Word: southwesterly
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This is the way the ponderosa pine forests of the American Southwest used to look, says Covington, director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, and it is the way they could look again if thinned of an unnatural density of trees. But time is running out, he fears, for owing to more than a century of mismanagement, these once magnificent forests--along with the communities expanding around their fringes--are threatened by the elemental force that at one time sustained them--fire...
...concluded that the forest had to be made more fire tolerant, and that meant restoring it to its original structure. For guidance, he and his colleagues turned to old photographs and historic texts, all of which confirmed that prior to European settlement, the ponderosa pine forests of the Southwest looked very different, with "every foot...covered with the finest grass," wrote a traveler who passed through the area in the mid-1800s, "and unencumbered with brush wood...
...even more detailed guide to what these forests originally looked like came from records kept by early foresters, who in 1909 established a series of experimental plots across the Southwest. Among these was an unlogged eight-acre plot in the Coconino that was set aside as a long-term control. Covington and his colleagues made 1876 the reference year for this plot--it was the year the last fire occurred--and then proceeded to reconstruct the way the forest had looked at the time. The difference between then and now, they found, was dramatic. In 1876 the plot boasted just...
Even if you only stroll along the beach, Basque Country is an exceptional place to whet--and sate--your appetites. Reserve a table at Les Platanes (011-33-559-23-13-68), where one-star Michelin chef Arnaud Daguin specializes in dazzling interpretations of the classics of southwest France, based on local foie gras, duck and seafood. He also offers a collection of rare vintage Armagnacs. On another night, try the Auberge Iparla in Bidarray alainducasse.com) owned by famed French chef Alain Ducasse. Iparla features regional specialties like sauteed baby trout and duck-leg confit, along with local wines. These...
Every summer, as the hordes amass along France's Mediterranean coast, savvy travelers head southwest to the Atlantic and the relative quiet of the Bay of Biscay. There, in the region known as Basque Country, flat beaches give way to the soaring Pyrenees, which separate France and Spain. Those willing to forgo the glitz of the Cote d'Azur will be rewarded with splendid outdoor activities, including some of the best fly fishing to be found...