeing. In the winter visitors arrive to cross-country ski, snowmobile and snowshoe.
http://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Parks%20and%20Public%20Lands/Wrangell-St%20Elias%20National%20Park.aspx
Favorite Place du Jour:
http://www.travelalaska.com/MyAlaska/News/July%202011/geography.aspx?utm_source=MAN_JUL&utm_medium=email
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Alaska is 710,231 as of April 2010. That might not seem like a lot in relation to its sheer size, but various communities in the state buzz with the energy of any city in the Lower 48. Anchorage, for example, is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 291,826. It’s a main hub for airline travel, and boasts an excellent dining and shopping scene along with farmer’s markets, art galleries and cultural centers. A little more than 300 miles north of Anchorage is the city of Fairbanks, the heart of Alaska’s Interior. Fairbanks and the surrounding area is the second-most populated city in Alaska, at 97,581 residents. Fairbanks serves as another main transportation center for travel to and from the state, as well as a prime location from which to venture into the Far North region.
Nestled between Anchorage and Fairbanks is Alaska’s third-place finisher for total city/borough population, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Mat-Su Valley has 88,995 residents who mainly live either in Wasilla or Palmer (the Alaska State Fair celebrates its 75th year here this summer). Many visitors might be surprised to learn Alaska’s capital city of Juneau ranks fourth largest in the state, with 31,275 residents. Juneau has an international airport of its own and is a highlight on any visit to the Inside Passage region of the state. It’s also a main port of call on cruise itineraries.
Alaska is home to more than 3,000 rivers, the biggest of which is the Yukon River. The Yukon is almost 2,000 miles long, making it the third largest river in the United States. It flows west from Canada through Alaska’s Interior and Far North regions before emptying into the Bering Sea in Alaska’s Southwest region. During the gold rush era and for thousands of years before, it has been an important connection between remote communities. Today, visitors can embark on a variety of activities in and around the river, including fishing, rafting, hiking, kayaking and gold panning. Other popular rivers for recreational activities include the Kenai River, accessible from Cooper Landing, Kenai and Soldotna; the Copper River from Cordova or Gakona; the Chena and Tanana rivers near Fairbanks; the Stikine River near the Inside Passage town of Wrangell; and many, many more.
A number of travelers to Alaska have set their sights on one thing: viewing a colossal, glittering glacier. Five percent of the state is covered with glaciers, and before you consider that number small, note that five percent of America’s largest state equals around 29,000 square miles and an estimated 100,000 glaciers! The largest of these is the 850-square-mile Malaspina Glacier, North America’s largest piedmont glacier. It’s located at the northern end of the Inside Passage region, inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Visitor bureaus in communities throughout Alaska can provide travelers with a list of the most spectacular glaciers to see on a trip to any region in the state, many of which are accessible right off major roadways. Tours that offer guests access to these icy dazzlers include activities like glacier trekking or flightseeing and are widely available in communities throughout the state.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Alaska is 710,231 as of April 2010. That might not seem like a lot in relation to its sheer size, but various communities in the state buzz with the energy of any city in the Lower 48. Anchorage, for example, is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 291,826. It’s a main hub for airline travel, and boasts an excellent dining and shopping scene along with farmer’s markets, art galleries and cultural centers. A little more than 300 miles north of Anchorage is the city of Fairbanks, the heart of Alaska’s Interior. Fairbanks and the surrounding area is the second-most populated city in Alaska, at 97,581 residents. Fairbanks serves as another main transportation center for travel to and from the state, as well as a prime location from which to venture into the Far North region.
Nestled between Anchorage and Fairbanks is Alaska’s third-place finisher for total city/borough population, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Mat-Su Valley has 88,995 residents who mainly live either in Wasilla or Palmer (the Alaska State Fair celebrates its 75th year here this summer). Many visitors might be surprised to learn Alaska’s capital city of Juneau ranks fourth largest in the state, with 31,275 residents. Juneau has an international airport of its own and is a highlight on any visit to the Inside Passage region of the state. It’s also a main port of call on cruise itineraries.
Alaska is home to more than 3,000 rivers, the biggest of which is the Yukon River. The Yukon is almost 2,000 miles long, making it the third largest river in the United States. It flows west from Canada through Alaska’s Interior and Far North regions before emptying into the Bering Sea in Alaska’s Southwest region. During the gold rush era and for thousands of years before, it has been an important connection between remote communities. Today, visitors can embark on a variety of activities in and around the river, including fishing, rafting, hiking, kayaking and gold panning. Other popular rivers for recreational activities include the Kenai River, accessible from Cooper Landing, Kenai and Soldotna; the Copper River from Cordova or Gakona; the Chena and Tanana rivers near Fairbanks; the Stikine River near the Inside Passage town of Wrangell; and many, many more.
A number of travelers to Alaska have set their sights on one thing: viewing a colossal, glittering glacier. Five percent of the state is covered with glaciers, and before you consider that number small, note that five percent of America’s largest state equals around 29,000 square miles and an estimated 100,000 glaciers! The largest of these is the 850-square-mile Malaspina Glacier, North America’s largest piedmont glacier. It’s located at the northern end of the Inside Passage region, inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Visitor bureaus in communities throughout Alaska can provide travelers with a list of the most spectacular glaciers to see on a trip to any region in the state, many of which are accessible right off major roadways. Tours that offer guests access to these icy dazzlers include activities like glacier trekking or flightseeing and are widely available in communities throughout the state.
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