ACF Update 9/9/20

 

Hi all,
I'm just posting a quick update on the status of the forest management work at the Andrews Community Forest -- expect more details to follow. After a lot of planning, we expect the project to start within the next week. This will mean that a logger -- Tim Brown from Hinesburg -- will be cutting down trees and running logging equipment, under my supervision, in a part of the ACF. For your safety, and Tim's peace of mind, we will be closing the areas where the work will be occurring. This project is only on about 80 acres of the 428-acre forest, so we're trying hard to keep as much of the ACF open as possible. For more info on closures please email me at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov or the Richmond Town Forest Committee at RichmondTownForest@gmail.com.

There are two new (amazing) multi-use trails in the southern section of the ACF that will remain open, with the caveat that you must yield to logging trucks and equipment when walking on the truck road or along the edge of the log landing. Obey the posted signage and take extra precautions to stay completely out of Tim's way, and please direct any questions that you have to me, rather than to him, so that he can work safely and efficiently. If at any point it seems that these trails cannot be safely used, we will close them for the duration of the project.

The gate on the ACF's truck road will be open while Tim is working. PLEASE do not block the gate (if it is closed), drive up the truck road or park on the landing. It is very important that all those spaces are kept unobstructed.

Finally, remember that this project is really about helping make the ACF's forests more complex and diverse -- using well-managed logging as a tool to promote forest health, resilience and wildlife habitat -- and also demonstrating modern, ecological forest management. 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! You can 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 the ACF's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AndrewsCommunityForest) the Andrews Community Forest playlist on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWk3DKdWmNIb5VOql7MqxJ09GqXg0kPVl) and attend some of our virtual events:

9/15/20: Wildlife Ecology and Forest Management at the ACF (w/ VT Fish and Wildlife) -- Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYoceyprjMtGNZrfJtom34axNE0UjTEbSMb

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.

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) -- register here: 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://cvsdvt.ce.eleyo.com/

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 call me, or email me or the Richmond Town Forest Committee at the addresses given above. 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 (and new Richmond resident)
ethan.tapper@vermont.gov
(802)-585-9099