Warm Winters Upset Rhythms of Maple Sugar

[Bluebear]

MONTPELIER, Vt. — One might expect Burr Morse to have maple sugaring down to a science. For more than 200 years, Mr. Morse’s family has been culling sweet sap from maple trees, a passion that has manifested itself not only in jug upon jug of maple syrup, but also in maple-cured bacon, maple cream and maple soap, not to mention the display of a suggestively curved tree trunk Mr. Morse calls the Venus de Maple.

But lately nature seems to be playing havoc with Mr. Morse and other maple mavens. Warmer-than-usual winters are throwing things out of kilter, causing confusion among maple syrup producers, called sugar makers, and stoking fears for the survival of New England’s maple forests...

“You might be tempted to say, well that’s a bunch of baloney — global warming,” said Mr. Morse, drilling his first tap holes this season in mid-February, as snow hugged the maples and Vermont braced for a record snowfall. “But the way I feel, we get too much warm. How many winters are we going to go with Decembers turning into short-sleeve weather, before the maple trees say, ‘I don’t like it here any more?’"...

“It appears to be a rather dire situation for the maple industry in the Northeast if conditions continue to go toward the predictions that have been made for global warming,” said Tim Perkins, director of the Proctor Maple Research Center at the University of Vermont.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/ZNYT02/703030485

[MadHound]

1. It's not just sugar maples that are having trouble with warm winters

Almost all of the fruit trees are having warm winter trouble. Fruit trees such as apples, pears, peaches, etc., all need 300-400 hrs of below freezing temperature in order to fruit properly the next year. The past couple of years they didn't get it. Fortuneately out here in the Midwest we got a true Midwest winter this year, lots of snow and cold, so that helps. But as things continue to change, who knows what will happen. Joys of being an orchardist in the time of global climate change.

[B Calm]

2. Elms are dying everywhere. Complete hives of Honeybees

are disappearing.

[SpiralHawk]

6. republicons are prospering, counting up war & pollution Profits

So there is a ray of light in all this...as long as you were born into the fatcat elite cabal of corrupt republicon cronies...

[Bluebear]

8. Who needs maple syrup as long as there's oil

:(

[wicket]

3. My family in VT had our worst year ever last year

Our syrup production was half of what it normally is. I certainly hope this year is better but I'm not holding my breath.

[Vinca]

4. Much of the tourist trade in Vermont and New Hampshire

is based on leaf peepers in the fall and the past season was dismal. I'm told the change in leaf color has more to do with light than temperature, but it's hard to believe having lived in this part of the country for decades. As for the sugar maples, some farmers were tapping trees a couple of months ago when the sap started to run. Everything is screwed up.

[Odin2005]

7. Climate change is going to make all your guys' pretty fall color go to Canada.

Same with our Norh Woods here in Minnesota. :cry:

[Cobalt Violet]

5. January was short sleeve weather in New England this year.

I've never seen anything like it.