This fall, Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC) and Jefferson Land Trust (JLT) partnered to host two transformative ecological forestry workshops, guided by Jaal Mann, lead forester at Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG). At JLT’s Valley View Forest and our own Grovers Creek Preserve, more than 60 participants gathered for four-hour explorations of forest stewardship in action. The diverse group of participants included conservation professionals from neighboring land trusts and county agencies, restoration practitioners, current and prospective forest landowners, and even a GPC conservation easement holder, all coming together to learn about ecological forestry practices.
The educational workshops focused on the successes and challenges of planning and implementing ecological forestry practices with the intent to improve forest resilience and species diversity through thinning, gap cuts, and creating wildlife habitat structures. Participants got to see firsthand how we’re enhancing structural and species diversity in our forests, while also learning about our innovative use of remote acoustic monitoring devices to track bird response to these practices.
In addition to visiting patch cuts, thinned stands, and examples of artificial wildlife habitat features (like girdled trees and habitat piles) participants were able to participate in hands-on activities like a forest health assessment and a tree thinning exercise. Small groups evaluated overstocked, un-thinned forest stands, and selected trees to be selectively thinned, marking their choices with flagging tape. Each group then presented their management goals and explained their objectives for their thinning efforts and tree selections, creating a rich learning environment for everyone involved.
The overwhelmingly positive response to these tours, made possible by funding from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative has inspired us to plan more educational forest experiences in the near future. Stay tuned for future tour dates!
