Ramford's forests, woodlands, and scattered trees have provided us with shelter, food, fuel, medicines, building materials, and clean water throughout recorded history. In recent decades they have become a source of new goods and services including industrial raw materials, paper products, recreation, and tourism. Forests regulate freshwater quality by slowing soil erosion and filtering pollutants, and they help to regulate the timing and quantity of water discharge. In addition, forests harbor much of the world's biological diversity. 

Forests provided an important springboard for industrial and socioeconomic development in the history of Ramford County and the upstate region. They were often recklessly used, but former forested lands can usually become productive in new way. For example, some tracts of forest were converted permanently to agriculture. In some areas, like the Bear's Nest Valley of northwestern Ramford, forests that had been clear-cut have regrown.
But there is still danger for our forested land. That danger falls on the forrest each time it rains. Acid rain has been implicated in contributing to forest degradation, especially in high-elevation spruce trees that populate the ridges of the Reanpi Mountains from above the Ramford River, including our County park areas such as the Arrowhead and Cannonball Trail recreational areas. Acidic deposition seems to impair the trees' growth in several ways; for example, acidic cloud water at high elevations may increase the susceptibility of the red spruce to winter injury.

Work with us to learn more about the effects of acid rain on our forests, and to preserve the natural environment of our County.