Understanding Forest Management Walk

Join Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, for “Understanding Forest Management: Managing Forests for a Changing Climate” a walk of a forest management project at the Westford Forest.

What does it mean to love a forest at this moment in time? In the midst of a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis, as our forest reel from the legacies of the past, face an incredible array of threats and stressors in the present and move into an uncertain future, it is clear that to do nothing is not an option. Forests need our help, and we have the tools to help them – the only question is if we will choose to do so.

We will walk the area and talk about forests, forest management, and forest ecology. Please bring an open mind and all those questions you’ve never had a chance to ask about forest management.

This walk will happen “rain (snow, mud) or shine.” Participants should be ready to spend a couple hours outdoors in whatever weather we find ourselves in, with some light walking on a gravel trail.

To join the walk, meet at the parking lot of the Westford Elementary School.

As the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Ethan Tapper advises private landowners, municipalities, conservation organizations, foresters and loggers on the responsible stewardship of forestland, administers Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal (or “Current Use”) program in the County, and manages over 4,500 acres of Community Forests. He writes a monthly column for 11 newspapers and a quarterly column in Northern Woodlands magazine, maintains a YouTube channel with over 100 videos, and leads public events in Vermont and throughout New England which are attended by thousands of people each year. Ethan is the Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance’s 2021 CFM Forester of the Year, the 2021 recipient of the Vermont American Tree Farm System’s Education and Outreach Award, 2020 recipient of Vermont Coverts’ James B. Engle Award, and the 2022 recipient of the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program’s Vermont Tree Steward Award.

In his spare time, Ethan manages his own homestead, orchard and 175-acre forest – “Bear Island” – in Bolton, with the help of his trusty Timberjack skidder, “Red.”

Learn more about Ethan’s work at: https://linktr.ee/ChittendenCountyForester