COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



A Forest for the New Millennium 



Around the Network: 



New Marine 

 Mammal 

 Guide 



Whal es. Dolphins. Seals. 

 Loggerhead turtles. These sea 

 creatures have long fascinated 

 kids of all ages. 



Now Rhode Island Sea 

 Grant has a new Guide to Marine 

 Mammals and Turtles of the U.S. 

 Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to 

 help you identify 45 species. 

 The guidebook, written by Kate 

 Wynne and Malia Schwartz, 

 has full-color illustrations and 

 photos, as well as distribution 

 maps. 



Single copies of the 

 guidebook are $25. Make your 

 check or money order payable 

 to Rhode Island Sea Grant/URI 

 and mail it to Rhode Island 

 Sea Grant, Communications 

 Office, URI Bay Campus, 

 Narragansett, Rl 02882. 

 Discounts are available on 

 larger quantities. - K.M. 



HOLIDAY 1999 



If a tree falls in the forest with no 

 one to hear, does it make a sound? The 

 Zen riddle may be unanswerable, but as 

 Pocosin Arts knows, trees being felled 

 in the forest can definitely make an 

 impact. 



For centuries, the Atlantic white 

 cedar — a juniper valued for its straight, 

 lightweight and resilient wood — was 

 heavily harvested for use in shingles, 

 house trim, channel markers and boats. 



Now the globally endangered 

 cedar's plight is being heard. On the first 

 day of spring, schoolchildren will be 

 planting 7,000 Atlantic white cedars 

 on a 7-acre tract of the Pocosin Lakes 

 National Wildlife Refuge south of 

 Columbia in Tyrrell County. 



A unique clay marker will be 

 planted with each tree to share this 

 moment in history with future genera- 

 tions. The resulting woodland will be a 

 demonstration forest for environmental 

 education. 



The planting of the millennium 

 forest is a fulfillment of the vision of 

 Pocosin Arts, a nonprofit organization 

 "connecting culture to the 

 environment through the arts." 

 A pocosin is an upland south- 

 eastern swamp where Atlantic 

 white cedar forests once filled 

 an important role, stabilizing 

 streamflows, purifying water and 

 providing habitats for birds and other 

 wildlife. 



But the project — 7000 Juniper - 

 is more than an attempt to save an 

 endangered plant species. It is an 

 integration of art and science 

 to improve quality of life. 

 The yearlong project will 

 focus on wetland ecology 

 and its protection. 



Pocosin Arts also 

 plans to have an 

 environmental art exhibit 

 at the East Carolina 

 University School of Art, photographic 

 and bird-watching excursions into 



juniper woods, a demonstration of shad- 

 boat construction, and a decoy exhibit 

 and carving workshop. 



The project offers an opportunity 

 to consider "how we might restore the 

 environment," says Feather Phillips, 

 executive director of Pocosin Arts. The 

 project also encourages us "to think 

 about using art to express this time in 

 our culture's life — where we've been 

 and where we're going," she says. 



Weyerhaeuser Corporation will 

 donate seedlings. Artists will design the 

 forest space, balancing densely planted 

 trees with open space to create an 

 environmentally functional ecosystem 

 with contemplative areas. Supporters 

 can buy bronze memorial plaques to 

 honor individuals or groups. 



For more information about 7000 

 Juniper, call Phillips at 252/796-2787 

 or e-mail pocosinarts@hotmail.com. 



- C.H.V. 



