By Maddie Eberly, Low-Impact Forestry Specialist Maine has a strong history of landowners allowing access to privately owned woods for neighbors and community members to wander across boundaries (Maine law protects landowners from much in terms of liability). Usually, this includes communication between landowner and wanderer. As time has progressed, the permitted access to land
By Maddie Eberly, Low-Impact Forestry Specialist My spouse, Johnny, and I bought our first home last year and with it came nearly 8 acres of forested land. I am a forester and botanist. Johnny is a farmer and agricultural weed ecologist. Our individual knowledge pools and curiosity have merged into a great resource as we
By Ethan Tapper The sky is bright and blue, streaked with clouds as thin as carded wool. I weave between stumps, bent like an elder, planting acorn after acorn. The patch cut is as still as the waters of a new beaver pond. The forest hangs limbo, a brief pause in its perpetual arc of
Looking back on the impacts of low-impact forestry principles and practice By Tim Libby, Low-Impact Forestry Steering Committee Chair I started working in the forest as a low-impact forestry (LIF) practitioner over 10 years ago. In that time, though very small on the timescale of a forest, I have seen exciting changes as a result
By Aleta McKeage Those of us in Maine often spend time in the woods, and many people in the state steward woodland areas, whether small or large. One of my own passions is hiking in the Maine woods, especially areas with mature forest. Recently, I was out with a friend in one of my favorite
By Dani Walczak I bought my first pair of steel-toed boots for MOFGA’s femme, nonbinary, trans and women (FNTW) chainsaw safety course. “You know these are steel-toed,” the cashier said to me. “Yes I know,” I replied. “Well, what do you do for work?” she asked, surprised. Tasks involving machinery, heavy-lifting and sharp objects often
By Noah Gleason-Hart When folks envision a healthy forest, they often imagine neat, open, parklike stands with little understory and no dead or declining trees. In truth, at least in the woods, messy is good. A vibrant, functioning forest is a maze of complexity and “messiness.” Dead, diseased and dying trees coexist alongside vigorous, fast-growing
By Noah Gleason-Hart As a management philosophy, low-impact forestry recognizes that forests have an important role in reducing the effects of climate change and that we have an obligation as thoughtful managers to incorporate climate mitigation into our stewardship decisions. What does this mean, and how could a commitment to carbon forestry impact the way
By Noah Gleason-Hart In a low-impact forestry system, humans have an active role to play as forest consumers and stewards as long as we acknowledge our limited understanding of forest ecosystems. LIF recognizes that forest ecosystems are more complex than we currently understand and therefore operates thoughtfully with caution and humility as core principles. Another
By Noah Gleason-Hart As MOFGA members, we all recognize that eating local, sustainably grown food is good for us, good for the environment, and good for our communities. However, we sometimes forget to extend our view beyond the field edge to see that local wood provides similar benefits. “Know you farmer” is a catchphrase folks
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