Agenda
We are excited to welcome you to join us either in-person or remotely for our Annual Conference. We have an engaging agenda with plenary speakers Ethan Tapper and and Amanda Mahaffey discussing how to build connections with each other and with forests to create sustainable solutions in forest management. We will have concurrent contributed talks, working sessions, and a poster session. The schedule is set for Thursday, December 12, 8:00am-5:30pm. We look forward to connecting with our community and hope you will join us to share your experiences and research findings as we learn from each other and plan for the future of our northeastern forested ecosystems.
Forest Futures: Building Bridges to Shape Strategies Collaboratively
December 12
Arrival and check-in. Virtual participants will be able to log in to trouble-shoot any technical challenges and understand how to attend sessions throughout the day.
FEMC Director Alison Adams and FEMC Steering Committee Chair Kyle Lombard will provide introductory remarks. State Coordinators will provide updates from each state (Eli Ward, Connecticut; Alana Russell, Rhode Island; Eric Peterson, Massachusetts; Jeff Hariman and Aaron Bergdahl, Maine; Larissa Robinov, New Hampshire; Savannah Ferreira, Vermont, and Amanda Dillon, New York)
We have an engaging agenda with plenary speaker Ethan Tapper and Amanda Mahaffey to discuss building connections with each other and with forests to create sustainable solutions in forest management.
Parallel tracks of 20-minute presentations contributed by cooperators on various forest ecosystem research, monitoring, and outreach activities.
| Time | Managing for Songbirds Moderator: FEMC | Public Perceptions of Forest Management Moderator: FEMC | Tree breeding Moderator: FEMC | Assisted migration and Phenology Moderator: FEMC | Forest Soils Moderator: FEMC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:30 to 11:50 | Managing for Young Forest Habitat in Post-Agricultural Settings to Support Winged-Warblers Eliza Merrylees + ABSTRACT | Worchester Range Management Unit Oliver Pierson + ABSTRACT | Tree breeding to support forest resilience: What, why, how Leila Wilson and Mary Mason + ABSTRACT | Assisted tree migration in northeastern forests: motivations, misconceptions, and applications Tony D'Amato + ABSTRACT | The influence of silvicultural treatments and coarse woody material (CWM) on forest soil carbon storage and sequestration Caitlin Henry + ABSTRACT |
Managing for Young Forest Habitat in Post-Agricultural Settings to Support Winged-Warblers Murray McHugh, The Nature Conservancy of Vermont Presenter: Eliza Merrylees, The Nature Conservancy of Vermont Abandoned forest-adjacent farmland in Vermont that has begun to transition to early successional shrubland/young forest habitat often supports several bird species whose populations are regionally in decline and are Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Vermont?. The Nature Conservancy's Helen W. Buckner Memorial Preserve at Bald Mountain, located in West Haven in the Southern Lake Champlain Valley, includes hundreds of acres of forest-adjacent abandoned agricultural land in various stages of habitat transition. This site has been identified as an important regional stronghold for the suite of shrubland/young forest bird species, chief among them, Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. In an ongoing partnership with Audubon Vermont, The Nature Conservancy actively manages and monitors post-agricultural lands at the natural area to maximize the potential for healthy shrubland/young forest habitat as it continues along a successional path towards mature forest. Future goals include trialing methods for establishing additive high-quality early successional shrubland/young forest habitat on recently abandoned hay fields on the preserve, as current young forest transitions to older forest. Audubon Vermont's participation in the planning and management at the preserve is part of their regional Shrubland Bird Project, which enhances habitat for priority bird species breeding in the shrublands of the entire Champlain Valley. ?Eastern Towhee, Whip-poor-will, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, American Woodcock, Prairie Warbler and Field Sparrow (Vermont's Wildlife Action Plan 2015-2025, Chapter 5, Species of Greatest Conservation Need) | |||||
Worchester Range Management Unit Presenter: Oliver Pierson, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) recently completed a Long Range Management Plan (LRMP) for the Worcester Range Management Unit (WRMU). The WRMU is located in north-central Vermont in the towns of Elmore, Worcester, Middlesex, Waterbury, and Stowe. It is made up of approximately 18,772 acres and includes five separate parcels: C.C. Putnam State Forest (SF), Elmore State Park (SP), Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Middlesex WMA, and Worcester Woods WMA. There was significant public interest in the development of the plan, both during the public scoping in 2020 and when the draft plan was released for comment in late 2023, with over 1300 comments received. Many of the comments did not support some of the ANR’s proposed land management classifications and actions for the WRMU, particularly around timber sales, and there were also a range of viewpoints expressed about the merits of expanding recreation in the WRMU. This presentation will describe the process ANR used to develop the plan, solicit comments, consider these comments, and produce a final version of the LRMP, as well as share some lessons learned from the process to be incorporated into future public land management planning efforts. | |||||
Tree breeding to support forest resilience: What, why, how Presenter: Leila Wilson and Mary Mason, Invasive pests and pathogens threaten a growing list of tree species and the ecosystems they occupy. Of elevated concern are floodplains and wetland forests where butternut, American elm, black ash and green ash are all vulnerable leading to loss of diversity, adaptive capacity and resilience. To address this issue, the Northern Research Station (NRS), in collaboration with many federal, state, university and non-profit partners, leads resistance breeding programs for multiple tree species, including green, white and black ash and American elm. The objective of these programs is to develop locally adapted and genetically diverse seed orchards to provide a source of improved seed for restoration of degraded floodplain and wetland habitats. Here we provide updates to the ash and American elm resistance breeding programs with a focus on New England efforts. Testing of lingering green ash and their progeny is showing improved resistance to EAB, while the limited results in black ash show it is different but still has promise for selecting and breeding for resistance. Inoculations to test resistance of 26 New England survivor American elms and their progeny are planned for 2025 (OH) and 2026 (VT). Results will inform which parents to include in New England-based American elm seed orchards. | |||||
Assisted tree migration in northeastern forests: motivations, misconceptions, and applications Presenter: Tony D'Amato, University of Vermont The use of tree planting as a component of adaptation strategies for addressing the impacts of global change on northeastern forests has increased considerably over the past several years. This increased interest has resulted in numerous co-produced adaptation experiments that integrate assisted migration and has motivated broader discussions around the appropriateness of these tactics and associated best practices for their application. This presentation will discuss the current state of assisted migration in northeastern forests, including common motivations, barriers, and misconceptions, and will highlight outcomes of co-produced experiments applying these tactics as part of broader adaptation strategies for sustaining diverse values into the future. | |||||
The influence of silvicultural treatments and coarse woody material (CWM) on forest soil carbon storage and sequestration Caitlin Henry, University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Presenter: Caitlin Henry, University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources The purpose of this research is to quantify the effect of coarse woody material (CWM) on the amount and form of soil carbon (C), and whether the impact of CWM varies with overstory tree canopy gap size. Objectives include examining (1) the relationship between canopy gap size and soil C, and (2) the proximity to the CWM and the soil C, ammonium, and nitrate. We expect to see increases in soil C with increasing canopy gap size and beneath logs, but declines in nitrogen (N) availability under logs due to microbial immobilization of available N (i.e., ammonium and nitrate). We examined these relationships by collecting soil samples and placing resin sticks in proximity of twelve Acer saccharum logs across a range of canopy openness within the Second College Grant Adaptative Silviculture for Climate Change experiment. Resin sticks are constructed using strips of cation-exchange resin membranes and anion-exchange resin membranes that adsorb ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) ions, respectively, from soil. We used them to determine soil N availability during peak biomass. Soil samples were collected adjacent/under and 100 cm up- and downslope of each log, to determine how much C is in the soil under and around the logs in the different canopy gaps. Results from this work will be useful for informing management strategies for maintaining and increasing C in forest soils. | |||||
| 11:55 to 12:15 | Adaptive Silviculture Practices and Breeding Songbirds in the Northeast David Farris + ABSTRACT | I love trees so much, I have to cut them down’: The Public’s Perception of a Water Utility’s Clear Cut and Slash Wall. Josh Tracy + ABSTRACT | Tree breeding to support forest resilience: species in detail – ash and elm Leila Wilson and Mary Mason + ABSTRACT | Impacts of early springs and winter warming events on spring phenology and cold tolerance among temperate and boreal tree species Laura Pinover + ABSTRACT | Rooted in resilience: Belowground Variation in the World's Premier Urban Research Forest Brad Oberle + ABSTRACT |
Adaptive Silviculture Practices and Breeding Songbirds in the Northeast David Farris Jr, UMass Amherst Presenter: David Farris, UMass Amherst Habitat loss is one of the primary factors leading to declines in avian populations. New management strategies such as adaptive silviculture that are used to create more climate adapted forests can increase their complexity, but it's not yet known how they affect the animal species that inhabit them. To better understand how bird communities may be affected by adaptive silviculture practices, we used point count surveys and autonomous acoustic recording units (ARUs) to survey bird species at two study sites in north-central New England (White Mountain National Forest [WMNF] and the Nulhegan Basin Division [Nulhegan] of the Silvio O. Conte Refuge) during the breeding seasons of 2023 and 2024. Nulhegan uses adaptive silviculture techniques in a coordinated effort to increase complexity within homogenous forests, a condition generated from past management, and to increase climate resiliency and adaptation, while no logging has taken place at the WMNF study site for about a century. By comparing these two sites, we hope to build an understanding of how climate-adapted management practices influence forest bird communities in the Northeast. We predicted that bird diversity will be higher in the managed areas due to an increase in habitat complexity and diversity. Our preliminary results support this prediction;: avian species richness is higher at Nulhegan than Mount Jefferson, and more species were found at managed sites than unmanaged ones. | |||||
I love trees so much, I have to cut them down’: The Public’s Perception of a Water Utility’s Clear Cut and Slash Wall. Presenter: Josh Tracy, South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority own 21,000 acres of watershed land, managed for high water quality in its reservoirs. Its forestry division has begun incorporating the concept of slashwalls in to its management regime, with two having been completed in 2022. One in particular, located in Seymour, CT, was highly visible to the public throughout the harvest and the wall’s construction. Varying degrees of criticism came from groups including local town government, passersby, and budding geologists, for as many reasons as someone can imagine. I will discuss some of the more intriguing interactions and their outcomes. | |||||
Tree breeding to support forest resilience: species in detail – ash and elm Jennifer Koch, Leila Wilson, Kathleen Knight, USFS Northern Research Station; Gus Goodwin, The Nature Conservancy Presenters: Mary Mason and Leila Wilson, USFS, Northern Research Station Presenter: Leila Wilson and Mary Mason, USFS Northern Research Station Invasive pests and pathogens threaten a growing list of tree species and the ecosystems they occupy. Of elevated concern are floodplains and wetland forests where butternut, American elm, black ash and green ash are all vulnerable leading to loss of diversity, adaptive capacity and resilience. To address this issue, the Northern Research Station (NRS), in collaboration with many federal, state, university and non-profit partners, leads resistance breeding programs for multiple tree species, including green, white and black ash and American elm. The objective of these programs is to develop locally adapted and genetically diverse seed orchards to provide a source of improved seed for restoration of degraded floodplain and wetland habitats. Here we provide updates to the ash and American elm resistance breeding programs with a focus on New England efforts. Testing of lingering green ash and their progeny is showing improved resistance to EAB, while the limited results in black ash show it is different but still has promise for selecting and breeding for resistance. Inoculations to test resistance of 26 New England survivor American elms and their progeny are planned for 2025 (OH) and 2026 (VT). Results will inform which parents to include in New England-based American elm seed orchards. | |||||
Impacts of early springs and winter warming events on spring phenology and cold tolerance among temperate and boreal tree species Dr. John Butnor (U.S. Forest Service), Paula Murakami (U.s. forest Service), Dr. Nicole Rogers (Maine Forest Service), Dr. John Zhang (University of Maine), Dr. Jay Wason (University of Maine) Presenter: Laura Pinover, University of Maine Climate change is increasing the likelihood of earlier springs and winter warming events. These changes can advance spring phenology and reduce cold tolerance, thus potentially threatening tree regeneration if cold temperatures return. However, responses from tree species common in the Northern Forest remain understudied and variable limiting our ability to predict how these events impact regional forests. In this study, we quantified the phenological sensitivity, growth, and cold tolerance of ten tree species to earlier spring and winter warming events and the risks associated with subsequent re-freezing. We exposed more than 300 containerized saplings to single, repeated, or extended warming events at different times of the year. For each tree, we assessed changes in phenological stage (e.g., bud swelling, leaf out), vigor, and cold damage weekly from late February to early May 2024. We also assessed the cold tolerance of each species at three times throughout the experiment in response to warming events by measuring the relative electrolyte leakage of plant tissue. We found evidence that timing of leaf out varied strongly among species and depended on growing degree days accumulated by our warming scenarios. For example, paper birch was consistently the earliest species to leaf out in response to warming whereas sugar and red maple appeared resistant to early warming. We also found that some species lost cold tolerance surprisingly quickly in response to short periods of warming and experienced damage when exposed to subsequent cold temperatures. Our findings suggest that earlier springs and winter warming events may have a highly variable effect on regeneration of Northern Forest trees with the potential to alter competitive dynamics especially if combined with the return to cold temperatures. | |||||
Rooted in resilience: Belowground Variation in the World's Premier Urban Research Forest Brad Oberle, The New York Botanical Garden Presenter: Brad Oberle, The New York Botanical Garden Climate change mitigation and adaptation require healthy forests, especially in cities. However, urban forest monitoring lacks an old-growth reference for soil carbon (C). Furthermore, urban soils may pose unique risks with increasingly heavy rainfall, which can remobilize accumulated heavy metals. As the world's first old growth urban research forest, the Thain Family Forest (TFF) at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) can provide a unique perspective on long-term urban forest resilience. With its first flora completed in 1898, the TFF provides the longest record of forest dynamics in North America's densest city (Britton 1906). Complementing floristics, ecosystem monitoring began in the 1980s with the Institute for Ecosystem Studies Urban-Rural Gradient project, which determined that the TFF's primeval ambiance belied uniquely urban soil impairment from heavy metal contamination. Systematic soil sampling for carbon and heavy metals brings new insights and partnerships to historic datasets. Aboveground species composition differs starkly from 1938, but both native species diversity and basal area remain similar and weakly correlated with belowground variation in soil bulk density and root distributions. In 1989, at the twilight of the leaded gasoline era, forest soil lead concentrations were 25% of the current EPA action limit. Tracing legacy contamination through the soil and across the watershed partnership with a diverse team of researchers and interns will identify public health risks from planned dam removal and serve as a model for urban stream fish passage projects across the northeast. | |||||
Parallel tracks of 20-minute presentations contributed by cooperators on various forest ecosystem research, monitoring, and outreach activities.
| Time | Northeastern State Research Cooperative (NSRC) special session Moderator: NSRC | Building respectful cross-cultural collaborations with Tribal Nations - panel discussion Moderator: FEMC | Recreation and Forest Ecosystems Moderator: FEMC | Incorporating lingering ash detection into ash/EAB management - Workshop Moderator: FEMC | An opportunity to inform the development of forest climate change indicator-based tools - Workshop Moderator: FEMC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:15 to 1:35 | NSRC Intro - Anna Marchessault, Rene Germain, Anthea Lavalee | Partnership for Land and Community Resilience Erica Wood + ABSTRACT | Recreation Impacts on Dimensions of Northeast Regional Forest Health Soren Donisvitch + ABSTRACT | Incorporating lingering ash detection into ash/EAB management (90 min) Jonathan Rosenthal + ABSTRACT | An opportunity to inform the development of forest climate change indicator-based tools (90 min) Alyssa Soucy + ABSTRACT |
NSRC Intro - Anna Marchessault, Rene Germain, Anthea Lavalee Presenter: , | |||||
Partnership for Land and Community Resilience Presenter: Erica Wood, This study and subsequent monitoring program, conducted in partnership with the Alaska Native Village of Igiugig in Bristol Bay, Alaska, examines the effects of climate-driven shrubification on a culturally important plant: salmonberry. By integrating Indigenous knowledge and scientific methods, we highlight pathways for co-production of knowledge, land stewardship, and community resilience while supporting Indigenous sovereignty in environmental research and programming. | |||||
Recreation Impacts on Dimensions of Northeast Regional Forest Health Presenter: Soren Donisvitch, FEMC This project, led by the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC), analyzed the impact of recreational hiking and biking on forest health across the Northeast USA. Using geospatial data from ForWarn Sentinel products, Strava, iNaturalist, NLCD forest data, and USDA soil surveys, the study examined correlations between recreation, canopy health, soil vulnerability, and wildlife disturbance. Results showed weak but significant correlations between higher recreational use and slightly reduced canopy health, as measured by NDVI deviance. Soil susceptibility mapping highlighted hotspots of heavy recreation on vulnerable soils, and wildlife analyses revealed increased forest fragmentation near trails. The project delivered geospatial tools for prioritizing trail maintenance, habitat conservation, and sustainable recreation management. While limited by the absence of field-based data, these resources provide a foundation for informed decision-making and further studies to balance recreation with forest ecosystem protection. | |||||
Incorporating lingering ash detection into ash/EAB management (90 min) Presenter: Jonathan Rosenthal, Using material from lingering ash (i.e., trees that meet criteria indicating they likely have some level of heritable resistance) for EAB resistance breeding provides great hope for ash conservation. In this workshop, we will explore how lingering ash detection can be incorporated into the ash/EAB management toolkit and harmonized with other tools such as silviculture, seed collection, biocontrol and insecticide treatment. The presenters developed and lead the Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program, which relies upon extensive collaboration with land managers, including National Forests, state natural resource agencies, land trusts and other conservation NGOs, and private landowners throughout the region. | |||||
An opportunity to inform the development of forest climate change indicator-based tools (90 min) Presenter: Alyssa Soucy, Forest climate indicators characterize changes in environmental conditions providing valuable information to increase capacity for adaptation within forests. However, indicators, and more broadly, science and tools developed to aid in decision-making, are not always aligned with user needs. An indicator development process that incorporates user needs throughout can ensure the tools are relevant, applicable, and actionable. The Northeast Climate Hub, Midwest Climate Hub, and Northeast Regional Climate Center are currently developing indicator-based online forestry tools to aid in decision-making. After conducting a series of listening sessions this past summer to identify broad data needs, the research team is now seeking feedback on various indicator-based tools. Specifically, we are exploring the development of tools to address forest health (e.g., pest and pathogens) and extreme weather and climate impacts (e.g., ice storms and extreme precipitation). The working session will provide an opportunity for attendees to (1) learn more about identified needs, (2) discuss specific indicators to address these concerns, and (3) provide feedback for the design of an online tool. The ultimate goal of the working session is to inform tool development such that the product can guide on-the-ground forest management. The audience for this working session includes forest managers, planners, or ecologists who are involved with making decisions on working lands. | |||||
| 1:40 to 2:00 | Town Forest Census: Carbon, COVID, and Capacity-Building Cecilia Danks + ABSTRACT | Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange to Advance Collaborative Forest Stewardship Rachel Swanwick + ABSTRACT | Monitoring for Recreation Impacts Elissa Schuett + ABSTRACT | ||
Town Forest Census: Carbon, COVID, and Capacity-Building Presenter: Cecilia Danks, NSRC researchers with deep knowledge of town forests will provide a complete inventory of community forests in Vermont, a census of Vermont town forests that can be repeated in the future, an updated database with public interface, and an interactive, publicly available map. | |||||
Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange to Advance Collaborative Forest Stewardship Rachel Schattman, University of Maine; Anthony D’Amato, University of Vermont; Tyler Everett, University of Maine; Darren Ranco, University of Maine; Adam Daigneault, University of Maine Presenter: Rachel Swanwick, Forest Stewards Guild & University of Vermont Collaborative arrangements help maximize adaptive potential in the face of rapidly changing environmental conditions to achieve cross-boundary stewardship goals. In part, the success of these cooperative efforts stems from their ability to enable exchange or “bridging” across knowledge systems (e.g., western scientific, local, and Indigenous). There is a growing recognition of the benefits of including Indigenous knowledge and community perspectives in environmental collaborations. Yet, there is a need for more context-specific insights to enable equitable collaborative environmental governance and knowledge exchange with Indigenous Nations. To explore this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 forest stewards associated with state agencies (n=12) and Wabanaki Tribal Nations (n=10) in present-day Maine (U.S.A). We argue that while different knowledge systems are highly valued and respected by forest stewards across state agencies and Tribal Nations, barriers including western and Indigenous paradigmatic incongruities, inflexible institutional arrangements, and socio-political tensions between the state and Tribes limited cooperation. We recommend recognizing the inherent adaptability and sovereignty of Indigenous Nations, encouraging cross-cultural engagement at the outset of the forest stewardship planning process, and using reflexivity for ‘two-way’ knowledge exchange. We found that an awareness of these dynamics has the capacity to transform collaborative systems and improve forest stewardship outcomes. | |||||
Monitoring for Recreation Impacts Presenter: Elissa Schuett, FEMC FEMC interest-holders expressed a need to better understand how recreation is impacting forest ecosystems. FEMC reviewed available literature and resources, spoke with experts, and formed a working group to identify opportunities to address the community questions. A decision-support tool was developed to aid land-managers in selecting monitoring methods that can be applied to understanding recreation impacts. The support tool allows users to select among different features of a collection of monitoring methods to identify a method that meet the goals of the user. Accompanying this tool is a report that outlines how methods were selected, other considerations to include when developing a monitoring program, and original methods sources. The tool includes methods for studying wildlife; invasive plants; and soil compaction and erosion. This tool complements a second tool developed by FEMC focused on geospatial data, which will be presented in a second talk during this session. | |||||
| 2:05 to 2:25 | Adaptation of Northern Forest Tree Species to a Warmer, Drier Future Emily Anders + ABSTRACT | Cross cultural collaborations to protect brown ash: Reflections from Wabanakik Ella McDonald + ABSTRACT | Enhancing Recreation Resource Management through Remote Sensing: Insights from Acadia National Park Min Kook Kim + ABSTRACT | ||
Adaptation of Northern Forest Tree Species to a Warmer, Drier Future Sam Zuckerman Presenter: Emily Anders, University of New Hampshire Using a functional trait approach to inform assisted migration for climate adaptation in the Northern Forest Region and Assisted migration: A phenotypic evaluation of species, ecotypes, and drought responses | |||||
Cross cultural collaborations to protect brown ash: Reflections from Wabanakik Presenter: Ella McDonald, The work of the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik (APCAW), based out of the School of Forest Resources at UMaine Orono, unites Tribal Nations and conservationists in an alliance to take action to protect brown ash trees. In the Northeast US, we are in a critical window of time in which land caretakers can collect seed, manage, and monitor healthy ash trees in the face of the dual threats of emerald ash borer (EAB) and climate change before we see widespread tree mortality. This presentation will discuss how our lab centers Wabanaki perspectives on brown ash protection strategies, while organizing the widespread participation of private landowners, conservation groups, and state and federal agencies to follow the ash management recommendations of Tribal Nations. Preliminary results from recent surveys and interviews of APCAW program participants reveal effective strategies for communication around protecting culturally significant species, which have implications for other cross-cultural conservation efforts. | |||||
Enhancing Recreation Resource Management through Remote Sensing: Insights from Acadia National Park John Daigle, University of Maine Presenter: Min Kook Kim, Stockton University Researchers have typically emphasized the importance and advantages of remote sensing data and technology for managing recreation resources in various settings. This includes 1) supporting general management through mapping and classification, 2) inventorying the conditions of natural resources, and 3) monitoring changes in those conditions. In this study, we attempted to examine the efficacy of management strategies designed to reduce visitor impacts on vegetation. We utilized a series of high-resolution remote sensing data collected from 2001 to 2007, 2010 to 2018, and 2001 to 2021. The focus was on Cadillac, Penobscot, and Sargent Mountain Summits in Acadia National Park, all of which are popular visitor destinations. Various management actions have been implemented in these areas to mitigate visitor impacts on vegetation. For example, since 2000, indirect management strategies based on Leave No Trace principles and wooden/roped barriers have been employed around the Cadillac Mountain Summit, alongside ecological restoration projects initiated in 2015. In contrast, less intensive management measures, such as pavements and cairns, have been implemented at the summits of Penobscot and Sargent Mountains. Overall, our analysis of changes in vegetation cover revealed consistent patterns across different thresholds and selected spatial extents. Notably, Cadillac Mountain exhibited an increase in vegetation cover, while Sargent and Penobscot Mountain Summits showed declines. These findings provide strong evidence that the active management strategies currently in place at Cadillac Mountain are not only beneficial but also effective in enhancing vegetation cover. Additionally, we highlight the value of utilizing remote sensing data and technology to support informed decision-making in recreation resource management. | |||||
| 2:30 to 2:50 | Integrating genetic and ecological data using a new circuit theory approach to measure and map wildlife connectivity across the Northeast Caitlin Drasher + ABSTRACT | Canceled: Kim Coleman + ABSTRACT | |||
Integrating genetic and ecological data using a new circuit theory approach to measure and map wildlife connectivity across the Northeast Presenter: Caitlin Drasher, Comprehensive depiction of wildlife connectivity across the region that can be used to support management decision-making at multiple spatial scales. | |||||
Canceled: Presenter: Kim Coleman, University of Vermont, Clinton County Health Department With user-generated data from social media platforms becoming more widely available to researchers, the utility of these datasets offers a valuable opportunity for recreation and tourism managers to enhance decision-making processes in their communities. The activity-tracking app called Strava is an underutilized data source in rural recreation planning. This dataset is a useful supplementary tool that can be used in combination with traditional methods of data collection. We tested the usability of data provided by Strava Metro (a non-profit) to assess its capabilities with a case study of Kingdom Trails. We used trail counter data to validate Strava’s bike ride-counts on five trails. We integrated traffic count data to determine peak times for both bike riders and vehicles where safety concerns may arise. We propose that Strava data may provide additional insights into trail usage patterns, intensity variations, and visitor use hotspots offering a holistic understanding of recreation at different spatial scales. | |||||
Parallel tracks of 20-minute presentations contributed by cooperators on various forest ecosystem research, monitoring, and outreach activities.
| Time | Northeastern State Research Cooperative (NSRC) special session Moderator: NSRC | Other topics in forest ecosystems Moderator: FEMC | Forest Management and Restoration Moderator: FEMC | Opportunities to Advance 30x30 Programs - panel discussion Moderator: FEMC | Current State of Climate Projections for Northeastern Forests - panel discussion Moderator: FEMC |
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| 3:00 to 3:20 | NSRC Intro - Anna Marchessault, Rene Germain, Anthea Lavalee | Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) as an alternate host for spruce budworm: Dendrochronological evidence from Maine, USA Rachel Poppe + ABSTRACT | Dendroecology reveals successional changes in pitch pine growth Vermont sandplain forests Declan McCabe + ABSTRACT | Implementing Vermont Conservation Design Helen Wagenvoord, Bob Zaino, Jens Hilke, Trey Martin, Gannon Osborne (90 min) + ABSTRACT | Understanding climate projections and extreme precipitation events in the context of northeastern forests Jonathan Winter, Mattison Brady, Samantha Myers, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Ali Kosiba (90 min) + ABSTRACT |
NSRC Intro - Anna Marchessault, Rene Germain, Anthea Lavalee Presenter: , | |||||
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) as an alternate host for spruce budworm: Dendrochronological evidence from Maine, USA Presenter: Rachel Poppe, University of Maine Purpose: Eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is a tenacious defoliator of conifer forests in northern New England (USA) and eastern Canada. While its preferred host species are balsam fir (Abies balsamea), white (Picea glauca), red (P. rubens), and black (P. mariana) spruce, spruce budworm is known to feed on alternate hosts as well, including eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). However, the severity, spatial-temporal patterns, and long-term effects of spruce budworm defoliation of hemlock is unclear. Our specific objectives are: (1) Determine the extent to which eastern hemlock has served as an alternate host during documented spruce budworm outbreaks Maine, USA, and (2) Examine post-outbreak growth and recovery patterns in eastern hemlock. Eastern hemlocks are already threatened by a variety of insect pests including the hemlock wooly adelgid, hemlock looper, and elongate hemlock scale. Understanding how other pests such as spruce budworm could impact eastern hemlock is critical in managing hemlock in face of these compounding threats. | |||||
Dendroecology reveals successional changes in pitch pine growth Vermont sandplain forests Declan McCabe, Saint Michael's College Presenter: Declan McCabe, Saint Michael's College We conducted this study to determine if controlled burns in Vermont sandplain forests can reset succession, allowing Pinus rigida (pitch pine), an early successional pioneer species, to grow and prevent Pinus strobus (eastern white pine), a late-successional climax species, from overshadowing and dominating the landscape. We measured diameter at breast height (DBH) and increment-core ring length from representative pitch pines at control sites and at 3 sites in Camp Johnson in Colchester, VT, where prescribed burns occurred in 1995, 1998, or 2013. In addition we cored pitch pines at unburned control sites and on the north bank of a beaver pond with southern sun exposure. We tested the hypotheses that pitch pines growing with southern exposure would show consistent growth, that pitch pines under white pine canopies would show reduced growth, and that prescribed burns would reset succession allowing for rapid growth. All three hypotheses were supported by our data sets. Our results confirm white pine domination of the unburned patches across all ages of the lifespan and reduced pitch pine growth later in life. Sun-exposed pitch pines grew consistently with no evidence of reduced growth. Three different prescribed burns in Camp Johnson increased pitch pine growth following a lag time of varying duration. Our data suggest that active management including the use of prescribed burns can reset succession in favor of pitch pines in VT's remaining sandplain forests. | |||||
Implementing Vermont Conservation Design Presenter: Helen Wagenvoord, Bob Zaino, Jens Hilke, Trey Martin, Gannon Osborne (90 min), In June of 2023, following passage by the Vermont General Assembly, the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (CBRPA) became law in the state of Vermont. The Act sets ambitious goals of formally protecting 30 percent of Vermont by 2030 and 50 percent of the state by 2050, and establishes Vermont Conservation Design (VCD) as a key tool for achieving these goals and the Act’s vision. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, in consultation with the Agency of Natural Resources, has now completed the Conserved Land Inventory, and is working towards completing the Conservation Plan, both of which are called for in the Act. Per the Act, the Conservation Plan shall include the implementation methods for achieving the vision and goals of this chapter using VCD as a guide. This session will discuss Vermont Conservation Design and its implementation to date through municipal planning and land conservation. It will then present the CRBPA’s Conserved Land Inventory, and how this inventory is being overlayed with Vermont Conservation Design to help understand Vermont’s conservation work up to now, and shape such work in the future. The session will close with an update on the Conservation Plan, a discussion of how VCD will play a role in the plan, and a question and answer session. | |||||
Understanding climate projections and extreme precipitation events in the context of northeastern forests Presenter: Jonathan Winter, Mattison Brady, Samantha Myers, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Ali Kosiba (90 min), This session will explore up-to-date climate projections for our region, including a discussion of the recent extreme precipitation events and how those fit into project climate regimes and may affect forest health. This session will be structured differently from other concurrent sessions, with a combination of discussion and shorter presentations providing overviews of climate projections and a systems view of climate change, shifting precipitation regimes, and impacts on forests. Session objectives include (1) developing a broader perspective about the interacting factors around climate, precipitation, and site characteristics that contribute to impacts on forests, with examples of what people have been seeing around the region; and (2) identifying information, research, and analysis needs related to the impacts of extreme precipitation events on forests that FEMC and cooperators may be able to pursue. Participants can come and go as they please, but may get the most out of attending the entire session. | |||||
| 3:25 to 3:45 | Quantifying changes in forest condition, connectivity and resilience in the Northeast using geospatial and remotely sensed data Melissa Clark + ABSTRACT | Assessing how effects of browsing by white-tailed deer on tree regeneration vary by species and seedling size across the northeastern USA Lucas B. Harris + ABSTRACT | Natural Dynamics Silviculture in Europe: Application of an Index First Developed in the U.S. Northeast to Compare Natural and Human Disturbances William S. Keeton + ABSTRACT | ||
Quantifying changes in forest condition, connectivity and resilience in the Northeast using geospatial and remotely sensed data Presenter: Melissa Clark, Tool will allow users to quantify the condition of the forest at any location and run scenarios to estimate the impact of various management practices or types of land conversion implemented at specific places. | |||||
Assessing how effects of browsing by white-tailed deer on tree regeneration vary by species and seedling size across the northeastern USA Melissa Pastore, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Presenter: Lucas B. Harris, University of Vermont Tree regeneration in forests of the northeastern USA is threatened by a number of factors including climate change, non-native pests and pathogens and over-browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginiana). Characterizing effects of deer browsing on tree regeneration at regional scales has been challenging due to (a) the need to develop indicators of browsing intensity and (b) the fact that browsing impacts are likely to vary by seedling size yet seedlings are typically tallied within 1-2 broad size classes. We modeled effects of deer browsing and other biotic and abiotic factors on tree seedlings of different sizes for ten common species across New England and New York by leveraging the Forest Inventory and Analysis program's Regeneration Indicator (RI) dataset, which assesses seedling abundance within six height classes. We developed proxies for deer browsing intensity including town-level harvest records, mean snow depth and proportion of nearby non-forest vegetation. These proxies corresponded well with field-estimated browsing intensity from RI plots. Our results suggest that effects of deer browsing varied both by ontogeny and species palatability, with seedlings of less palatable species often benefitting from increased browsing up to a point. Shrub cover often had a positive relationship with gains in seedling abundance, consistent with shrubs protecting seedlings from herbivory. We discuss implications of this work for managing tree regeneration in an era of global change. | |||||
Natural Dynamics Silviculture in Europe: Application of an Index First Developed in the U.S. Northeast to Compare Natural and Human Disturbances R?ka Aszal?s, Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vacratot, Hungary Presenter: William S. Keeton, University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources; and Gund Institute for Environment Here we report on an application of concepts first developed in northern New England to forest management across the Atlantic. In Europe, there has long been interest in natural dynamics silviculture (NDS) to provide a full spectrum of seral habitats and structural conditions required by forest biodiversity, including species that are poorly represented in intensively managed forests. However, adoption of NDS has been limited by incomplete understanding of the ranges of variability in disturbance regimes, including frequencies, spatial attributes, and severities. Addressing this constraint in European forest management, we adapted a "comparability index" (CI) that was first developed in the northeastern US (Seymour et al. 2002) to compare natural disturbances and forest management effects. We extended the original concept that included spatial and temporal axes by adding disturbance severity (i.e. tree survivorship or retention) as a third dimension. We populated the model by compiling published data on disturbance dynamics for four major forest types (i.e. spruce, beech, oak, and pine-dominated). Data on silvicultural systems by country and forest type were obtained through an expert-based process employing standardized estimation protocol. The data for both natural and harvest disturbances were visualized in three-dimensional plots indicating ranges for frequency, size, and severity. We developed an algorithim to calculate the index values for bivariate comparisons. The results indicated that natural disturbances are highly variable in size, frequency, and residual structure, but European forest management fails to encompass this complexity. The CI showed the highest congruence between uneven-aged silvicultural systems and key natural disturbance attributes. Even so, uneven-aged practices emulate only a portion of the complexity associated with natural disturbance effects. The remaining silvicultural systems perform poorly in terms of retention, especially, as compared to tree survivorship after natural disturbances. Our results and the CI will help European forest managers to expand their portfolio of silvicultural systems to sustain and conserve forest biodiversity, while providing a broad array of ecosystem services. However, the Index could be used anywhere, including the U.S. Northeast, although down-scaling using more localized data will be important to guide forest management. Accounting for shifts in natural disturbance regimes will be just as important as for any type of adaptive forest management. | |||||
| 3:50 to 4:10 | NEBI (Water): connecting N'dakinna (Land), Bilowagizegad (Climate), and Alnobak (People) Adam Wymore + ABSTRACT | Global Forests - Lessons from Community-based Forest Restoration in Haiti and Connections to Forest Management in Vermont Julia Pupko + ABSTRACT | Multiple pathways of development in northeastern forests: The role land-use history plays in mature forest structure Stephen Peters-Collaer + ABSTRACT | ||
NEBI (Water): connecting N'dakinna (Land), Bilowagizegad (Climate), and Alnobak (People) Presenter: Adam Wymore, Project goals: To engage university students in indigenous knowledge and concepts and applicability to watershed and ecosystem science and conservation. Deni Murray (UNH PhD candidate): Deni led a paper entitled “The environmental responsibility framework: a toolbox for recognizing and evaluating ecologically conscious research” (Murray et al. 2023 Earth’s Future. doi: 10.1029/2022EF002964) that describes a framework for researchers to apply to their methods to reduce the environmental impact of research protocols. It is inspired by IRB and IUCAC frameworks which are designed to protect human and animal-based research subjects. The environmental responsibility framework (also know as ER5F) is firmly grounded in the indigenous concept of reciprocity. Kristin Green (UNH PhD candidate): Kristin’s research examines the intersection of indigenous and federal land management practices and perspectives with the objective of identify and defining meaningful collaboration with Tribes in National Forest Planning Processes. Kristin’s work leverages principles of cartography and the concept “two-eyed seeing” as a framework to identify meaningful collaboration. Her work was highlighted in AGU’s Eos publication: https://eos.org/articles/maps-strengthen-collaboration-between-tribes-and-federal-agencies | |||||
Global Forests - Lessons from Community-based Forest Restoration in Haiti and Connections to Forest Management in Vermont Julia Pupko, FPR; SRDH Presenter: Julia Pupko, Vermont FPR; SRDH After a summer spent in the mountaintops of Vermont, a Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) has a long journey to reach overwintering grounds in the Caribbean. Once there, it must find forested sites suitable for survival, which may be a difficult task if it arrives in a heavily deforested region. An estimated 90 percent of Bicknell's Thrush overwinter in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Ongoing degradation and deforestation poses a significant threat to this sensitive species, along with many others. In Haiti, decades of foreign, expert-led reforestation and agroforestry projects have failed. Conversations with locals and dives into literature will reveal some commonalities of project failure -- lack of local leadership, protectionist models that do not incorporate community needs, and rejection of local land tenure systems, to name a few. Currently, the Global Forest Watch estimates Haiti's tree cover to be between 21.3 and 32 percent, down from the estimated 80 percent forest cover of pre-colonial times. So what can be done? Sosyete pou Rebwaze Duchity Haiti (SRDH; Society for the Reforestation of Duchity Haiti) is a community-based agroforestry and reforestation organization operating in the mountains of the southern peninsula. SRDH implements accessible reforestation and agroforestry projects in partnership with community, farmers, and other groups. Through the provision of education, training, materials, and support, SRDH facilitates a space to collaboratively replant and manage Haiti's forest ecosystems. Trees and planting sites are selected to address community needs, with an end-goal of sustainably managed forest ecosystems that meet the habitat requirements of endemic, sensitive, threatened, and endangered species, such as the Bicknell's Thrush. Despite limited resources, funds, and continued unrest in Haiti, SRDH has established two community forests, partnered with eight farmers, begun a women's empowerment program, and planted over 12,000 seedlings since 2020. This presentation will examine forest ecosystem restoration, conservation, and sustainable use through the lens of SRDH's community-based, community-first model. While SRDH operates far from Vermont, our forests are inextricably linked by migratory species like the Bicknell's Thrush. Additionally, lessons from community-based forestry initiatives in Haiti can be applied to local forest management. These lessons and connections provide powerful opportunities for local and international collaborations, ensuring healthy forest ecosystems for all that breathes. | |||||
Multiple pathways of development in northeastern forests: The role land-use history plays in mature forest structure Stephen Peters-Collaer, University of Vermont Presenter: Stephen Peters-Collaer, University of Vermont Forests across the northeastern US are recovering from land-clearing for timber and agriculture in the 19th and early 20th century. As a result, many northeastern forests are now mature (80 to 150 years old). Traditional models of stand development predict that these mature forests contain a narrow range of structural conditions which has implications for many ecosystem functions. However, these models are based on stands that were completely cleared, while many northeastern forests were only partially cleared and retained legacy structure. Recent research has shown that these legacies, as well as disturbances and management after stand initiation, can alter pathways of stand development and the structures that develop. As such, we expect that the varied land-use history in the region and subsequent light management in many locations has led to a larger range of structural conditions than traditionally predicted. But no research has yet quantified this on a regional scale. To better understand forest structure region-wide, we collected data on 63 northern hardwood-conifer stands from New York to Maine. All sites were mature with known management and disturbance histories. We analyzed these data with classification and regression techniques to: 1) better quantify the regional range of structural conditions and 2) assess whether different stand initiating disturbances (cleared or partial logging) and differences in subsequent management explain variability in mature forest structure. Forests exhibited a broader range of structural conditions than predicted by stand development models. In some cases, structural metrics were within ranges typical for old-growth forests. Random forest classification suggested that the most important differences between stands with different land-use histories were aboveground live biomass and the density of large live trees. Differences in these metrics are important for forest complexity and ecosystem function, especially wildlife habitat and carbon storage. Sites that were completely cleared and unmanaged tended to have less old forest structure, with especially low aboveground biomass and the large tree density (p < 0.05). These results suggests that stands that initiate from complete clearing and are never managed may be slower to regain critical structural features than stands with alternative development pathways, such as those that were partially logged and retained legacy structure. Stand development pathways in the northeastern US may be more varied than previously understood, with some forests recovering complex, old forest structures more quickly than expected, in part due to land-use history and how that interacts with subsequent management. | |||||
| 4:15 to 4:35 | Supporting Abenaki Stweardship of the Ecologically Rare and Culturally Important Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Ecosystem Gigi Lish, Reece Ciampitti + ABSTRACT | Funding trends and research gaps: insights from regional researchers on the current terrain of northeastern forest ecology science Lydia Roe + ABSTRACT | Forest adaptation impacts on microclimates in lowland spruce-fir ecosystems Grace Smith + ABSTRACT | ||
Supporting Abenaki Stweardship of the Ecologically Rare and Culturally Important Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Ecosystem Presenter: Gigi Lish, Reece Ciampitti, Project goals: Partnership among the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, University of New Hampshire, Bradford Conservation Commission, Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, a local landowner, and a local forester to assess Atlantic White Cedar natural regeneration and stand dynamics and establish long-term monitoring plots integrated Indigenous-Western research methods to assess ecosystem health. | |||||
Funding trends and research gaps: insights from regional researchers on the current terrain of northeastern forest ecology science Lydia Roe, Independent contractor hired for this work by Northeast Wilderness Trust Presenter: Lydia Roe, Independent contractor hired for this work by Northeast Wilderness Trust In August and September, 30 interviews were conducted with professionals doing forest ecology-related work in the northeastern United States; interviewees were primarily scientists, but also included land managers and those in more policy-oriented or administrative roles. Interviews aimed to gather participants' thoughts in two major areas: one, trends or themes in funding streams available to those doing forest ecology research in the region, and two, knowledge areas in northeastern forest ecology which may be understudied or poorly understood. The top theme to emerge from the first area of inquiry was the presence of a large gap in long-term funding for correspondingly long-term work in northeastern forests. Participants also spoke about the inflexibility of funding in various ways, as well as the relative difficulty or ease of finding money to support specific areas of inquiry (e.g., biodiversity, carbon sequestration, climate change); these findings are presented within the context of a brief review of funding sources in the region. In discussing knowledge gaps, the need to understand more about various disturbances and stressors affecting northeastern forests emerged as participants' top concern, followed by the current lack of basic knowledge of some lesser-known species, particularly fungi. These and additional themes are presented with narrative context drawing on many participants' decades of work in the field. | |||||
Forest adaptation impacts on microclimates in lowland spruce-fir ecosystems Anthony D'Amato, University of Vermont; E. Carol Adair, University of Vermont; Alexandra Contosta, University of New Hampshire; Sarah Nelson, Appalachian Mountain Club Presenter: Grace Smith, University of Vermont Our study evaluates the effects of adaptive silvicultural strategies co-produced with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on year-round microclimate conditions within lowland spruce-fir ecosystems. We investigated two adaptation treatments—Patch Clearcutting with Reserves and Variable Density Thinning (VDT)—compared to untreated controls, focusing on their impact on micro-stand conditions within the Nulhegan Basin division of the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Vermont, USA. Multi-year measurements of soil, ground and air temperature, soil moisture, and snow depth, alongside stand characteristics such as canopy openness, regeneration, and coarse woody material were used to determine how various forest adaptation strategies can maintain microclimate conditions despite broader changing climate regimes. Distinct variation in microclimate were associated with adaptation strategies, with gap openings and patch clearcuts maintaining higher snowpacks and greater magnitude of diurnal temperature fluctuations. By examining the relationship between forest adaptation and microclimates, this research enhances our understanding of ecosystem resilience and climate adaptation strategies in the face of changing climate conditions. | |||||
A simple prototype for assessing plant cold hardiness with differential thermal analysis.
Presenter: John R Butnor, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
A test of the species-area relationship using Lake Champlain macroinvertebrates.
Presenter: Sawyer Pierpont, Saint Michael's College
Climate factors that drive daily radial growth and shrinkage of canopy red spruce (Picea rubens) trees in coastal Maine
Presenter: Megan Grega, University of Maine
Cold Tolerance Assay Reveals Evidence of Climate Adaptation Among American Elm (Ulmus americana L.) Genotypes
Presenter: John R Butnor, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Comparative dendrometer performance in tracking tree growth along an elevation gradient under a changing climate
Presenter: Jordon Tourville, Appalachian Mountain Club
Heat and drought impacts on tree seedling growth and survival
Presenter: Emily MacDonald, University of Maine School of Forest Resources
Lingering (resilient) ash detection: a tool for ash conservation
Presenter: Radka Wildova, Ecological Research Institute
Management and Conservation of Maine's Coastal Spruce Forests for Resilience to Rapid Warming
Presenter: Colby Bosley-Smith, University of Maine, School of Forest Resources
Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA): a program that enables lingering (resilient) ash detection for resistance breeding
Presenter: Jonathan Rosenthal, Ecological Research Institute
Stitching Together the Past: Using historical aerial imagery and modern photogrammetry to expand the remote sensing record of the Northern Forest
Presenter: Peter Howe, University of Maine
Sustaining Ash Partners Network (SAP-Ne)
Presenter: Rachel Swanwick, Forest Stewards Guild