Letters.

THANKS FROM NYC

Deborah Gangloff: I would like to thank AMERICAN FORESTS for its generous donation of 1,450 trees to the city of New York through the Memorial Tree Groves campaign. These trees are beautiful specmiens of Yoshino cherries, Mount Vernon red maples, tulip poplars, willow oaks, crabapples, sweetgums, sycamores, green ash, and franklinia.

Our Natural Resources Group (NRG) is using some of these trees to reforest wild areas--mainly as edge plantings along natural areas to beautify restoration project sites and to help control unauthorized trail use. Other trees are being used by Greenthumb's Land Restoration Project to aid in the restoration and rehabilitation of projects on park sites and other city-owned vacant lots under their charge. Finally, the Arthur Ross Citywide Nursery is distributing additional trees to various Parks divisions for projects throughout the city. The nursery will also use certain trees to help us propagate some of these species in the future.

We appreciate AMERICAN Forests support of New York's urban forestation projets. As they grow, these trees will serve as true living memorials to the heroes of the September 11. tragedies.

Adrian Benepe Commissioner, New York City Parks

A SPECIAL TREE

Deborah Gangloff: I recently read your article "Special Trees" featuring the Liberty Tree that graced the St. John's College campus until its death in 1999. In December of 2002 I received as a gift from my wife a Liberty Tree Edition of the Baby Taylor guitar built by Taylor Guitars of California. Along with the guitar I received a video describing the Liberty Tree's history.

What a wonderful story it is! After playing the guitar and viewing the video I realized what a treasure I had. I felt compelled to write a song about the tree and have enclosed a cassette with a recording of "the Liberty Tree" and a copy of the lyrics. It is a home four-track recording and the quality has a bit to be desired, but I hope you have the time to listen and enjoy it, I am very proud to have such a great piece of American history and it is heartening to know that the tree continues live through a seedling project.

I also received a copy of American Forests magazine, which featured a wonderful article by Michelle Robbins called "The Sweet Sound of Liberty." Perhaps, if you have the opportunity, you could share "The Liberty Tree" with Ms. Robbins.

Mike Darnell Houston, Texas

LICHENS?

editor: The picture on page 22 of the spring issue of American Forests certainly looks like the lichen Letharia on Douglas-fir bark. Arceuthobium douglasii grows on the twigs. The lichen, by the way, does not hurt the tree. In fact, there is growing evidence that lichens growing on trees help with water absorption rates in forests and add to the soil nutrient levels.

Teresa Sholars Mendocino Coast campus College of the Redwoods Fort Bragg, CA

editor: The photo in Melissa Stewart's Clippings (From Bad to Benefactor, Spring 2003) extolling the value of dwarf mistletoe for wildlife is actually a photo of the beautiful lichen Letheria vulpina. This nonvascular plant is harmless to the trees on which it grows. This species, also growing in Europe, was mixed into balls of tallow to kill wolves and foxes. To assure these animals were killed, the peasants also added ground glass to the concoction!

Octogenerian Bill Brenneman via e-mail

FIXES, PLEASE

editor: Having just spent a lazy Sunday afternoon catching up on my reading, I picked up my Winter 2003 edition. I noted that in some clippings/articles, you correctly italicized the scientific names. Why did you not do so Jr "Oak Disease's Latest Victims," and in "News of Note"? Also, why (in the former Clippings item) must you join the vast number of the uninformed who use the term [w]ildlife habitat deteriorates" when referring to the aftermath of wildires? Unless you specify which wildlife species lost their habitat, the term merely provokes irritation in those of us who know that wildfire changes or modifies wildlife habitat from a condition that favors some wildlife species to a condition that favors other wildlife species, a process that continues in perpetuity.

Since I live in a building, I am not only responsible for "deteriorating" that little piece of former wildlife habitat, I am responsible for its utter destruction, since I allow no wildlife to occupy any portion of my home.

In another Clippings item, "Rebuilding Daniel Boone's Footsteps," you state, "The seed sources came from the park so new trees would have the same phenotypes as existing ones, thus ensuring genetic links to the vegetation's past." "Phenotype" refers to visible distinguishing characteristics, as opposed to hereditary or genetic traits. I believe that you meant to say "genotypes."

Ronald E. Bonar

via e-mail