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The Appalachian Forest School offers intensive learning opportunities
on the natural history and the
world significance of one of the most important of the earth's fourteen
terrestrial biomes - the temperate broadleaf forest of Eastern North America, in
both the forest's heartland and its farthest fringe. Most events are 5-7
days in length and
are led by expert naturalists and field researchers. To join
the AFS mailing list, please write
services@arcofappalachia.org.
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Winter in the North Woods
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Following the Great
Spirit Moon
to
the Border Lakes of
Ely, Minnesota
January 23 - 30, 2011
Northeastern
Minnesota is the transition zone between two major
forest biomes -- the temperate and the boreal. During
this trip we will immerse ourselves in the natural
history of the North Woods during the depth of winter,
the very season that sculpts and defines the vast
northern forests we will be visiting. During our eight
days out, we will be tracking wolf pack activity under
the guidance of the International Wolf Center, birding
for boreal bird specialties such as gray owls and
northern hawk owls, snowshoeing across frozen lakes to
visit a variety of boreal ecosystems, learning to
identify the North Woods' major tree species, and hiking
to a river's edge at night to witness one of the earth's
most amazing spectacles -- the breeding of the eelpout
fish in an ice-shrouded river. The course location lies just
a few miles south of the Canadian border in the one
million acres of designated wilderness that compose the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Here, only a few road crossings lie
between us and the North Pole. Details coming very soon! |
The
Northern Appalachians
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New England Forests & Alpine Ecology
Vermont and New Hampshire June 19-25, 2011
The two thousand mile spine of the Appalachian
Mountains is the heartland and axis of America's Eastern
Temperate Forest. Here, the Northernmost stretch of mountains
express their own distinctive bio-geography --
showcasing the compelling ambience of the North Country.
Owing to the fact that these mountains top-out over 6000
feet in elevation, combined with what has been dubbed
“the worst weather in the world,” the region contains
eastern North America’s southernmost alpine environment,
as well as alpine boreal spruce and firs.
The past 400 years of Euro-American settlement and thousands of years of Native
American habitations add to landscape's compelling story, and are a major
component of the course study. Explorations include the study of northern old-growth
forests, notable ecological communities, deeply storied cultural sites, and
ecology above the treeline. The itinerary includes the exploration of the
Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire
and the Presidential Range of New
Hampshire’s White Mountains. For more information
click
here.
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Forests of the
Far North
The Temperate Forest's Dance with the Boreal
Exploring the Border Lakes of
Ely, Minnesota
July 16-23,
2011
Two of Earth’s major terrestrial biomes -- the eastern temperate
forest and
the boreal forest -- transition in northeastern Minnesota.
Here, glacier-carved crystalline lakes serve as backdrop
to the majestic boreal forest where it begins its
circumpolar domination -- home to the largest
population of gray wolves in the Lower 48, as well as moose, loon,
and black bear. On this course we will be studying
the ecology of the North Woods in the summer. We will learn to
identify the primary conifers and broad-leafed trees of
the region in their various habitats, explore bogs, and
search out the common warblers that nest in their
canopies - learning them by both sight and sound. We
will study lichens and dragonflies -- for which
the region is renowned for its biological diversity.
And, we will focus on Minnesota's
complex bedrocks which include ancient outcrops of the
Canadian shield: a mosaic of igneous and metamorphic
rocks that tell of a rich volcanically-active past. But, as we fill our minds
with knowledge, we will also take time to journal and
observe, paddle in quiet waters, and pick
raspberries and blueberries for our pancakes.
Program details coming
soon. |
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 Trees
of the Eastern Temperate Forest
A tree recognition, natural history, & forest
succession course
Arc of Appalachia Preserve System in Southern Ohio
August 22-26, 2011
Although
the Eastern temperate forest can claim well over 200
species of trees, learning just 40 to 45 of them will
allow you to travel anywhere into the forest heartland -
from New York to Tennessee - and identify with accuracy
90-95% of the standing trees you will see. In fact, you
could even travel to Europe and Eastern temperate Asia
and be able to recognize nearly all the trees by at
least their family and genera. This is exactly the goal
of this course: to teach you the majority of the common,
widely distributed broadleaf and associated evergreen
trees in the Eastern temperate forest by both common
name, and, if you are really motivated, by Latin. We
will be concentrating not only on the forms of the
leaves, as a clue to ID, but particularly on bark
characteristics. We will practice being in real-life
situations where the forest trees are towering above
your head and you must employ other skills to
identify them than having their leaves in your hands.
The focus of this course throughout will be on
learning eco-systems relationships and tree species
assemblages. You will also learn qualities of various wood,
trees' beauty and
crown shape, wood craft and folklore. For more
information
click here.
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Past Appalachian Forest School Courses which may be re-offered in the future:
Forest on the Western Fringe
Exploring
the forests of the Missouri Ozarks
in the Jacks Fork and Current River Watershed
Last held May, 2009
Let
us know
if you are interested in a reoffering.
Pine-Oak Forests Collared Lizards Wild Caves Canebrakes
Swainson's Warbler habitat
Grass Pink Orchids
 This is a trip to the Missouri Ozarks, the
tension zone between the lush eastern forests and the progressively drier
prairies of the Midwest.
Our destination is the wilderness region of the
spring-fed Current River and its tributary, Jacks Fork River, two of America's clearest
rivers. The wild waters of the Current watershed has earned it worldwide
recognition in the eyes of
canoeing and kayaking enthusiasts, so for most visitors, the river corridor is all they see. Yet
step into Missouri terra firma, beyond the tourist books,
and you will enter one of the most fascinating botanical, geological and
zoological areas in all of North America. The Ozarks boast over 160 endemic species
found no where else in the world. We will see prairie glades filled with
 a
dazzling array of forbes, natural canebrake communities that have nearly
disappeared elsewhere in
the East, and
remnants of Missouri's once-expansive pine-oak woodlands. We will be keeping our eyes open for the extremely rare
Swainson's
warbler,
found almost exclusively in canebrake communities that still hang on in the
Current watershed. Missouri also offers some of the nation's largest springs and
sinkholes, and more caves than any other state except Tennessee -- fully six
thousand of them, known as the "jewels of the Ozarks." And naturally, we will be
studying the temperate deciduous forest -- the Missouri expression of it.
Living Rivers
-- Arteries of the Eastern Forest
Signature Wildlife Species of North America's Temperate Forest
Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
Southern Ohio
Last held August 16-21, 2009 Let
us know
if you are interested in a reoffering.
This course focuses on what makes North
America's Eastern temperate forest
unique among temperate forests of
the world. Although our country's Eastern Forest shares many of its tree and
mammal genera with
Europe and Eastern Asia, our native forest has one major component that -- when
compared to the other temperate forest centers of Europe and Eastern Asia--
distinguishes it globally. Quite simply, in most realms the Eastern temperate forest claims the
highest aquatic life diversity in the temperate world.
For example, one healthy river in a southeastern U.S. forest
harbors more
 species of fresh-water fish than all the rivers of Europe combined.
But fish are just the beginning of the Eastern America's biodiversity
story. Eastern forest watersheds also claim
nearly 60% of the world's crayfish species, 30-40% of the
world's stonefly and
mayfly species, and more fresh-water turtle and fresh-water mussel species than
any other country in the world. Over 350 species of mussels once lived in the
eastern forest rivers, compared to less than ten species in western United
States and Europe. An estimated 40% of the world’s total salamander species are
found in the U.S. and the vast majority live east of the Great Plains.
Conservation challenges now make these waterways one of our most imperiled
forest ecosystem components. This course will help you appreciate the ecology of
the Eastern forest through the study of its lifeblood -- its rivers and
streams and the myriads of life forms that they support. An outstanding
assemblage of academic experts and researchers in the fields of botany, mussels,
crayfish, fish and salamanders will be leading this course--giving participants
a global, conceptual and cross-disciplinary foundation of knowledge. A
substantial amount of our time will be in the field, especially in the water,
becoming familiar with some of the signature species of the Eastern Forest and the
learning the importance of the waters that nourish them.
Managing Forests for Native Biodiversity
Recommended for
Forest Landowners
Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
Southern Ohio
Let
us know
if you are interested in a reoffering.
l
forest succession l
evaluating
forest health & history l
qualities of a functioning forest l
complexity of inter-relationships
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global
view of the temperate forest
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how
to inventory your own property and create a plan
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aesthetics and diversity as factors in management
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goal clarification
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non-native influences
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forest restoration
techniques
This course is for forest stewards who want to do the
“right thing” with their privately owned forest, whether that forest
is urban, rural, a quarter acre in size or a thousand. The truth is,
there is no one morally or scientifically right thing to do. What one does depends upon
what the landowner’s specific goals are, where in the world the forest lies, and what the
particular forest's past history has been. A very popular goal is to manage a forest
as sustainably as possible while maximizing timber production and
associated income. Another common goal is to manage a forest as recreational hunting ground for
one or more selected game species. There is a third path, often the one less
followed, that focuses on stewarding a forest to maximize its capacity to support native bio-diversity.
There
is nothing wrong with any of the above approaches. A landowner succeeds by
having clear objectives, by understanding the trade-offs and
benefits, and employing the most time-tested practices. This
course, of course, is designed for those land owners who are most
interested in cultivating bio-diversity, aesthetics and biological
complexity.
This course will focus on the most important principles of
restoring and managing a ecologically-functioning forest, and the ability to
recognize the results. Considerable time will be
spent in the field. We will be visiting dozens of landscapes with a variety of
past land uses, exemplifying a range of health and function. We will visit
to healthy old growth forests, young forests
following timber harvesting, and abandoned agricultural
lands. During
the course we will be concentrating on "reading" the history of the landscape
before us, and discussing possible restoration and
management techniques that could be applied to each site. The course
will also include orientation to the extensive data assistance
available on the web at no charge to the browser --
including aerials, topographical maps, and soil maps. Participants will be actively involved in discussion and dialogue throughout
this course.
Photos by Larry Henry.
Connecting is the
first step in saving the forest.
e-mail
linkup.adm@highlandssanctuary.org
and ask to join our mailing
list to receive Nature Notes, educational program notices, and volunteer
opportunities
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