area of detail 



NORTH AMERICAN MAPLE PROJECT STAND LOCATONS 



The Health of Sugar Maple 



Bob Cooke 



Imagine a world without the 

 sugar maple tree: no sweet 

 syrup in the springtime; no 

 cabinets or hardwood floors 

 made from its clear, straight 

 grain; woodstoves absent 

 the warmth of maple logs; no 

 golden hillsides and roadsides as 

 we drive through New England in 

 the fall. 



Is this a glimpse of the future? 

 Concerns over issues such as glo- 

 bal greenhouse gases raised at 

 the summit in Kyoto, )apan, have 

 raised recent questions over the 

 health and future of our natural 

 environment. Questions over the 

 health of sugar maple were first 

 raised in the latter part of the 

 1970s. Sugarbush owners, forest- 

 ers, and the general public began 



seeing or reading about reports of a wide-spread de- 

 cline in the health of sugar maple. In response to 

 this concern, a group of international scientists con- 



vened in Burlington, Vermont, in 

 1987 to discuss the problem. 

 Their recommendation for a spe- 

 cial project to evaluate and moni- 

 tor the health of sugar maple was 

 initiated through an agreement be- 

 tween the Canadian Forest Service, 

 the United States Forest Service, 

 state and province forestry organi- 

 zations, and universities. 



In 1988, the North American 

 Maple Project (NAMP) was born 

 out of this collaboration. Its goal 

 was to determine changes in the 

 health of the sugar maple. Some 

 of the factors examined include 

 overall health, the effects of pol- 

 lution (particularly acid rain), and 

 the effect of sugarbush manage- 

 ment. Ten states and four prov- 

 inces (see table) joined the pro- 

 gram and continue to collect annual data on sugar 

 maple health today. 



NAMP currently looks at the health of sugar maple in 



FEBRUARY ■ MARCH ■ 1998 



19 



