On Saturday 3/16, Chittenden County Forester Ethan Tapper will lead a public walk of an active timber sale that has taken place on the Preston Pond Conservation Area (PPCA), a conserved town forest in Bolton, over the last two winters. This project was marked and supervised by Ethan and cut by Bolton logger Kyle Pratt, with a proportion of the firewood going to Bolton residents. The purpose of this forest management is to increase forest health, concentrate growth on the highest quality trees in the forest, and to encourage the growth of a more diverse, complex forest with improved habitat for wildlife, all while demonstrating responsible active forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way. This walk will take place from 1:00 – 3:00 on 3/16. Please meet at the log landing, across from 3097 Stage Road in West Bolton (Jericho on Google Maps). Please note that this walk involves a substantial uphill walk, potentially in snow and ice. For those who are uncomfortable with such this, the walk at the Hinesburg Town Forest on 3/17 may be a better fit.

On Sunday 3/17, Ethan will lead a public walk of active forest management on the Hinesburg Town Forest (HTF). This timber sale is being cut by Hinesburg logger Tim Brown, and is also supervised and marked by Ethan. This operation will be continuing through next winter. Similar to the PPCA, the work at the HTF is designed to improve forest health, encourage high-quality, healthy trees, provide improved habitat for wildlife and generally to encourage a more complex, diverse forest while demonstrating responsible active forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way. For this walk, please meet at the end of Economou Road in Huntington at 1:00 PM, where we will park in the plow turn-around. The walk will go from 1:00 – 3:00 PM.

In the case of both of these projects a primary goal is to increase public understanding of active forest management --- how it can be done in an ecological context and in a modern, thoughtful way --- and to showcase Vermont's working landscape and the importance of producing local renewable resources. No matter what you think of the practice of forestry and logging, these public walks give you an opportunity to see and engage with these practices first-hand, and to ask questions about them.

Both these walks will take place, rain, shine, sleet or snow. Please come prepared for whatever weather conditions we might face. For questions about these walks, please call or email Ethan at (802)-585-9099 or ethan.tapper@vermont.gov

Dec 24, 2024

Dec 24, 4 PM to 4:30 AM, Dec 31, 2024

Dec 27, 2024, 6:15 to 8:30 PM