Forest meeting to initiate management plan talk
Toolbox
By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: October 10, 2009
MANCHESTER — As an early step in creating an integrated resource project, representatives of the Green Mountain National Forest will host a meeting on Thursday during which they will discuss what they have learned about the woods in Dorset, Peru, Winhall, Manchester and Mount Tabor.
Kristi Ponozzo, public affairs officer for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest, said that the meeting was an early step in the process of creating another "integrated resource project" in Vermont.
The projects are a new way for the U.S. Forest Service to look at managing forests, considering areas that are related through their location and landscape rather than through borders.
For an integrated resource project, the national foresters would hope to bring together state and municipal forest officials as well as private landowners to develop a plan in which all the parties are working to complement each other, according to Melissa Reichert, the planner for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest.
Ponozzo said there were two other integrated projects in Vermont, both in the northern part of the state: The Natural Turnpike project is already up and running while the Upper White River project is a little further along than the project that will be discussed on Thursday. Both are in the Rochester area.
On Thursday, Reichert and others will be presenting the results of an inventory conducted over the summer so the forest service would have a good idea of the resources available.
The first two presentations will include the results of studies conducted through the University of Vermont's land stewardship program. Reichert said 11 people involved with the college's ecological planning and field naturalists program had done an extensive study of the wetlands and nonnative invasive species that were in the area of the five towns that are part of the new project.
Kim Hoffman, a graduate student in the same program, took a special look at Dorset Mountain and will make her own presentation, Reichert said.
Staff with the U.S. Forest Service will then present information about vegetation, wildlife habitats and stands. Reichert said "stands" refers to groups of trees that exist in the same location and share the same kind of composition and age.
Reichert said fisheries staff will discuss the local waterways and ecologists will present information on the natural communities, especially those that exist along the escarpments on the east side of Route 7.
There will also be a presentation on existing recreation trails and input from heritage archaeologists.
Reichert said she hoped that people who live in the area and know their own forests will be able to draw attention to any features that were skipped or brushed over in the inventory.
The meeting will be a starting point in developing a plan for the forests in the future. The project includes about 42,000 acres with almost 15,000 acres part of national forest lands.
Ponozzo said attending the meeting would give people a chance to be part of the project from the beginning.
However, Reichert said residents should be aware her agency is taking the time to develop the best plan. The presentation on Thursday is the end of the first year of planning.
In the second year, Reichert said foresters would be developing a plan that looked at "desired future conditions" and ways to "close the gap" between that and what was found in the inventory.
A plan won't be submitted for approval until the third year, Reichert said.
Thursday's meeting is at the Bromley Mountain Base Lodge from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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