Climate Adaptation and Resiliency in your Community
Forestland has significant carbon sequestration and storage capabilities, which can be used to offset greenhouse gas emissions. As forests face increasing threats, forestry professionals are working to identify community needs and explore how evolving scientific knowledge could support climate-informed community forest management. Please join us for an introduction to the role of carbon in our forests and forest management options, as well as a case study on the Tri-City Carbon Project.
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
CLIMATE ADAPTATION & RESILIENCY in YOUR COMMUNITY
AGENDA
6:30PM to 9:00PM
6:30PM: Welcome
Jennifer Fish, Director Service Forestry Program
6:35PM – 7:20PM: Climate-Smart Forestry: Building Resiliency and Storing Carbon
Josh Rapp, Regional Scientist at Mass Audubon
Climate Forestry: Emerging Opportunities for Massachusetts Municipalities
Samantha Smith, Assistant Conservation Scientist at Mass Audubon
7:20PM – 7:50PM: MVP in Your Community
Carrieanne Petrik, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Regional Coordinator
Using MVP to Grow Forest Resiliency in the Mohawk Trail Woodland Partnership
Josh Rapp, Regional Scientist at Mass Audubon
Samantha Smith, Assistant Conservation Scientist at Mass Audubon
7:50PM – 8:00PM: QUESTIONS
Josh Rapp, Samantha Smith, and Carrieanne Petrik
BREAK
8:05PM – 8:30PM: Case Study: The Story Behind the Massachusetts Tri-City Carbon Project
Mary Wigmore, Wigmore Forest Resource Management
Carbon Smart Forestry: The Integration of Conventional Silviculture and Carbon Smart Forestry on The Holyoke Water Works Forest Lands
Rich Valcourt, Jr., Green Natural Resources
8:30PM – 8:45PM: VIDEO Carbon Smart Forestry Practices: A View from the Forest
Mary Wigmore, Wigmore Forest Resource Management
Rich Valcourt, Jr., Green Natural Resources
8:45PM – 9:00PM: QUESTIONS/WRAP UP
Mary Wigmore and Rich Valcourt, Jr.
