Alive in the Forest, Vermont Family Forests newsletter, September 2020
Ah, the cool, crisp days and sweater nights of September are here. VFF’s Game of Logging courses are coming right up, a sure sign of autumn’s approach–sign up soon. Also below, we explain why we don’t allow hunting of coyotes on VFF lands and share the latest forest bird population report from the Colby Hill Ecological Project.
Enjoy, be well, and may the Forest be with you!
Fall Chainsaw Training Courses Happening Soon
At the risk of stating the obvious, when used without proper training, a chainsaw is a major hazard to your health. In all our chainsaw training courses, top-notch instructors from Northeast Woodland Training teach techniques that maximize safety, efficiency, and accuracy. Whether you want to be able to safely buck up logs for firewood, or want to learn how to fell a tree where you want it to go even if it’s leaning where you DON’T want it to go, this training for you.
Game of Logging workshops must be taken in sequence. If you’ve already taken Level 1, we strongly encourage you to take Level 2. In the morning, you’ll learn how to properly maintain your saw (including how to sharpen the chain, adjust the carburetor, etc), which is critical to safe and efficient chainsaw use. In the afternoon, you’ll advance your skills in felling and limbing trees. We also have spots left in Level 3, in which you’ll learn how to fell trees with side- and back-lean and other such tree-felling challenges.
Though both our September sessions of Level 1 are full, we have space in the Basic Chainsaw Use and Safety course on September 15–excellent for those who have never used a chainsaw before. There are just a few spots left in this course.
Basic Chainsaw Use and Safety, September 15 (one opening left)
Game of Logging Level 1, September 17 or 22 (BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL)
Game of Logging Level 2, September 24
Game of Logging Level 3, October 1
All courses run 8:00am – 4:30pm, $200 per session
To learn more and register for courses, visit our Eventbrite page >
Why We Don’t Permit Coyote Hunting on VFF Lands
Recently, we were asked why we don’t permit the hunting of coyotes on the lands we hold. In our latest blog post, we share our perspective.
Photo, right, of an eastern coyote, taken by a motion-activated camera at Vermont Family Forests’ Anderson Wells Farm in Lincoln.
Latest Research from the Colby Hill Ecological Project
Now in its 23rd year, the Colby Hill Ecological Project monitors ecological processes and species populations on 710 acres of Vermont Family Forests land in Lincoln. Peter Meyer and Glenn Lower completed the forest bird inventory for 2020, and we’ve just posted their report to our website. (Photo of hermit thrush courtesy CHEP small mammal researcher Nick Tepper).
See the 2020 CHEP bird report >
We’ll be listening in on this virtual forum at noon on September 15. The forum will feature presentations from three distinguished scientists, William Moomaw, Richard Birdsey, and John Sterman, on the forest carbon cycle, forest management for climate protection, and bioenergy.
If you can, join in! The forum is free, but you need to pre-register through Eventbrite.
After recent rains, the forest floor at Vermont Family Forests’ Abraham’s Knees property in Lincoln erupted with fungi. Let us know if you know who this lovely fellow is!
Vermont Family Forests
PO Box 254
14 School St. Suite 202A
Bristol, VT 05443
802-453-7728