Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program

Forests for the Bay

Educating Landowners about Healthy Forests and Clean Water

The Alliance coordinates Forests for the Bay, an education and outreach program for landowners who are interested in actively managing their woodland and/or restoring woods on their property.

Forests for the Bay training, events, newsletters, and workshops actively encourages woodland owners to continue providing natural benefits for themselves and their neighbors through management, easing access to conservation funding, and developing educational initiatives. Workshops include “Your Woods and Your Wallet,” “Real Forestry for Real Estate,” “The Woods in Your Backyard,” “Discover your Woods,” and “Family Succession Planning.”

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Forests for the Bay serves as a clearinghouse of information and resources to help landowners improve the vitality of the woodlands, increase wildlife habitat and protect water quality, generate income, and overall enjoyment of their property.

Forests for the Bay Blogs

Circle around katydid eggs on a small branch.

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Katydids

You can find lots of cool things if you look in the right places! The place this time was the branch of a young black locust tree in one of our riparian buffers. This twig looks like it’s turning into a scaly lizard! But this isn’t a reptile, it’s an insect.

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Tulip poplar flower.

Knowledge is Power; Know Your Flowers – An Inflorescence Story

Have you ever noticed how vastly different and complicated flowering plants can be? Learn more about how botanists identify the different types of patterns in flowers.

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Underwater view of the top of a fairy shrimp swiming in a creek.

What’s Swimmin’? Phenological Fun! Fairy Shrimp

What’s swimming right now? Fairy shrimp! These small crustaceans live in vernal pools and lakes and are an important food source for both fish and birds.

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Front view of a wood frog

Surviving Winter: The Amphibian Way

How do amphibians survive winter? These cold-blooded critters have unique methods for staying alive during the frigid winter months.

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A goose peeking over the top of a wattle fence.

Are You Wasting Your Yard Waste?

Are you wasting your yard waste? Learn how to start using your yard waste as a resource to help your yard flourish, enhance your soil, and reduce your carbon footprint.

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What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Winter Oyster Mushroom

Winter oyster mushrooms, one of the most widely cultivated wild mushrooms, can be found in woodlands throughout North America except the Pacific Northwest.

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What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Japanese Honeysuckle

At this point in the winter, most of the green you see when looking around in the forest is from our native ferns, conifers, and mosses. However, if you take a closer look at the understory, you may see some green that doesn’t come from one of our native species.

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One small lily of the valley plant flowering on a forest floor.

Botanical Boogeymen: Unveiling the Dark World of Poisonous Plants

Come with me as we traverse a spooky world of poisons and hallucinogens closer than you might think, just outside your door.

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Close up image of devil tooth fungus on a forest floor with red extracellular fluid droplets sitting on top of the fungus

Its allliiive, Devil Tooth Fungus

Its allliiive! But, not quite like that. I mean, mushrooms don’t have blood right? Well hold your hiking stick, because this spooky mushroom might cause quite the fright if you look down and happen to see it.

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Close up image of ghost pipes with pink coloring growing from the forest floor.

The Ghosts of the forest Floor: Ghost Pipes

The forest floor hosts all kinds of spooky life forms, but have you ever stumbled across something erupting from the forest floor that is more sinister or more haunting than this fungal forest feature?

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Learn More About Our Forests

A large part of this collaborative effort to educate and provide resources for forestry landowners is the Forests for the Bay newsletter. This monthly newsletter is bursting with stories, regional events, trivia, and more! Sign up or read past newsletters by clicking the links below.

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