Reckoning with Climate Change in Community Forests

Over the past year, the Center has brought together committee members from Community Forests located in the Androscoggin River Valley to bolster their collective understanding and commitment to climate resilience.

Eight towns have participated including Errol, Milan, Gorham, Randolph, and Shelburne in New Hampshire as well as Bethel, Woodstock (Buck’s Ledge), and Rumford in Maine. Collectively, these communities own 32,000 acres of conserved land – many of which have frontage along the Androscoggin River.

Map of eight Community Forests in climate network.

Through this peer network, Community Forest committee members learned about one another’s Community Forest and how to identify and mitigate climate vulnerability within a forest. Following these convenings, committee members had the opportunity to visit the Randolph Community Forest in New Hampshire and the Bethel Community Forest in Maine. The field trips showcased management practices from bridge upgrades for aquatic passage to hiking and biking trail infrastructure and climate-smart silvicultural treatments to improve the forest’s resiliency to climate change.

As a compliment to these convenings, Center Program Director Julie Renaud Evans has worked with the foresters of each Community Forest to update their respective forest management plans to incorporate practices for improving climate resilience.

“The climate’s impact on our forest at Buck’s Ledge Community Forest is of paramount importance to the Town of Woodstock,” says Marcel Polak, Chair of the Woodstock Conservation Commission. “Climate resiliency is one of the major goals of our management, and it’s even written into the conservation easement held by Mahoosuc Land Trust. We’re pleased that Ned Telling, our forester, has updated our management plan to employ best practices for a changing climate.”

In addition to strengthening their forest’s management plans, the committee members indicated they appreciated the peer learning opportunity and look forward to continuing the network. Over the next year, the group plans to visit more Community Forests to observe how they are stewarding the forest within the context of climate change.

This work is made possible with the support of strategic partners including UNH Cooperative Extension and Maine Forest Service as well as funders including the Open Space Institute, Davis Foundation, and Society of American Foresters.