As carbon accumulates in the atmosphere corresponding changes are occurring. This course will explore how forests are likely to respond. What challenges and opportunities may arise and how people can deal with these evolving conditions?   How have forests responded to past change?   How do the concepts of preservation, conservation and adaptation interact?

We will explore the range of approaches including resistance, mitigation and adaptation. These will include practical actions people can take today to address some of the coming conditions in their own woodlot, public forests and the atmosphere. The intersection of science, politics and policy will be discussed.

Si Balch is a Maine licensed forester now assisting the Manomet Center for Conservation Science in developing their Climate Smart Land Network. Formerly he was forest director of New England Forestry Foundation. Before that he worked 33 years with forest industry in New England holding the position of Chief Forester and Silviculturalist. He has traveled in Europe, Scandinavia and Russia and is also a Tree Farm inspector and chair of the Downeast chapter of the Small Woodlot Owners Association of Maine.