One of the largest remaining elm trees in New England has died. But the wood from the 109-foot-tall slippery elm tree is heading on to a new life — as custom furniture. And a percentage of the sales proceeds will support research to breed elms that are resistant to Dutch elm’s disease.

The rare New England cottontail rabbit and other shrubland species are getting some new help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency is targeting 15,000 acres of land in six northeastern states, including Maine, to be included in a new Great Thickets National Wildlife Refuge.

If you spend any time walking in the woods, you see a lot of strange looking trees — trees shaped by the wind, split by lightning or reaching toward. And — occasionally — some twists and turns are man-made.

Some Housatonic River advocates say they wish the EPA’s cleanup plan called for digging up more PCBs. This comes as the agency released its final plan Monday to remove toxins from the river.

The $613 million plan calls for removing and capping PCBs from the river bottom and floodplain.

Conservation biologists say that the good news for wildlife is there are still extensive tracts of forest habitat in the northeast. Yet as humans have built up roads and housing developments, crossing between key habitat areas — such as from the Adirondacks to the Green Mountains — can be a dangerous trip for a moose or a bear.

Farming is a growing industry in Rhode Island, with many new farmers starting small businesses. But when they don’t come from farming families, finding land can be a challenge, especially in a state with the most expensive farmland in the country.