Category: Conservation and Climate
I had the perfect baby boomer childhood, roaming the central Connecticut woods with my friends, with nary an adult in sight. From a young age, we scampered up trails in an area that gave its name to the Tri-Mountain State Park, a particularly rugged trail system between New Haven and Middletown. We didn’t care. We […]
The climate is changing. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2)—one of the atmosphere’s leading heat-trapping gases—is at its highest level in human history. Climate scientists warn that significant actions are necessary to slow climate change and its impacts. Every region is experiencing its own impacts of climate change. In recent decades in the Northeast, […]
What is a greenhouse gas? It’s freezing outside—how is the climate getting warmer? I’m only one person. What can I possibly do to slow the effects of climate change? Many of us have basic questions when it comes to understanding climate change. The science can be tricky, and misinformation—much of it deliberately spread by […]
AMC scientists have studied the patterns and effects of climate change and air quality in the Northeast for decades. Here’s a sampling of some of that research. Air Quality Both climate change and air quality issues are caused by emissions of certain pollutants to the atmosphere. Since the 1980s, AMC has been advocating […]
Here’s a Maine fact you may not know: Vacationland’s well-known federal- and state-owned public lands—including Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, and the Bigelow Preserve—account for just 5 percent of the state’s forests. That’s right, almost 95 percent of Maine’s forest land is privately owned. And around half of that private land—about 10 million […]
AMC’s Maine Woods holds a unique role in the preservation of night sky—nestled within a more secluded part of northern Maine, it’s in the heart of one of few remaining dark skies in the Eastern United States. “A dark sky is one where artificial light doesn’t interfere with the view of the natural starry environment. Very […]
Andrew Norkin led AMC’s trails department since 1999, overseeing the construction and maintenance of nearly 2,000 miles of trails annually—from the Bay Circuit Trail in Massachusetts to the mighty Appalachian Trail. Norkin passed away earlier this year after battling cancer. To honor his 21 years of work in trail stewardship, AMC will dedicate a […]
If you were hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, you wouldn’t notice Robbins’ cinquefoil. It’s too small: an entire plant the size of a quarter that blooms with sunshine-colored flowers. It’s also rare, surviving above the White Mountains’ tree line and nowhere else. In the late 1800s, Victorian flora enthusiasts picked hundreds of Robbins’ cinquefoil […]
Visitors to the northern forests of New England often have one wish: to see a moose. But even though an adult moose can weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds and stand over six feet tall, they tend to be elusive creatures. While wildlife is unpredictable, moose are more often seen in certain seasons and locations—intentionally […]
What were you doing 17 years ago? For Brood X cicadas, 2004 was the last time the notoriously loud insects saw the light of day. But this spring, the skies will be buzzing across the mid-Atlantic and Midwest as millions of cicadas in this brood emerge to mate. Likely beginning sometime in May (though the […]
You love to hike, but do you know the names of different trail formats and the common components you’ll encounter on an outing? The following is excerpted and adapted from the newly updated AMC’s Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance, 5th ed. The general trail format will most likely be determined by […]
Above tree line, conditions can be extreme. Temperature swings, high winds, icy winters, blowing snow, and acidic soil all make the so-called alpine zone a tough place for plants to live and grow. Yet many plants have adapted to rely on—and thrive in—these environments. Plants found in Arctic regions also live in the alpine areas […]
Editor’s note: Each spring, AMC volunteer and professional trail maintenance crews take to the trails across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to get them ready for the summer hiking season. The following article is excerpted and adapted from the newly updated AMC’s Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance, 5th ed., detailing some of the […]
By this fall, Appalachian Trail (A.T.) thru-hikers will have a more reliable overnight option between North Carter Mountain and Mount Moriah in the White Mountain National Forest. This field season AMC’s Campsite Program will begin restoration of Imp Shelter, which was last rebuilt in 1980 and was the last native timber shelter built in […]
Reaching the summit after a long hike can feel like entering another world: amazing views, occasionally wild weather—and unique plants. Despite the harsh conditions associated with being above tree line in the so-called alpine zone of northern New England, many plants usually found only in the Arctic regions extend into these habitats. These include many […]
In a few short weeks the winter snow will be gone from the forest floor. After a few sunny days, the soil will warm beneath the leaf litter, especially on south facing slopes of deciduous forests. Quickly, before the trees leaf out, spring ephemeral wildflowers will push through to the sun and bloom. Once the […]
To reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, many individuals and organizations, including AMC, have advocated for alternative methods of transportation—including bicycling. Many cities across the country have implemented bike sharing programs, which allow residents to borrow bikes from public stations near them for short periods of time. But as cities implement these […]
The following was published in the 2016 Winter/Spring edition of Appalachia. Twelve years ago, in December 2003, the Appalachian Mountain Club bought Little Lyford Pond Camps (as it was called then) and the surrounding 37,000 acres of forestland. The property, known as the Katahdin Iron Works or KIW property, marked the club’s first steps on […]
Permanent ponds are scattered across the highest elevation ridges and ravines in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. All of these ponds are accessible by hiking trails, and many feature AMC overnight facilities nearby. The best known of these high-mountain ponds are Lakes of the Clouds and Hermit Lake on Mount Washington, Star Lake on the northern […]
Late in the summer of 1996, by the banks of the Colorado River where it crosses through Austin, Texas, a group of researchers demonstrated something remarkable. While examining how water moves underground through a karst region—an area built on porous, soluble rocks, such as limestone—they poured a fluorescein dye into a sinkhole. Their plan was […]