ACF Update 7/15/20

 

Hi there,

I’m reaching out to let you all know about some upcoming forest management work at the Andrews Community Forest (ACF). Last year I worked with the Richmond Town Forest Committee to draft a “Forest Management Plan (FMP),” for the ACF which was adopted by the Selectboard in 2019. As part of the recommendations in this FMP, forest management at the ACF will be beginning this summer, probably in late August or early September.

This project will showcase “ecological forestry,” which uses the harvesting of trees to mimic natural disturbances and encourage the development of complex, diverse forests. This holistic approach to forest management seeks to create great habitat for all of Vermont’s native flora and fauna, help forests be more resilient and adaptive in a changing climate, and help our relatively young forests become more like old growth forests.

A major objective of the project is to provide opportunities for everyone to learn about forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way. While COVID-19 means that our events this year will be largely virtual, numerous opportunities will be provided for you to learn about this project, and we will resume in-person events as soon as it is safe to do so:

·       There are already two virtual learning opportunities scheduled; a webinar on “ecological forestry” on 7/23 at 7:00 PM (announcement to follow) and a virtual question-and-answer session on 8/24 at 7:00 PM. More learning opportunities like this will follow in the fall and winter.

·       From mid-July to mid-August, you will have a chance to walk through the planned management area and see the trees that have been marked to be cut. This area is depicted on a PDF “marking map” that you can navigate on using the free app “Avenza” on a normal smart phone. The map and instructions can be found on the Richmond Town Forest Committee’s page of the Town’s website (see link below).

·       You can follow along with the progress of the job by watching regular short video updates on the “Andrews Community Forest” Playlist on my YouTube channel (search “Chittenden County Forester” on YouTube).

·       There will be other efforts to show the progress of the project of the time, including capturing periodic aerial photos and videos  of the job in progress and establishing “photo posts” where you can take pictures of an area from a common vantage point to see how it changes over time.

 

This project will also showcase Vermont’s working landscape and the sustainable production of local, renewable resources (wood). Income from the project will be used to improve the ACF’s recreational and educational offerings and pay for important stewardship activities like controlling invasive exotic plants. The Richmond Town Forest Committee is also considering how to use some of the wood to directly benefit the local community. This could take several forms – some towns have established “firewood banks,” which provide firewood to community members in need or used wood harvested from their Town Forest in municipal building projects. If you have an idea for a project like this, please let the Richmond Town Forest Committee know (email richmondtownforest@gmail.com)! While generating income and resources is not the main goal of the project, producing income and local, renewable resources in the course of high-quality forest management is something that we can be proud of, and that can be positive for our forest, our communities and our world.

 

One of the challenges and the opportunities offered by this work at the ACF, and other similar projects in Town Forests, is to engage in a frank and open conversation about the role of forests and forest management on Vermont’s landscape. While I also strongly believe in the value of unmanaged forests, this project will shed light on the potential of forest management to be regenerative, to make our forests healthier and more resilient, to support our landscape and our world, and to aid in the ongoing struggle for equity and justice in our communities. While some aspects of this project may be challenging, I would ask that we all engage with the bigger picture and the nuances of this work, and take this opportunity to learn. My hope is that this project will be something we can all be proud of, and that it will help us build a culture of understanding of how forests work, our role in them, and how forest management can help us build a better world.

The ACF’s Management Plan and Forest Management Plan can both be read on the Town of Richmond’s Website at: http://www.richmondvt.gov/boards-minutes/conservation-commission/richmond-town-forest/

 

To learn more about the project at the ACF and these and future events, contact Ethan Tapper at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov or 802-585-9099 or the Richmond Town Forest Committee at the email address above.

 

Best,

Ethan Tapper

Chittenden County Forester