Forest Health

Harvesting selected trees from your small woodland can provide firewood, enable chosen trees to thrive, help to control insects and diseases, and more. Small woodlot tree harvesting providers are listed here.

Cutting firewood on your property can achieve more than one goal, such as providing fuel for heating and benefitting selected tree species. Providers of firewood cutting are listed here.

This publication has a dual role of being a non­technical, fully illustrated guide for use by the pub­lic, while still being useful to experts in the field. It describes and illustrates the 100 most frequently grown or encountered potentially poisonous plants found in Maryland.

The News and Notes roundup for this issue features Extension forester Jonathan Kays' interview on Voice of America, a look at why people get lost in the woods, the potential benefit of ghost forests for certain birds, and a new urban tree grant program from the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Japanese privets are less common than other privets that are more widespread across the eastern U.S. Reported sightings in the mid-Atlantic are sparse, but it may be more widespread, based on its continued use in landscaping.

European buckthorn is a native of Europe and was introduced here as an ornamental plant, perhaps as early as the late 1700s. In the 1900s, it was planted widely to form living fence rows and for wildlife habitat. Since then, it has spread aggressively into a variety of environments.

Learn how Marylanders view forestry and its impact on the state's economy. Our regular features include profiles of the North American porcupine and mile-a-minute.

Autumn olive is now considered an invasive plant species for a variety of reasons. While it is not illegal to sell the plant in every jurisdiction where it exists, many natural resources management agencies and organizations discourage property owners from further planting.

In our Winter 2019 issue, read our "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight," the "Invasives in Your Woodland" feature, what the 2018 Farm Bill offers for woodland property owners, and how a native fungus that may help control tree-of-heaven.

Japanese barberry tolerates shade, resists drought, and deer don’t eat it. While this sounds like a perfect combination for ornamental planting, because deer do not browse it, it can outcompete native shrubs. It spreads rapidly through woodlands, open fields, and wetlands.