Calvin Norman
@functionalforests.bsky.social
Let's talk about trees! 🌳
I'm a forester, wildlife biologist and assist. teaching prof working on climate change, invasive species, and CWD at PSU. Opinions my own
I'm a forester, wildlife biologist and assist. teaching prof working on climate change, invasive species, and CWD at PSU. Opinions my own
In more bad Fed news, the BLM canceled grazing permits for American Prairie’s bison program. It’s bad for a number of reasons, the worst is that bison *still* aren’t managed as wildlife. Why do does AP need to buy permits to run bison?!? They should be everywhere
www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...
www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...
BLM Says American Prairie's Bison Can No Longer Graze on Public Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior has decided to revoke American Prairie's bison grazing permits on BLM land in Montana.
www.outdoorlife.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:18 PM
In more bad Fed news, the BLM canceled grazing permits for American Prairie’s bison program. It’s bad for a number of reasons, the worst is that bison *still* aren’t managed as wildlife. Why do does AP need to buy permits to run bison?!? They should be everywhere
www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...
www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...
I’m 2/3 on catching flying squirrels in the house. My wife thinks this is something I should be 3/3 on…
January 8, 2026 at 3:48 AM
I’m 2/3 on catching flying squirrels in the house. My wife thinks this is something I should be 3/3 on…
Read Death of the Great Lakes
December 31, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Read Death of the Great Lakes
You ever research someone you hate them and every detail you learn about them confirms that? That’s how I feel about Walter Bitterlich—was a Nazi, fought on the Eastern Front, and did so much more but all that gets ignored cause he invented the relascope
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Walter Bitterlich
Podcast Episode · SeedPod · 12/18/2025 · 1h 26m
podcasts.apple.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
You ever research someone you hate them and every detail you learn about them confirms that? That’s how I feel about Walter Bitterlich—was a Nazi, fought on the Eastern Front, and did so much more but all that gets ignored cause he invented the relascope
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Well……
That wasn’t good
That wasn’t good
December 21, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Well……
That wasn’t good
That wasn’t good
Me to my daughter: this is what we trained for!
The training
The training
December 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Me to my daughter: this is what we trained for!
The training
The training
In the least surprising news….
BREAKING: RFKJr directs that the US instantly stop recommending all vaccinations for children. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Under RFK Jr., U.S. plans to stop recommending most vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:17 AM
In the least surprising news….
This isn’t that wrong. Stratified sampling with fixed area plots is the correct a for a low destiny tundra forest, but there are a few important missteps. A pace is two steps (you count based on a foot, so right-left-right is one pace) and the tree ID is wrong. Most of the confers are Norway spruce
@anyaustin.bsky.social got a bunch of people to guess how many trees are in skyrim and then donated $10,000 to Palestine Children's Relief Fund so that at least warrants watching him derive forestry sciences from first principles
How Many Trees Are There in Skyrim?
YouTube video by Any Austin
www.youtube.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:03 AM
This isn’t that wrong. Stratified sampling with fixed area plots is the correct a for a low destiny tundra forest, but there are a few important missteps. A pace is two steps (you count based on a foot, so right-left-right is one pace) and the tree ID is wrong. Most of the confers are Norway spruce
Hey, so this is bad. Do not do this. Throw the meat out and bleach everything it touched
December 11, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Hey, so this is bad. Do not do this. Throw the meat out and bleach everything it touched
When I see basal area in metric
November 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
When I see basal area in metric
Finishing up the bad place today (80% of the overstory is tree of heaven). I got a nice little treat— to kill a big paulownia
October 31, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Finishing up the bad place today (80% of the overstory is tree of heaven). I got a nice little treat— to kill a big paulownia
It seems like my chimney isn’t as sealed as I thought it was. This southern flying squirrel got in the house, but I managed to catch it before the cats. It was released, largely, unharmed
October 27, 2025 at 1:46 PM
It seems like my chimney isn’t as sealed as I thought it was. This southern flying squirrel got in the house, but I managed to catch it before the cats. It was released, largely, unharmed
Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have nodes all the way to the ground—that’s the only grass id you need
October 17, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have nodes all the way to the ground—that’s the only grass id you need
Look what decided to show up to my invasive plant workshop! It really drove home the importance of the workshop
September 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Look what decided to show up to my invasive plant workshop! It really drove home the importance of the workshop
I collected and gave away a bunch of native plants at the Great Insect Fair because insects grow on plants
September 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I collected and gave away a bunch of native plants at the Great Insect Fair because insects grow on plants
We’re getting swamp white oaks and chestnut oaks started! We’re in a drought so I’m not too confident in their fertility…
September 20, 2025 at 11:06 PM
We’re getting swamp white oaks and chestnut oaks started! We’re in a drought so I’m not too confident in their fertility…
I just want to know how the new fire agency, which doesn’t have a budget or congressional approval,suppose to work. How’s HR and transferring staff between departments and agencies suppose to go? There’s no money, so is USFS just going to pay its crew that now have DOI patch?
September 16, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I just want to know how the new fire agency, which doesn’t have a budget or congressional approval,suppose to work. How’s HR and transferring staff between departments and agencies suppose to go? There’s no money, so is USFS just going to pay its crew that now have DOI patch?
Only a few weeks old and she’s already taking out spotted laternfly. I couldn’t be more proud of my little girl
September 14, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Only a few weeks old and she’s already taking out spotted laternfly. I couldn’t be more proud of my little girl
I finally found where the SLG on this property was coming from
August 21, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I finally found where the SLG on this property was coming from
Reposted by Calvin Norman
“As human-driven climate change makes winters shorter, ticks are spending less time hibernating and have more active months when they can hitch rides on animals and people. Sometimes the ticks carry themselves — and diseases — to new parts of the country.”
Ticks are migrating, but scant surveillance may leave doctors in the dark on patient treatment
Health departments struggle to adequately survey for ticks to warn doctors about new species and the diseases they carry.
www.npr.org
August 20, 2025 at 8:16 PM
“As human-driven climate change makes winters shorter, ticks are spending less time hibernating and have more active months when they can hitch rides on animals and people. Sometimes the ticks carry themselves — and diseases — to new parts of the country.”
If anyone wants a nice read, I’m in the paper talking about the inflection point in PA’s forest www.inquirer.com/news/inq2/be...
Pest attacking Wissahickon’s beech trees at ‘extinction level’ is just one of many growing threats to region’s forests
See what’s putting Pennsylvania and New Jersey forests at risk, and what’s being done to save them.
www.inquirer.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
If anyone wants a nice read, I’m in the paper talking about the inflection point in PA’s forest www.inquirer.com/news/inq2/be...
Just a few invasives
July 20, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Just a few invasives
Spotted laternfly is such a flexible insect! Yesterday, I saw it feeding on at least a dozen species from tree of heaven to white oak to pokeweed
July 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Spotted laternfly is such a flexible insect! Yesterday, I saw it feeding on at least a dozen species from tree of heaven to white oak to pokeweed
The illegal Iran strike cost at least 170 million dollars. In the 2025 budget, that’d cover 71% of the Forest Service’s Capital Improvement costs or 48% of Research. In the 2026 budget, that’d cover 216% of improvement and restart research which was ended for budget savings…
June 22, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The illegal Iran strike cost at least 170 million dollars. In the 2025 budget, that’d cover 71% of the Forest Service’s Capital Improvement costs or 48% of Research. In the 2026 budget, that’d cover 216% of improvement and restart research which was ended for budget savings…