By Maddie Eberly Growing up in Pennsylvania, I found fascination in the forest while hiking through the rolling hills of Lancaster County. I observed shoreline plants while paddling on human-built lakes and on the Susquehanna River just a few miles south of Three Mile Island (a nuclear power plant that partially melted down in 1979),
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 Sam Brown, Low-Impact Forestry Steering Committee Member I am a Maine land “owner,” according to existing U.S. law. I began buying land when I inherited some money from my family in the early 1970s and have acquired title to more as the years went by. My ancestors were colonial immigrants from Scotland and Ireland,
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 Laura Sieger This summer marks the Maine Heritage Orchard’s 10-year anniversary. It’s pretty wild that a decade ago Dennis Jones and crew were shaping the old spent gravel pit into a terraced, plantable landscape that would become the Maine Heritage Orchard. John Bunker and Russell Libby had campaigned for a space to be used
Trends in Land Access for Beginning Farmers Hi all, My name is Bo Dennis, and I am the beginning farmer program specialist at MOFGA. I am also the farmer at Dandy Ram Farm, a flower farm based in Penobscot territory of Monroe, Maine. I participated in the Journeyperson Program through MOFGA 10 years ago, at
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
