We’ve been blessed to work with hundreds of talented writers over the last 25 years, and we’d like to more formally introduce you to a few of them. The organizing principal behind this page was to feature writers whose work has appeared semi-regularly in recent issues. Freelance writing is a tough line of work, and the checks we write are relatively meager. “Why do it?” we asked.
In the words of GEORGE BELLEROSE, “Northern Woodlands’ educational mission to help everyone understand today’s forest is critically needed.” George provided an intimate look at logging in Addison County, Vermont, in each of the last four issues. His latest offering can be found on page 52.
“I enjoy sharing my passion for the woods culture of the Northern Forest with readers,” explained ROSS CARON, whose last story, “The Sugar Island Job,” appeared in the Summer issue. Ross has a day job as a procurement forester in northern New Hampshire.
I’ve never seen a magazine like Northern Woodlands, a rich blend of the board feet-to-bird song spectrum of woods life, with all points between” wrote MIKE FREEMAN, whose latest story appears on page 22.
“I don’t remember who gave me my first copy of Northern Woodlands,” wrote MEGHAN MCCARTHY MCPHAUL, “but I was instantly hooked and especially loved (still do) Virginia Barlow’s Calendar in the front of each issue.” You can read Meghan’s story on tick-borne diseases on page 42, and find an audio recording of her essay “Mowing,” from the Summer issue, on our website.
I write for Northern Woodlands because I love having an excuse to explore aspects of nature that pique my interest and sharing it with others who are equally curious, wrote CAROLYN LORIÉ. Her last essay, “Car Talk,” appeared in the Winter issue.
LLOYD IRLAND wrote of his motivations: “I like the fact that a publication like this serves a wide audience in the Northern Forest region; you have always handled my work well; and I don’t have to wait two years for it to come out as often occurs with technical publications.” You can read about Lloyd’s travels in China on page 16.
JOE RANKIN is a retired newspaper man who’s written dozens of stories for us over the past seven years. “I’m with Samuel Johnson,” he wrote, “who said: ‘no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.’ But then I get to visit neat places and talk to interesting, smart people about forests and nature, so there is that.”
SUSAN SHEA, the former editor of Long Trail News, wrote that she enjoys educating people about nature and conservation through her articles. Her last feature, on orchids, appeared in the Spring issue.
“Writing for Northern Woodlands provides an opportunity to share my fascination of nature and to highlight the work of field biologists,” said JOHN LITVAITIS, whose story on black racers appeared in the Summer issue. John is currently collaborating with biologists in Lithuania to develop a monitoring protocol that relies on observations by hunters and farmers to track recovering wolf populations.