Mattawoman Creek, Maryland
About the Ash Forest Project
The Ash Forest Project is a collaboration between writer Gabriel Popkin and photographer Leslie Brice to document and shine a light on threatened wetland forests in the Mid-Atlantic and beyond.
We’ve spent the past three years visiting ash forests that are under attack from the emerald ash borer. In some of these forests, mature trees have already died, and the ecosystem is transforming. In others, trees remain alive, but the beetle is already at work.
We’ve observed and documented the rich webs of life that inhabit these places. And we’ve followed scientists exploring how these understudied ecosystems work and how they might be preserved.
We’re developing a photo exhibition that will show at a venue in Mount Rainier, MD from late October through early January. The exhibition will include at least two presentations and discussions of the ash wetlands and their importance. We’re also developing a virtual exhibit that will complement the physical exhibition.
Through this project, we invite you to learn about these vital ecosystems and think about how we can all become stewards of the natural places around us.
194-year-old black ash tree, Menomonee Reservation, Wisconsin
Background
In fall 2019, we steered our canoe around a bend on Mattawoman Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland. We were astonished by what we saw: groves upon groves of dead ash trees. We soon learned that the emerald ash borer, a small beetle that likely found its way to the U.S. on a container ship from Asia, caused this devastation. This invasive insect, first documented in Michigan in 2002, has made its way into forests throughout the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and now the West, imperiling rich wetland ecosystems.
Just as the COVID-19 shutdowns started in spring 2020, we began documenting the work of University of Maryland ecologists, following them deep into ash forest wetlands on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. We have visited their research sites over the last two years, observing the impacts of the emerald ash borer and how the wetlands respond. In addition, we visited an upland white ash-dominated forest near Baltimore with UMD entomologists who track parasitoid wasps that eat emerald ash borer larvae, considered one of the most promising strategies for managing the emerald ash borer. We also travel regularly to Pocomoke River State Park, perhaps the largest intact ash-dominated forest in the Mid-Atlantic. We fear it’s only a matter of time until the beetle finds its way to this forest as well.
Most recently we had the opportunity to meet with a forest ecologist and member of the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. Most ash forests there remain healthy, vibrant and ecologically diverse. At one site, however, the emerald ash borer landed a couple of years ago. Its presence is evident from the dying tree canopy and altered hydrology.
As we’ve learned about the emerald ash borer and ash forests, we’ve also gained a deeper appreciation of the roles humans can — and must — play in protecting, restoring and enhancing ecosystems, from tiny ones in our yards and pocket parks to vast landscapes like the wetlands we’ve been documenting. We hope this project can be an invitation to think about the wild and natural places we cherish, what these places need from us and how we can protect them so that they will be there for generations to come.
Sneezeweed in front of dead ash trees, Mattawoman Creek, Maryland.
“Gallery” damage from emerald ash borer larvae, Patuxent Wetland Park, Maryland
Ash seedlings, Piscataway Park, Maryland
Who we are
Gabriel Popkin is a science and environmental journalist based in Mount Rainier, Maryland, with work published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Science Magazine any many other places. He has written extensively about threats to trees and forests, including emerald ash borer.
Gabriel Popkin
Leslie Brice
Leslie Brice is a photographer and educator living in Mount Rainier, Maryland.
We thank Yazan Hasan for working with us to capture drone footage.
