“Ecological health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is our effort to preserve that capacity.”    Aldo Leopold

We are living in an era of climate change – rising temperatures, stronger storm events, and sea-level rise. We are also living in an era of globalization where pests and pathogens move great distances in short periods of time. Both these phenomena are altering the forests of the northeast, and this colloquy will delve into some of the specifics of this change.

Those who own wooded land in this region will see the impact of these changes on their properties and will make decisions about how they address them. This colloquy will give the participants some tools for thinking about forests. It will look at historic changes (before and after colonization) and how to read them on the landscape. It will look at forest conservation and management, and especially the relationship between the two. It will look at the intersection of forests and human economic and community development.

Every decision in relation to forests is a management decision, even the decision to do nothing. Our goal is to help people make informed decisions and to engage with forests at more than just the aesthetic and aerobic levels.

Topics

• Understanding the woods around you
• Forest Conservation and Management
• Climate change and forests – all aspects
• Storing carbon in trees, opportunities and challenges 
• Forest economics some discussion of money flow.

Si Balch is a Maine Licensed Forester, providing forestry consulting to landowners in Hancock County. In semi-retirement, he has held positions with many organizations including, Chair of the Maine Woodland Owners (formerly SWOAM) for Hancock County, Board of Directors for Northern Woodlands magazine, the silvicultural advisory committee for the Maine Bureau of Public Lands, Consultant with the Climate Smart Landowner Network program, represented NE and NY on the Society of American Foresters Board of Directors. Prior to retirement, Si Balch was Forest Director of New England Forestry Foundation  (2004 – 2010) and Chief Forester and Silviculturalist in New England for Boise Cascade, Mead and Mead Westvaco (1970 – 2003). Si has also traveled in Scandinavia, France, Germany, Slovenia, England, and Russia to learn about their forest management.  

Hans Carlson (hansmcarlson.com) was most recently Executive Director of Blue Hill Heritage Trust. A forest historian and political ecologist, he holds an MA from the University of Vermont, and a PhD from the University of Maine. He has taught at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and the State University of New York. He is the author of Home Is The Hunter: The James Bay Cree and Their Land and Walking Toward Moosalamoo: A Natural History of Terra Nullius.

  ▼ Syllabus/Reading