ACF Update 9/21/20

 Hi all, 

Here’s another update on the forest management work at the Andrews Community Forest. Our logger -- Tim Brown from Hinesburg – has begun the project! This means that he will be cutting trees in the eastern portion of the ACF and transporting them to the “log landing,” (the big open area at the top of the gated road running north from the ACF’s kiosk) where they will be sorted and loaded onto trucks. The gated truck road will be in use several times a week to carry those logs to different mills and markets. All trees to be cut, and trails/roads that Tim will use have been marked by me, and the operation is under my supervision.

The beginning of this project is very exciting but also means that those of us who use the ACF need to be careful and vigilant about being safe – if we obey posted signage and common sense, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. For now, the area where Tim is working (Stands 3, 4 and 6 on the ACF’s “Stand Map,” which can be found on the Andrews Community Forest page of the Richmond Town website) will be closed to the public, although we may look into ways to safely open some areas before or after Tim has finished working in a given section.  For your and Tim’s safety, please stay out of this area and out of the way of Tim and his equipment. This project is only on about 80 acres of the 428-acre forest, and there are two new trails in the ACF that allow you to bypass the truck road, so the majority of the ACF will remain open. The Richmond Town Forest Committee has installed signage which clearly indicate how to stay out of the way, and access open portions of the ACF. Please read and obey these signs! For more info on closures please email me at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov or the Richmond Town Forest Committee at RichmondTownForest@gmail.com.

PLEASE leave the path to the gate to the right of the ACF's kiosk clear and do not park in front of the gate. The gate may be open at times while Tim is working but PLEASE do not drive up the truck road or park on the landing. If you ever encounter trucks or logging equipment, PLEASE step off the trail and give them an extra wide berth. If you have any questions about the project, please direct them to direct them to me or the Richmond Town Forest Committee, not to Tim, so that he can work safely and efficiently.

As this project begins, I would encourage all of you to keep an open mind – forest management is not something that all of us are comfortable with, but can, planned and managed carefully and thoughtfully, make our forests more complex and diverse. In the short term this will mean that the areas of the ACF that we’re working in will seem messy – we will be felling trees, intentionally leaving tree tops and brush un-lopped, and creating openings to stimulate natural regeneration. Healthy forests are supposed to look messy, so I would ask you all to keep an open mind about the aesthetics of this work. The way that the forest looks will also change – this might seem unintuitive, but a broadening understanding of forest ecology tells us that forests are dynamic, and that change and disturbance in forests are integral to their health and resilience.

In addition to making the ACF more diverse, complex and resilient, this project is here for you to learn and expand your understanding of forest management, so please avail yourselves of the resources we're trying to provide! If you missed last week’s webinar on wildlife habitat and forest management at the ACF, you can watch it on the Andrews Community Forest playlist on my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWk3DKdWmNIb5VOql7MqxJ09GqXg0kPVl. I have posted a number of short videos and webinars on the work at the ACF to this channel, and I will continue to do so as it moves forward. You can also listen to a Andrea Shortsleeve of VT Fish and Wildlife and myself being interviewed about the project at the ACF through the lens of wildlife habitat on WDEV's The Dave Gram Show, here: https://wdevradio.com/forest-management-vermonts-native-birds/.

Follow along throughout the project on Front Porch Forum, ACF's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AndrewsCommunityForest), or by joining my email list (send an email to ethan.tapper@vermont.gov to join). Also, attend some of the virtual events from our upcoming events series:

9/29/20: Emerald Ash Borer and Forest Management at the ACF (w/ VT's Urban and Community Forestry Program) -- Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2668930745324698640

10/13/20: Forestry for the Birds at the ACF (w/ Audubon VT) -- Registration info to follow.

10/22/20: Climate Change, Carbon and Forest Management at the ACF (w/ Ali Kosiba, VT's Climate Forester) -- Registration info to follow.

11/10/20: Ecology, Conservation and Forest Management at the Andrews Community Forest (w/Vermont Land Trust) – Registration info to follow.

I'm also offering some other free, virtual opportunities to expand your understanding of forests and forest management in general this fall:

9/22/20: Restoration and Innovation at the LaPlatte Headwaters Town Forest (with The Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife) – Event Link: https://tnc.zoom.us/j/99252932208

And two free virtual one-night classes with CVU's Access program, both of which can be signed up for here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWk3DKdWmNIb5VOql7MqxJ09GqXg0kPVl

10/5/20: The Radical Forest Manager;

10/12/20: Eastern Old Growth Forests.

If you have any questions about any of this, please don't hesitate to shoot me a call or email. If you have ideas about how to expand the educational offering associated with this project and/or to engage more people in this project, please let me know!

Best,
Ethan Tapper
Chittenden County Forester