"Old Growth" is a term that is familiar to many, although most have never seen it. The definition of "old growth" forest is somewhat contentious in the forestry world, generally applying to forests which have developed somewhat independent of human disturbance for a very long time. Studying our region's remnant old growth forests illustrates how forests grow, develop and function over time. The emergent field of ecological forestry seeks to emulate forests' natural processes and to help our relatively young forests more closely resemble the old growth that covered the vast majority of Vermont's landscape prior to European settlement.
While looking back is helpful in understanding our forests, at the same time we must look forward, managing forests in reference to climate change and other modern threats. These factors challenge forest managers to incorporate carbon sequestration and storage and climate change resilience into their management strategies. Responsible forest management can be a climate change asset, encouraging the growth of healthy forests with massive carbon benefits while producing local renewable resources.
Join Dr. Tony D'Amato, of the University of Vermont, and Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, for a walk of an active timber harvest managed with an ecological forestry approach at the Hinesburg Town Forest (HTF). We will discuss old growth forests, carbon sequestration and storage, and how the management of the HTF seeks to actively create healthier forests through encouraging old growth forest attributes over time. Dr. D'Amato has been involved with research and outreach related to these topics for the past two decades, including working with students, foresters, and other partners to translate an understanding of old-growth forests into on-the-ground actions for attaining multiple benefits. This event is co-sponsored by Vermont Woodlands Association and Vermont Coverts.
The HTF is an 864-acre forest owned by the Town of Hinesburg and managed for wildlife, recreation, water, air, carbon sequestration and as a site for the demonstration of modern, responsible forest management.
To attend this walk, meet at 1:00 PM on March 14th at the plow turnaround at the end of Economou Road, Huntington (if you put "Hinesburg Town Forest" into your GPS it will take you elsewhere). This walk will happen "rain (snow, mud) or shine." Participants should be ready to spend a couple hours outdoors walking over uneven and potentially slippery surfaces in whatever weather we find ourselves in, and to spend extended periods of time standing and talking. Please bring an open mind, warm clothes, and all those questions you've never had a chance to ask about old growth, forest carbon, logging and forest management.
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