Page 18 - MARCH2026

Page 18 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM March 2026 CommunityWoods, Waters, and Wildlife: Maple Season
By Jeff Beach
For many of us in New Hampshire, at this time of year, we hold out in hope for signs of spring to start to accelerate. This winter was quite intense compared to those of the past decade. And those who favor outdoor activities live for these winter days. However, March is a transition month, and I, for one, am ready for spring. We hope for the tall banks of snow to dissipate, for longer days, and for the Sun to do its job. We hope for the rivers to open up to wet a line and the trails and roads to free up the snowpack so we can get our jogging and hiking routes back. And for the Maple produc- ers, we hope the sap starts flow- ing. The month of March brings weather patterns ideal for our Maple trees to start coming to
life. The last two weeks of Feb- ruary and the first two weeks of April are also part of the season, depending on the latitude loca- tion within the State. Maple pro- ducers have been running lines and tapping spiles into the sap- wood section of the tree trunks.
The craft of making sugar and syrup from the sap of the Maple tree (Acer saccharum) was developed by Native Americans of the Northeast and Quebec. The Abenaki and Algonquin tribes are credited with collecting sap from the tree and reducing it to a usable sugar or syrup. Folk- loreish stories abound, but the craft of getting syrup from the tree using hand-hewn tools and natural wood spiles like hollow staghorn sumac twigs is docu- mented. Reducing the maple sap using hot stones in birch
bark baskets soon advanced to iron kettles, with colonists bring- ing in advanced supplies and equipment. These Indian com- munities eventually developed a thriving Maple economy with maple sugar bricks sold and traded with colonists as they ad- vanced across New England and the Mid Atlantic States.
The science of sap flow be- gins in the summer, when trees produce carbohydrates through photosynthesis. These carbohy- drates are food for the growing tree and are stored in the roots. As the tree goes into dormancy over the winter, the carbohy- drates are converted to sug- ars with the help of hormones in the tree cells. These sugars feed the new leaves when they emerge in the spring. The Maple production season requires a cli-
mate of transition from the cold grasp of winter to the milder spring days. For the sap to flow, the night temperatures must be below freezing, and the daylight hours need to climb above 32 degrees. The sugar makers have about 5 -6 weeks available of these fluctuating freezing nights and warmer days. With lower night temperatures, the gases, mostly carbon dioxide, contracts giving a negative pressure which allows the roots to suck up water and nutrients. Higher daylight temperatures heat up the wood cells, and the gas expands, giving a positive pressure to the flow in the tree, forcing the sap with dis- solved sugars up to the canopy to feed the leaves. What an incred- ible design of natural forces of pressure, temperature, and sap chemistry God has created for us to enjoy in the pursuit and partaking of this spring treat. As we bore a hole in the sapwood, we soon see the sap flowing out. There are many sap collection and evaporation methods, but none of them require a lot of time, energy, and fuel to reduce 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of the sweet amber liquid we love. Maple producers have to work hard and fast, as once the daylight hours and temperatures reach a certain point, the trees start to bud out and flush their new leaves. At budbreak, the sap
undergoes a chemical change, and the sugars revert to carbo- hydrates.
With all of the hopes that the emergence into the spring season gives us, we also rely on the hope we have in God’s path for us. And as our faith gets challenged, we have to remain hopeful in God’s plan and rely on a verse in Hebrews 10 that declares, ‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’ And while we wait on God to bring about His plans, I use the 5th verse of Proverbs 3, which says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight.’
March allows us to still enjoy winter activities as we hold onto the hope of the emerging spring day by day. We have a Maple workshop at Slim Baker lodge on the 21st. See the events calendar in this paper. Whether you are actively gathering sap for mak- ing syrup or get out to visit one of New Hampshire's local sugar shacks its wonderful to be outside to soak up the Sun and witness the unfolding of the spring sea- son from the cold grip of winter. I’ll have another waffle please.
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