Workers for the Insular Lumber company felling a small Almon (Thorea species) in Northern Negros, 1910.

The Mythical Mahogany that Helped Build the American Empire

How “Philippine mahogany” became America’s tropical timber of choice, thanks to a rebrand from a colonial logging company that drove deforestation.
The Lackawanna Valley by George Inness, 1856

The Art of Deforestation

Landscape paintings show how quickly American forests changed in the early nineteenth century—and the mixed feelings people had about that change.
Plants and saplings growing in a previously logged area of a foggy forest in the Cascade Range of Oregon.

Reforestation: It’s A Trade-Off

While reforestation may help address the climate crisis, implementation requires long-term flexibility, careful listening, and an ability to compromise.
acorn lyme disease connection

Can the Acorn Crop Predict Lyme Disease?

Will cutting fewer forests, where tick hosts and their predators live, help curb Lyme disease? Scientists debate.
Amazon Deforestation

A Resurgence of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon increased sharply in 2016. The government must take steps to protect the world’s largest rain forest.