The Tree-of-Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, (I call it Tree-From-Hell) is the most invasive, destructive, non-native tree in the eastern United States. This tree is the preferred host and breeding ground for another invasive, destructive, and non-native pest: the Spotted Lanternfly. The tree and the insect are native to Asia and they...
Galveston, Texas, January 12, 2025. It was raining. Jeanne and I drove through a subdivision of houses on stilts high enough to park cars under. Water pooled everywhere except for the road that was several inches higher than the yards filled with water. Jim Stevenson’s driveway entrance was hidden among...
The Bs have it this fall. The riparian forest buffers at our River Farm are 20 years old. The buffers at Whiskey Creek Regenerative Farming are three years old and have survived two consecutive years of extreme drought. Buteos are a genus of raptors with large bodies and broad wings....
We have a small farm in Swoope along Trimbles Mill Road. The Middle River flows through it for half a mile. We call it the River Farm. The cows were fenced away from the river in 2004, and we planted trees along the banks. Sycamores Hold the Line I walk...
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the most comprehensive law protecting imperiled plants and animals in the world. Because of the ESA, hundreds of plants and animals have been saved, including some of our most iconic birds: the American Bald Eagle, the California Condor, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Whooping...
This post has been revised with breakthrough information on eliminating House Sparrows from your nesting boxes. It was initially posted in 2017, and revised on 3/6/2023. The House Sparrow is perhaps the most adaptable and prolific bird species on the planet. Often called English Sparrow, its scientific name Passer domesticus...
Thirty years ago, Wayne M. Hypes, one of my heroes and a mentor in soil conservation, came into my USDA office in Verona, Virginia, and gave me a wooden candleholder. It was no ordinary candleholder: It was made from American Chestnut, historic wood from a forgotten past. At that time...
Most of the world remains sequestered at home from the COVID-19 pandemic. Demonstrators with assault weapons dressed in military gear protest stay-at-home orders. You might get harassed for wearing a face mask in public. Our political divide widens. Farming Proceeds Despite the Pandemic On the farm, there are no politics...
The Ash tree is one of the most important riparian plants in North America. In Eastern North America there are, or were, three common species in the Fraxinus genus, the White, Green, and Black Ash. In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Green Ash is one of the most prolific trees...
Jeanne and I recently traveled to the most remote island of the British Virgin Islands—Anegada. Most mornings, we were the only people on the beach at the Anegada Beach Club. The beaches here are the most beautiful we have ever experienced with white sand and crystal clear water loaded with...
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