As I write this, Chittenden County is settling into winter, last night’s rain notwithstanding. As December progresses you might start to hear the buzzing of chainsaws and the thrum of skidders in the woods, logs piling up by the side of your road.
While we ended up with more snow than we know what to do with, this winter started slowly. If you’ve been following our forest management project at the Andrews Community Forest in Richmond, you’ll know that we struggled with warm weather and soils that didn’t freeze until far later than usual.
When forest management is done well it makes our forests healthier, more complex and more resilient; provides incredible habitat for wildlife; and produces local, renewable resources.