Bird Habitat & Climate Resiliency in Your Community
Habitat for Birds and other wildlife remain one of the primary management objectives for both municipalities and private forest landowners across the commonwealth. Please join us for an introduction to DCR’s Foresters for the Birds Program; assessing habitat for forest birds; and silvicultural approaches to create desired habitat conditions. Case studies on landscape and stand-level planning and management to improve forest habitat diversity and climate resiliency will also be explored in this webinar.
Pre-registration is required.
Click HERE to register
Who Should Attend
All that are passionate about community forests and forestry. Information learned can be applied to private and public lands, and is compatible with many objectives including wildlife habitat, water quality, recreation, forest products, and carbon sequestration. Continuing Forestry Education (CFEs) will be made available.
Additional program support and partners:
Mass Woodlands Institute, Mass Audubon, Bay State Forestry Service, USDA Forest Service, Wigmore Forest Resource Management, Green Natural Resources, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Native Habitat Restoration. The Town Forest Conference is funded by the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Working Forest Initiative
What is the Mass. Town Forest Conference?
In 1928, the first conference of town forest committees is organized by the Massachusetts Forestry Association and convenes in Boston. Albert Cline, Assistant Director of Harvard Forest, stressed that weeding and releasing were the most important silvicultural treatments for improving the quality of timber stands, and Claude Tillotson, a forest inspector for the U.S. Forest Service stationed in Amherst, Massachusetts, placed special emphasis on the ability of town forest committees to demonstrate the practical value of forestry management.
After a fifty-two year (52) hiatus, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Forest Alliance, and Bay State Forestry Service celebrate the centennial of the Town Forest Act of 1913 (town forest enabling law). The Town Forest Conference in 2013 convened in Fitchburg, where participants toured the first town forest established in Massachusetts. The Town Forest Act of 1913 understood the importance of connecting “community” to open space and encouraging the active stewardship of these special places.
Timeline of New England Town Forests:
“Re-establishing” the town forest conference came from Thinking in Forest Time: A Strategy for the Massachusetts Forest
BIRD HABITAT & CLIMATE ADAPTATION in YOUR COMMUNITY
AGENDA
6:30PM to 8:30PM
6:30PM: Welcome
Jennifer Fish, Director Service Forestry Program
6:35PM - 7:05PM: Forest Birds, Habitat & Climate: Big Picture
Jeff Ritterson, Field Ornithologist for Mass Audubon
7:05PM – 7:25PM: Implementation of Forest Management for Habitat Enhancement & Climate Resiliency
Lincoln Fish and Mike Barry, Baystate Forestry Service
- Overview of a Bird Habitat Assessment
- Stand Level Assessment
- Understanding Stand Management Recommendations with Birds in Mind
- Implementing Silviculture
7:25PM – 7:45PM: Forest Management for Wildlife Habitat and Climate Adaptation at Elm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
Tom Lautzenheiser, Central/Western Regional Scientist for MA Audubon
7:45PM – 7:55PM: QUESTIONS
Jeff Ritterson, Tom Lautzenheiser, Lincoln Fish, and Mike Barry
BREAK
8:00PM – 8:20PM: VIDEO Implementation of Management Recommendations for Enhancement of Wildlife Diversity & Long-Term Forest Productivity
Elm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary (North Brookfield) and Griswold GTD Conservation Area (Greenfield)
Lincoln Fish and Mike Barry, Baystate Forestry Service
8:20PM – 8:30PM: QUESTIONS/WRAP UP
Lincoln Fish and Mike Barry
