High School Class Monitors Invasive Species

Some high school students from Scituate, Rhode Island are focusing on invasive plant species in their area. Their goal is to raise awareness about the impact on the local environment of these plants. They are posting their findings on their blog so you can follow along to what they are finding. Scituate is located west of Providence (Google Map) and it will be interesting to see if they see any new plants moving in or existing plants patterns changing as a result of climate change. I really don't know what the impact of climate change is in Rhode Island but I'm sure these students will figure it out.

Deal Is Struck in Montana to Preserve Forest Areas

Deal Is Struck in Montana to Preserve Forest Areas - NYTimes.com

An innovative deal has been made to preserve forested lands in Montana. I think it is innovative because of the unique financing structure used combined with the managed logging that will continue. Half of the financing was made available through a new provision included in the recent farm bill in the U.S. to provide bonds for the project. Another interesting element is the timber company that owned the lands previously will be able to purchase some logs at market rates going forward. I think the future of land preservation will follow this same model. There will need to be a continuing balance between environmental and commercial interests for sustainability to be considered. Hopefully this deal is successful in achieving that balance and can be used as a model.