Forests

"The early spring of 2012 raised both temperatures and eyebrows, including President Obama's.

"ALBANY, N.Y. -- The invasive beetle that has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees over the past decade has been found east of the Hudson River for the first time, marking its closest known threat to New England, researchers in New York told The Associated Press Wednesday."

"WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Forest Service is investing $40.6 million to acquire 27 pieces of land in 15 states that the agency says will help safeguard clean water, provide recreational access, preserve wildlife habitat, enhance scenic vistas and protect historic and wilderness areas."

"With spring having sprung, it will only be a matter of time before many area residents who have ash trees will find out if their trees will be added to the rapidly growing list of victims of the notorious emerald ash borer."

"More than 20 American companies have played roles in fostering a steady flow of illegal hardwoods from the Peruvian Amazon, part of a 'well-oiled machine that is ransacking Peru’s forests and undermining the livelihoods and rights of the people that depend on them,' according to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a watchdog group."

"Old swaths of Appalachian forest land left barren by decades of coal mining may find their past is their future, if efforts to restore the American chestnut tree in reclaimed coal fields are successful."

"JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. -- Families driven from their homes by a fast-moving wall of fire Monday evening said they stayed longer than was safe because authorities told them that the smoke they were smelling was from a controlled burn that was being monitored."

"The same follow-the-money approach used to catch drug kingpins and human traffickers could be used to track down the big operators behind large-scale illegal logging, the World Bank said on Tuesday."

"A small, glitter-green insect that has killed more than 50 million ash trees in the Midwest and beyond has arrived in the Philadelphia region."