Forestcast
35 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago -As a daily weather forecast evaluates current atmospheric conditions and predicts if it’s likely to rain in the near future, Forestcast shows you what’s happening in the forests of the Northeast and Midwest, and where those forest ecosystems might be headed. From the forefront of forest research, the Northern Research Station invites you inside the largest forest research organization in the world — the USDA's Forest Service. In each episode, you’ll hear stories, interviews, and special in-depth anthologies of the science that's studying, questioning, and solving some of today's most compelling forest issues.
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Episodes
Flying the Nuthatch Home
June 27, 2023 08:30 - 44 minutes - 61.6 MBOnce spanning nearly 6 million acres in Missouri's Ozarks, the shortleaf pine and oak woodland ecosystem has dwindled to 100,000 acres today. Along with the loss of this habitat, a bird—the brown-headed nuthatch—disappeared as well. However, after decades of woodland restoration, the brown-headed nuthatch has returned to Missouri—by plane. Over two summers in 2020 and 2021, a team of scientists successfully captured and flew 102 birds from Arkansas to Missouri, marking the bird’s return to...
Women of Research: Our Sustainable Future with Cindi West
April 13, 2023 08:00 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBCindi West has over 30 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of natural resources. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Lab. She has served in various leadership roles in the Forest Service, including as the Director of the Office of Sustainability & Climate Change, Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, Director for Resource Use S...
Women of Research: Scientific & Ethical Integrity with Maggie Hardy
April 10, 2023 08:00 - 35 minutes - 49.1 MBMaggie Hardy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Forest and Woodland Ecosystems Program, a group of scientists that develops and delivers scientific knowledge and management tools for sustaining and restoring the health, biodiversity, productivity, and ecosystem processes of forest and woodland landscapes. Before joining the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Maggie served as Chief Regulatory Scientist and as an Executive Director with the Australian Pesticides and ...
Women of Research: Changing the World Through Soil with Deb Page-Dumroese
April 06, 2023 08:00 - 24 minutes - 34 MBResearch soil scientist Deb Page-Dumroese’s research interests center around maintaining soil productivity during and after land management activities. As site principal investigator for several North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study plots, Deb is well-versed in the pre- and post-treatment sampling necessary to determine changes in above- and below-ground nutrient properties associated with harvesting, organic matter removal, and biochar additions. In partnership with the Missoul...
Women of Research: A Life of Healthy Forests with Jenny Juzwik
April 03, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBResearch plant pathologist, Jenny Juzwik, conducts studies on diseases of trees that impact forest health and productivity. Her career-long interest and passion has been the study of interactions among microorganisms and insects associated with disease occurrence and development. One particular focus has been on the insects responsible for transmission of the oak wilt fungus, Bretziella fagacearum. In 2014 she completed research that involved elucidation of the major biotic determinants of...
Women of Research: The Nature of Stewardship with Lindsay Campbell
March 30, 2023 08:00 - 28 minutes - 39.7 MBResearch social scientist, Lindsay Campbell, explores the dynamics of civic stewardship, environmental governance, and sustainability policymaking--with a particular emphasis on issues of social and environmental justice—all from New York City. She is a founding member of the New York City Urban Field Station, which was jointly created by the Northern Research Station and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Urban Field Station develops and applies adaptive management ...
Women of Research: Plots to Blocks with Sjana Schanning
March 27, 2023 08:00 - 27 minutes - 38.1 MBEcologist Sjana Schanning’s fieldwork has taken her from the Rincon Mountains of Arizona, to the the winter woods of Wisconsin, to the summer shores of Michigan’s Isle Royale. But, she’s recently shifted away from the field towards data analysis, our cities’ trees and the Urban FIA Program. Sjana collects field data and performs data analysis and reporting for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program. FIA data provides critical status and trend information to resource managers, poli...
Women of Research: Juggling Motherhood & Ornithology with Susannah Lerman
March 23, 2023 08:00 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MBEcologist Susannah Lerman walks us through her career and life, from falling in love with birds in Israel, to making something more of mowing, to hosting a motherhood workshop, to the mentors that enabled her to create a career out of science. Susannah’s research goal is to improve the sustainability of urban and human-dominated landscapes for birds, bees and other wildlife, and advancing human well-being through strengthening connections between people and nearby nature. Related Researc...
Women of Research: Watershed Moments & Moms with Chelcy Miniat
March 20, 2023 06:00 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBEcologist Chelcy Miniat shares watershed moments of her career and life, from a spark of science in sixth grade, to her time at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, to her decisions about if and when to have children. Chelcy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems (MRDE) program, a group of scientists that investigates the biology, use, management, and restoration of grasslands, shrublands, and deserts. Her own research is center...
Women of Research: An Ode to Mentors by Sara Brown
March 16, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes - 52.6 MBEcologist Sara Brown takes us through eight chapters of her career and the 10 mentors that made her, from wildland firefighting, to smokejumping, to teaching in New Mexico, to directing the Missoula Fire Science Lab. Sara is a classically trained ecologist, with a focus on fire ecology. Before her return to the Forest Service in 2015, she was an Assistant Professor of Forestry at New Mexico Highlands University. She taught wildfire science and ecology courses, and enjoyed working on resear...
Women of Research: Twenty-Five Years of Mentorship with Laura Kenefic & Susan Stout
March 13, 2023 08:00 - 39 minutes - 54 MBTo celebrate the immeasurable impact of women in our nation’s history, and to honor the scientists who have inspired others to dream, work, study, serve and succeed, Forecast is kicking off a special 10-episode series highlighting women’s perspectives in research over the past 50 years. Eleven scientists from the Northern Research Station and Rocky Mountain Research Station will share their experiences from before, during and after careers with the USDA Forest Service. Stories of mentors a...
Backcross BONUS: How A Bird Influences Beech Resistance Patterns
February 07, 2023 09:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBBeech bark disease has been killing American beech trees in eastern North America since the late 1890s. In northern New England, New York, and the Maritimes where the disease is most severe, groups of disease resistant trees occasionally occur. Genetic studies reveal that trees in groups are families, and distribution patterns suggest that they were “planted” by blue jays. Related Research: American Beech Resistance to Cryptococcus fagisuga (1983) Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 75 (198...
Backcross: Will Ash be the Blueprint for Tree Restoration?
March 29, 2022 08:00 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MBThe number one way you can stop an insect invasion or pathogen from spreading is by stopping it from ever starting. Who says geneticists and ecologists can’t act in the same way—taking action before a tree is ever in danger? With ash, proactive and collaborative breeding is already taking place, and it could be a roadmap for the future of combating tree species restorations. Related Research: Green Ash Trees That Survive Beetle Infestation Pass on Their Resistance Through Propagation a...
Backcross: A Return to Elm Street
March 22, 2022 09:00 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBDutch elm disease (DED) is one of the most commonly known and destructive tree diseases in the world. The disease was first observed in Ohio in 1930, and by 1976, only 34 million of the estimated 77 million elms present in U.S. urban locations remained. Research on American elm from the 1970s to the present has focused in large part on the identification of American elm individuals that can withstand the DED pathogen. To increase American elm’s long-term recovery as a canopy tree, it is cr...
Backcross: The Past, Present and Future of American Chestnut
March 15, 2022 08:00 - 41 minutes - 56.5 MBA hundred years ago, the American chestnut was the redwood of the East. It was big, and it was everywhere, especially in the southern Appalachians. But, today, it’s just a shrub and is, functionally, extinct. With chestnuts having gone through such a dramatic decline, restoration has been a priority, and it’s been a restoration effort unlike many others. It’s been one of the most passionate efforts an American tree has ever seen. Related Research: American Chestnut Oral History Project ...
Backcross: How Do You Breed Better Trees?
March 08, 2022 09:00 - 19 minutes - 27.1 MBTree species restoration—especially with species that are threatened with extinction—isn't even on the table unless you have resistant planting stock. But, trees live on another timescale than humans—a much longer one. And, to be a geneticist, to breed, your job is to infiltrate that timeline, and to understand it. By understanding that timeline, you can begin to fiddle with it, fiddle with time, and with the future. The future of that plant, but also the future of our planet. Genetics allow...
Backcross: Tree Species Restoration & Resistance Breeding
March 01, 2022 09:00 - 9 minutes - 13 MBIn season one of Forestcast, entomologists showed us the ways we slow insects from attacking and killing trees. This season, we’ll meet another set of scientists, scientists who have been attacking the issue of non-native invasive insects and pathogens from a different angle. Chemicals and biological control can buy trees time, but they cannot completely control the non-native insects that are attacking trees that have never experienced these insects before. We need something on top of those ...
Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee (Field Notes)
July 15, 2021 05:00 - 6 minutes - 10.5 MBMac Callaham, a research ecologist, goes searching alone in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest for one of Brood X’s most-southern cicada emergences. Scientist: Mac Callaham, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? More at: www.nrs.fs.fed.us/podcast/special/3/ Any questions? Connect with us on Twitter!
Field Notes: Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee
July 15, 2021 05:00 - 6 minutes - 10.5 MBMac Callaham, a research ecologist, goes searching alone in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest for one of Brood X’s most-southern cicada emergences. Scientist: Mac Callaham, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? More at: www.nrs.fs.fed.us/podcast/special/3/ Any questions? Connect with us on Twitter!
The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas
May 05, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 43.7 MBAny day now, periodical cicadas will emerge across 15 states stretching from Illinois to New York and northern Georgia. Two scientists, one who’s tracked the aboveground movements of these cicadas, and another who’s unearthed the belowground impact of these insects, take you inside the many mysteries and forgotten elements of these evolutionary enigmas. Related Research: Sharp boundary formation and invasion between spatially adjacent periodical cicada broods (2021) Periodical cicada ...
A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce
May 14, 2020 13:06 - 37 minutes - 54.8 MBIn the 1970s, red spruce was the forest equivalent of a canary in the coal mine, signaling that acid rain was damaging forests and that some species – especially red spruce – were particularly sensitive to this human induced damage. In the course of studying the lingering effects of acid rain, scientists came up with a surprising result – decades later, the canary is feeling much better. Related Research: “The Surprising Recovery of Red Spruce Growth Shows Links to Decreased Acid Depositi...
The Future of Forest Threats
April 02, 2020 12:00 - 17 minutes - 25.6 MBIn addition to studying and monitoring the non-native insects already here, scientists are monitoring pests that have potential to become problems if they ever do arrive, whether from overseas or from other parts of North America.
Balance & Barrier: The Future of Forest Threats
April 02, 2020 12:00 - 17 minutes - 25.6 MBIn addition to studying and monitoring the non-native insects already here, scientists are monitoring pests that have potential to become problems if they ever do arrive, whether from overseas or from other parts of North America. Related Research: “The Challenge of Modeling and Mapping the Future Distribution and Impact of Invasive Alien Species” (2015) “Reproduction and potential range expansion of walnut twig beetle across the Juglandaceae” (2018) About The USDA Forest Service Quar...
Balance & Barrier: The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle
March 26, 2020 12:00 - 18 minutes - 27.4 MBThe Asian longhorned beetle has the makings of a disaster pest poster — a wide possible geographic and climatic range, a number of host trees, and few control options. Lucky for us, it just doesn’t seem to spread far on its own. There are biocontrol and predator options, but nothing is ideal, or especially effective. At this time, there isn’t much we can do other than chop down and chip infested trees. Related Research: “New York's Battle with the Asian Longhorned Beetle” (1997) “Mappin...
The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle
March 26, 2020 12:00 - 18 minutes - 27.4 MBThe Asian longhorned beetle has the makings of a disaster pest poster — a wide possible geographic and climatic range, a number of host trees, and few control options. Lucky for us, it just doesn’t seem to spread far on its own. There are biocontrol and predator options, but nothing is ideal, or especially effective. At this time, there isn’t much we can do other than chop down and chip infested trees.
Balance & Barrier: When A Single Clone Caused An Invasion
March 19, 2020 19:00 - 25 minutes - 36.2 MBWith no parasitic wasps — like we have for emerald ash borer — and no miracle fungal pathogen — as with gypsy moth — our control options for the nonnative insect threatening Eastern hemlock forests, the hemlock woolly adelgid, have been tricky. Hemlock forests, and the hemlocks in your yard, are paying the price. Related Research: “Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: A Non-Native Pest of Hemlocks in Eastern North America” (2018) “Mitochondrial DNA from Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Suggests Cryptic Specia...
When A Single Clone Caused An Invasion
March 19, 2020 19:00 - 25 minutes - 36.2 MBWith no parasitic wasps — like we have for emerald ash borer — and no miracle fungal pathogen — as with gypsy moth — our control options for the nonnative insect threatening Eastern hemlock forests, the hemlock woolly adelgid, have been tricky. Hemlock forests, and the hemlocks in your yard, are paying the price.
Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Gypsy Moth's Spread
March 12, 2020 12:00 - 18 minutes - 26.9 MBInsect biological control comes in all shapes and sizes — parasitoids, predators, or pathogens. So, what happens when neither a parasitoid nor a predator are feasible? Well, sometimes we have to turn away from using insects to attack insect pests, and turn to using an even smaller organism, something microscopic: a pathogen — in this case a fungus. Related Research: “Introduction and Establishment of Entomophaga maimaiga, a Fungal Pathogen of Gypsy Moth in Michigan” (1995) “Discovery of...
Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Spongy Moth's Spread
March 12, 2020 12:00 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBInsect biological control comes in all shapes and sizes — parasitoids, predators, or pathogens. So, what happens when neither a parasitoid nor a predator are feasible? Well, sometimes we have to turn away from using insects to attack insect pests, and turn to using an even smaller organism, something microscopic: a pathogen — in this case a fungus. Related Research: “Introduction and Establishment of Entomophaga maimaiga, a Fungal Pathogen of Gypsy Moth in Michigan” (1995) “Discovery of E...
Slowing the Gypsy Moth's Spread
March 12, 2020 12:00 - 18 minutes - 25.3 MBInsect biological control comes in all shapes and sizes — parasitoids, predators, or pathogens. So, what happens when neither a parasitoid nor a predator are feasible? Well, sometimes we have to turn away from using insects to attack insect pests, and turn to using an even smaller organism, something microscopic: a pathogen — in this case a fungus.
Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle
March 05, 2020 13:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MBWith global trade and travel, organisms are moved around easily and abruptly, causing biological invasions. What’s our best hope to combat these rapidly spreading pests? Sometimes, it’s to do the exact same thing, to start moving around organisms — on purpose — to attack unwanted pests. This is called ‘biological control.’ It is one of the most cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable long-term approaches for managing invasive species. And, it’s been a crucial component to managing the ...
Balance & Barrier: Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle
March 05, 2020 13:00 - 25 minutes - 36.7 MBWith global trade and travel, organisms are moved around easily and abruptly, causing biological invasions. What’s our best hope to combat these rapidly spreading pests? Sometimes, it’s to do the exact same thing, to start moving around organisms — on purpose — to attack unwanted pests. This is called ‘biological control.’ It is one of the most cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable long-term approaches for managing invasive species. And, it’s been a crucial component to managing th...
A Slow Explosion of Damaging Forest Insects
February 24, 2020 20:27 - 23 minutes - 33.6 MBA biological invasion is an enormous increase in population of some kind of living organism. It happens when an organism — like an insect — arrives somewhere beyond its previous range, when it breaks out past its natural barrier, unbalancing the biological order. More than 450 non-native insects have invaded our forests and urban trees since European settlement. In this series, we'll explore four of these insects, and the scientists studying and combating these pests. In 1957, a British ec...
Balance & Barrier: A Slow Explosion of Damaging Forest Insects
February 24, 2020 20:27 - 23 minutes - 33.6 MBA biological invasion is an enormous increase in population of some kind of living organism. It happens when an organism — like an insect — arrives somewhere beyond its previous range, when it breaks out past its natural barrier, unbalancing the biological order. More than 450 non-native insects have invaded our forests and urban trees since European settlement. In this series, we'll explore four of these insects, and the scientists studying and combating these pests. In 1957, a British ec...
Welcome to “Forestcast”
February 24, 2020 20:25 - 2 minutes - 5.33 MBThe Northern Research Station invites you inside the largest forest research organization in the world — the USDA's Forest Service — for conversations with scientists at the forefront of forest research. Forestcast brings you stories, interviews, and special in-depth anthologies of the science that's examining and explaining how forests affect our lives, and how we affect our forests. To kick things off, a special six-part series on one of the most significant environmental threat to our f...