For Julie and Doug Weisman, the Northern Forest isn’t just a place they pass through- it’s home. Nearly 30 years ago, they bought land in Franconia, New Hampshire, with a clear intention: to be good stewards of a place they love. 

“We wanted to conserve a piece of land that could be enjoyed and cared for,” Julie says. That early decision planted the seed for a much larger commitment- one that now includes an investment in the Northern Forest Center’s work and a plan to ensure it keeps growing long after them.

A Walk Through the Forest 

Long before they invested in the Northern Forest Center, Julie and Doug Weisman were already living by its values. Rooted in the White Mountains for decades, they’re committed to the North Country community by supporting conservation, local housing efforts, and a deep commitment to the visual and performing arts. 

 So when a friend invited them for a walk and introduced them to the Center’s work, something clicked. “As she talked about it, it really drew me in,” Julie recalls. “It was all the things we care about up here — and beyond: housing, local jobs, the forest economy, outdoor recreation. It just aligned.” 

For Doug, what stood out was how the Center weaves those threads together. “It was eye‑opening to know there’s an organization that focuses on housing and sustainable building while also supporting forest products businesses and the outdoor recreation economy,” he says. “That’s how change becomes durable in the North Country.” The Center wasn’t just protecting forests — it was protecting the communities that depend on them. 

Community-first, Always

Of everything they learned, what resonated most was the Center’s approach to the communities it serves. “When you go to a community, you involve the community,” Julie explains. “Not just go in and say, ‘Good spot, we can do this’ — but by paying attention to what people need and want and partnering with the community.”      

Learning about 560 Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury — how the project began by listening to local residents, and how those conversations shaped everything from the mix of homes to a Catamount Arts residency space and street-level bookstore — affirmed everything they believed about how lasting change happens. Doug sees the stakes clearly: their daughter-in-law works in rural hospitals in communities like Elizabethtown, New York. “Those hospitals need places for people to live,” he says. “The areas can be vitalized, as you’ve shown. It takes a leader like the Northern Forest Center to stimulate that kind of regrowth. It’s about creating places where people can be happy and thrive and have a nice place to call home.” 

Dollars That Do Real Work, Now and Later

That realization made designating their Northern Forest Fund investment as a future legacy gift feel like a natural extension of what they already value. The ability to combine an active term loan that’s paying reliable annual returns, with a flexible future bequest of the principal felt right. “Unless something changes in our lives, we expect it will keep rolling—and ultimately, we want our dollars to work now and keep working later,”says Doug. 

For Julie and Doug, this is what legacy looks like —  a gift of place, rooted in the Northern Forest they’ve called home for decades, and invested in the communities they want to see thrive long into the future. 

Learn how you can join Doug and Julie in making a real contribution to the future of the Northern Forest – now, through an investment or donation, and later with a legacy gift, like a bequest or beneficiary designation.