I have noticed lots of dead white birch trees. What happened?
White or “paper” birches are among several species which are relatively short lived (70- 80 years). They are a sun-loving species and many of the trees you see today sprouted in the early 1900s after extensive logging and/or fire cleared the land. Now, these trees are simply at the end of their natural life. For some, their life span was shortened by recent ice storms and their weakened state invited insect damage from the bronze birch borer and the birch leaf miner.
