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On Friday, July 12th, more than 20 land trust volunteers, board members, and staff from nearly a dozen land trusts gathered for a field tour at Great Mountain Forest. This event, co-hosted by Great Mountain Forest (GMF), Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC), and Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative, was a remarkable opportunity for on the ground learning of what climate smart forest stewardship looks like. Matt Gallagher, GMF Director of Programs and Operations, was our guide for the day, offering insightful commentary and guidance on what we were seeing 

Our tour began with a stop to examine and discuss two common forest stressors in Connecticut, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Beech Leaf Disease. We discussed how these issues are exacerbated by climate change, which increases the frequency and severity of pests and pathogens, and the active research happening to control them. The next stop showcased the results of a shelterwood harvest conducted eighteen years ago that has since been managed to a thriving structurally diverse young forest habitat with a number of different species present in a small area. 

We moved on to a stand of white pines that had undergone thinning to reduce competition and recover from a disease. After the treatment, there was little natural regeneration due to the extensive presence of invasive species. This site demonstrated the importance of strategic management to promote tree health and the need for persistent work on invasive removal to aid the growth of young forest. Our last stop involved comparing two distinct forest stands and a productive discussion about the varying outcomes of passive or active management when considering how to achieve desired conservation outcomes.

Throughout the tour, several key questions guided our discussions and influenced participants’ takeaways to their own stewardship work.  What management strategies can we employ to enhance forest resilience and provide long-term benefits for both nature and people? What conservation values are we aiming to promote? How will climate change shape the future of these forests? These questions helped frame the various forest management practices we saw and the broader implications for their local ecosystems.

The tour concluded at GMF’s Yale Camp, with participants eating lunch and having a group discussion about new ideas to implement within their own land trusts. The end of the day’s insights underscored the subjective and place-specific nature of land stewardship, yet by sharing ideas we can create innovative solutions and build landscape level stewardship models.

This program, as well as CLCC’s Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant Program, are made possible through funds awarded by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. We are grateful for their support in advancing climate-smart conservation efforts in our state. A big thank you to Great Mountain Forest for their dedication to education and sustainable forest management.