Comments on/about Rewilding Torreya and Assisted Migration. November 2. 01. 6 / Nelson Stover /1/3 of free- planted Torreya seeds germinated within 2 years. Summary of results: Nelson wrote: . Visit the Greensboro Torreya webpage dedicated to their Torreya work; many photos and detailed photo- essays in pdf are available from there. The greatest challenges to free- planting are (a) seeds may be dug up and eaten by rodents, and (b) the young seedlings may be partially or entirely nibbled by deer and rabbits. At least 1 (possibly 2) of the germinated seedlings were killed by leaf herbivory within a year of germination. I have probably a hundred cuttings myself, so if we have even modest success we will have succeeded in saving the genes of this venerable tree. Know that to comply with the Endangered Species Act, purchasers must go to the nursery to buy seedlings; then you can drive across state lines legally with the seedlings. The ESA law simply dis- allows . We Torreya Guardians operate strictly by gifting; but nurseries need to stay in business. Learn more about how commercial nurseries assist endangered plants. She is pointing toward the wild forest where multi- age redwoods growing amidst the dominant Douglas- fir indicate that this California species is not only capable of growing far north of its . 01 - home page and photo links; 02 - br steam-diesel photos; 03 - the beeching axe; 04 - train spotters 1; 05 - train spotters 2; 06 - railway centre york; 07 - railway centre doncaster; 08 - railway centre crewe; 09 - br. Tracing America’s Enslavement To Jewish Bankers. History Articles, Jewish Bankers Articles, America In Decline Articles. TRACING AMERICA’S ENSLAVEMENT TO JEWISH BANKERS By Brother Nathanael Kapner, Copyright 2011. Angel Juicers DISCONTINUED due to long standing faults and high warranty claims. We thoroughly recommend the twin gear Greenpower Kempo Juicer in its place for reliability and a high quality juice. Pictured left: me with Gerald (Jerry) Rehfeldt. Forest Service research station in Moscow, Idaho. After lunch, 4 of us ventured south to Lewiston, where we visited the grove of Arizona Cypress that has been growing well in a xeric garden there since 1. Jerry. I posted a photo- essay of our Lewiston visit. October 2. 01. 6 / Chris Larson /Florida's Shoal Sanctuary success with free- planting Torreya seeds. Autumn 2. 01. 6 a Florida Arborist posted a 1.
VIDEO on youtube that is a quick tour of Shoal Sanctuary. Shoal Sanctuary is in the panhandle of Florida, west of the protected critical habitat of the species along the Apalachicola River. For details and photos, see Photo- essay: Children Plant Torreya Seeds at Shoal Sanctuary (FL) (which is updated as project produces results). September 2. 01. 6 / Frank Callahan /Torreya Guardians offered seeds from documented trees in Oregon ! Please contact me if you could use some seeds. These are both monoecious trees that are loaded with fruit. He has published in Herbertia and Phytologia (Calochortus syntrophus/C. Frank owns and operates Callahan Seeds. See a full biography of Callahan in a 2. Native Plant Society of Oregon. Torreya Guardians is fortunate to have received this offer from Frank. We will soon create a webpage For the full and continuing correspondence with Frank. Access a short biography of Frank on page 1. The local paper in Medford Oregon published a news article in 2. Frank's role in acquiring seedlings of the spruce in Mexico and planting them 2. Medford local park. Read this news report online: . Frank is quoted that the Chihuahua Spruce he planted had begun producing seeds and that the trees were doing well: . He also recently documented that the then- champion tree that Connie was photographed standing alongside in 2. Santa Cruz (which fell in 2. August 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /Video posted that celebrates tree- planting mythic story. August 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /New discoveries shape best practices for planting Torreya. July 2. 01. 6 / of Lee Barnes /First video . From 1. 98. 1- 8. Torreya State Park of Florida — Torreya among them. Here Lee speaks of his research, his early role in securing Torreya seeds for distribution to volunteer planters, and his broader frame of biodiversity- centric life work. Lee confirms that North Carolina is excellent habitat for this Florida species — and that it is crucial to experiment with plantings much farther north as climate continues to change. July 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /Two- part video report of 8- year old plantings in Lake Junaluska, NC 2. Root- eating rodents kill endangered Florida Torreya at Junaluska NC Of the 5 remaining Torreyas planted in 2. Both of the uninjured young trees are being dangerously encroached upon by rapidly expanding rhododendron patches. Connie Barlow narrates, with assistance by Michael Dowd. Note: This is a 2. Corneille Bryan Garden in Lake Junaluska, NC. May 2. 01. 6 2. 0b: Two biggest Florida Torreya trees still thriving at Junaluska NC in 2. Both trees planted in full sun (as potted seedlings) in the upper end of Corneille Bryan Garden in 2. A key finding is that neither specimen produced vertical apical growth in 2. May 2. 01. 6July 2. Connie Barlow /Video report posted on youtube of superb growth on Torreyas in central Ohio 1. Florida Torreya to Ohio's Dawes Arboretum (pt b) 2. Documents superb annual growth on the two Florida Torreya specimens beneath a full deciduous canopy (and protected from winter winds by a border of evergreen conifers). Confirms 1- month difference in vegetational budburst bt the Florida Torreya (May budburst) and adjacent Chinese Torreya (June budburst). Speculation on the importance of nearby maple helping the Torreyas by shared fungal root symbionts. June 1. 8, 2. 01. July 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /Information on uses of Torreya grandis seeds in Chinese markets. June 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /More experimentation needed in . We at Torreya Guardians were prominently mentioned in those early papers and reports, because at the time Torreya taxifolia was about the only example of a species actually being deliberately moved poleward to escape the adverse impacts of climate change already experienced in its native range. Because that webpage is so voluminous, I just added a new, directly accessible section that will list new entries by year. Check out the 2 entries thus far included for 2. Highly recommended for its superb background and implications for North American forests is the July 2. The Economist, titled . Significant findings: Watch an . Learn how to assess plant vigor and important measurements to record. Buford's trees are all from 2. Torreya Guardians seed harvests. May 2. 01. 6 1. 9b: Florida Torreya to Brevard NC: 2. Report. The last half of Buford Pruitt's tour of his 1. Three apparently are planted on the compacted soil of an old logging road, and are struggling. Connie steers a discussion of the overall forest health: Why is there so little greenery on the forest floor? Pieced in are video segments of the lush greenery surrounding the original torreya plantings at the Waynesville site, 7. Overall, this 2- part series is a superb video for all new Torreya Guardians to watch — in order to help them assess their own properties for where best to plant seedlings. May 2. 01. 6April 2. Connie Barlow /Article offers shift in conservation outlook (by Janet Marinelli) . Janet's essay on our project appeared in a 2. Audubon Magazine: . This month, Janet continues her exploration of . Her online essay in Yale Environment 3. America's most beautiful understory forest trees, Umbrella Magnolia — 1. Emily Dickinson. The trees, believed to have been planted by Emily's brother Austin, have jumped the garden gate in recent decades and established wild populations not far from the poet's home. This new location is a couple of hundred miles north of the tree's native range, centered in the sheltered woods and ravines of the Appalachian Mountains, and is the first evidence that native plant horticulture in the United States ? Are climate refugees that hitchhike north via horticulture less worthy of protection than plants that arrive on their own? Do they pose a threat to existing native species? Should native plant gardening, the domestic form of assisted migration, be used to help plants stranded in inhospitable habitat? Click also to the Magnolia section of our links webpage (then scroll) to read excerpts of Jesse Bellemare's 2. Umbrella Magnolia escapees. April 2. 01. 6 / by Daein Ballard /New Hampshire Torreyas survive their first winter. April 2. 01. 6 UPDATE: . On a side note, it seems all of my Torreya have made it through winter alive. Now this 7. 5- year- old grove and its offspring are precious for securing the wellbeing of the species and for demonstrating that (with little human help) North Carolina is an ideal habitat for escaping the native diseases of a now too- warm Florida. Connie Barlow narrates photos and videos she captured on site visits to the Biltmore: February 2. August 2. 00. 6, and April 2. March 1. 5, 2. 01. March 2. 01. 6 / by Connie Barlow /New US Forest Service Report Features Florida Torreya Assisted Migration. Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis, James Vose et al., editors (3. This document is highly recommended as an overview of the current research and for its superb lists of key references by chapter. Only one tree species is mentioned in having ASSISTED MIGRATION underway in the USA. Many commercial (e. Southeastern United States. The widespread plantings of the southern magnolia in the southeastern Piedmont (Gruhn and White 2. Coastal Plain, and bois d'arc (Maclura pomifera) across the Eastern United States (Burton 1. While these cultivated successes could be viewed as examples of the potential conservation value of assisted migration, far less is known about the likelihood of success of this management practice for the species most directly threatened by climate- induced environmental change. Efforts are currently underway to see if assisted migration can help with the federally endangered Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia) as well as a number of other tree species imperiled by the anticipated impacts of increased drought and higher temperatures on their limited native distributions (Mc. Lachlan and others 2. Williams and Dumroese 2. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if they now regard their ex situ Torreya plantings in northern Georgia as being a foundational component of a developing assisted migration project. So the reference to Florida Torreya assisted migration in this U. GTR and the Thameslink Timetable. There are probably Southern commuters who would claim that nothing Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR – Southern’s parent company) said or did would surprise them. Many industry insiders would probably agree. When rumours spread rapidly about a proposal to completely revise the Thameslink timetable, however, there were various shades of disbelief. The rumours centred on a proposed Thameslink service to Rainham (Kent) via Greenwich. Without any background context this just seemed like a barmy idea . A Thameslink timetable consultation was a complete surprise because as far as everyone else was concerned the whole thing was pretty much finalised. True, it was an open secret that the 2. September 2. 01. 6, by generally accepted industry norms, would seem to be far too late to start consulting on major timetable alterations due for implementation on Sunday 1. May 2. 01. 8. It seems incredible that the Department for Transport fully consulted on what was thought to be the definitive Thameslink 2. Thameslink franchise on that basis, yet we now have major changes being put forward. More remarkable still, the whole basis of having the large Thameslink franchise was so that it would be self- contained and one operator, as much as possible, would be in overall control. If accepted, these new proposals would make Thameslink so interdependent on South. Eastern that the future influence of South. Eastern on Thameslink performance would be comparable with that of Great Northern. So maybe the franchise should have been bigger still or, as some MPs argue, it has already got too big and shouldn’t be taking over every railway on which it runs a significant number of services. We are getting ahead of ourselves, however, and so first we should step back and take a look at what the proposals contain. There ain’t nothing quite like it. It has been said many times that Thameslink, currently run by GTR, is a franchise like no other. To begin with, it is a franchise where the Df. T keeps all the revenue. The unwritten objective for the train operator is therefore not the usual one of maximising profit by getting as much revenue as possible for as little expenditure as possible. It is to keep the Df. T happy so that they continue to pay the management fee. For better or for worse, it seems that a completely unexpected – and largely unpredicted – consequence of this is that GTR is thinking more long term than other non- Tf. L- sponsored train operators. As a result it isn’t going to be panicked into doing something just because there is a loss of revenue . Indeed it is telling that the head of GTR, Charles Horton, is due to give a lecture next May entitled . The aforementioned fact that the 2. Thameslink timetable, in its current form, won’t work. More importantly though, the consultation seems to admit that in its present form simple tweaks won’t work. As far as GTR seem concerned, it can’t be made to work. Facing up to this fundamental truth has thus led to some pretty drastic decision making. Getting into the details. It is interesting to note that up until now all the doom- merchants have claimed that Thameslink will be a disaster because of the problems of running 2. If the rhetoric of GTR is to be believed though, this is probably the least of their problems . The necessary measures have thus already been taken to make sure that it does not become an issue once a full service through the core is run. So what is the bigger problem GTR anticipate? Here, those looking for something exciting and new to read about are about to be mildly disappointed. For we are back to familiar topics at LR Towers – dwell times, reactionary delay and Windmill Bridge Junction. Indeed on Southern territory this junction must be the railway operational equivalent of Mornington Crescent, because it seems the final answer to everything. GTR have clearly looked at the fundamental reason why there is a problem and have come to the none- too- startling conclusion that it is the complex junctions in the Southern metro area. They also seem well aware that in the past few years a delay on Southern territory has tended to set off a bit of a chain reaction, meaning the overall consequential delay tends to be around three times the initial delay. Awareness of the systemwide problems caused by complex junctions is nothing new. Tf. L Rail are well aware of it and for many years have argued for a more Tf. L- style of railway on the Southern network – i. Indeed much of the Turn South London Orange proposal was about sorting out junctions. Sorting out junctions, however, is rarely an exercise without consequence. What was really necessary to solve, or at least reduce, the junction problem to manageable levels was thus an organisation willing to take the flak and actually do something about this – despite the inevitable initial unpopularity. Until now no TOC in their right mind would do such a thing. Far better to keep one’s head down, not upset the fare- paying punters and quietly collect those large delay payments from Network Rail when the cause of a delay can be attributed to them. Call them maverick, mad or brave. Call them forward thinking and full of willingness to take the initiative. Whatever your preference, GTR seem to be the first organisation willing to face up to this.(Evenly) spaced out. On a much more positive note, and something that would likely get the approval of Sir Herbert Walker (of original Southern Railway fame), GTR have recognised that, both north and south of the river, the current timetable is a complete mess when it comes to regularly spaced trains. This is not something that can be resolved by tweaks and tends to involve tearing the timetable up and starting again. It does seem that the proposals would produce a far superior timetable in this respect and this is again something that is greatly desired by Tf. L, who want to see a . The service today from Redhill has gaps varying between 1. It is a major town with a large catchment area and it really deserves a decent service, such as the proposed train every 1. It is hard to see how this could have been achieved without a major timetable rewrite. Whilst Redhill maybe a particularly bad example of a major station with an erratic service, it is one of many examples that can be found. A solution to providing a regular interval service at most stations is not going to possible by just tinkering with the timetable we currently have. It is not only the regularity that will be better if the proposals are accepted. GTR seem to be striving to provide a better service by increasing the frequency. It has to be said that this includes lines that will never even cover their marginal costs, such as the line to Epsom Downs (which goes up from 1 train per hour . North of the river there are similar proposed improvements, such as 2tph off- peak to Kings Lynn (once work is completed at Ely North Junction) though it has to be said that this is not a new proposal and was due to happen anyway. Better service in the evening and at weekends. Another Tf. L aspiration being pursued is the extension of the normal off- peak services late into the evening and at weekends, although it is conceded in this consultation that there may have to be a reduced service on Sunday mornings to allow time for maintenance. As trains get more crowded then station dwell times can get disproportionally large. It is not just the number of people wanting to get on, but how crowded the train is already, as well as such aggravating factors as a long train and a short platform. So it is a pleasure to see that reality has hit home at GTR and they now propose a one minute dwell time at busy times at stations such as South Croydon and Purley Oaks . This would rectify a much criticised issue with previous timetables, where most industry experts regarded the turnaround times as far too tight to allow a service to be operated reliably. Dwell times are only going to get worse as demand increases. The consultation appears to confirm the fact that, despite all the current disruption, passenger numbers are rising on GTR. Let down by Network Rail. Another reality GTR are facing up to is that some of the infrastructure needed to run the previously proposed 2. Probably worst of all is the fact that a terminating platform to be built at Stevenage simply will not be ready by December 2. GTR’s proposed solution is to run trains to Watton- at- Stone and provide a replacement bus service from there or Hertford North to Stevenage. This must produce one of the railway’s quietest terminating stations. Watton- at- Stone, the village where Sir Nigel Gresley died, has fewer than 1. Another disappointment is that there will not be an eight car terminating platform at Reigate by the time the timetable comes into force. The consultation proposes the options of having 4- car trains combine with another train at Redhill or a more frequent shuttle service. The shuttle service would run up to three trains an hour which, when combined with the Great Western Reading- Redhill service, would give a surprisingly good service of 6tph between Redhill and Reigate. Windmill Bridge Junction. More controversially, GTR believe that the originally proposed throughput of trains through Windmill Bridge Junction (just north of East Croydon) is simply not reliably workable. This would appear to be in contrast to their beliefs when pressing for a more intensive 2. For that timetable – the notorious one that produced an unreliable evening peak from London Bridge – it has been suggested that it was at GTR’s insistence that the service into London Bridge was as intense as it was. Network Rail were arguing for slightly fewer trains – not because they thought it theoretically wouldn’t work, but because they thought it would make the service more reliable. Maybe the lesson has been learnt or perhaps it is a case of once bitten, twice shy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2018
Categories |