Nature regrows forests, can humans do the same?

THE IDEA BEING IN THE WOODS, WORKING THE WOODS, LIVING THE WOODS, THAT ALL JUST MADE SENSE TO ME BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE. IGOR SIKORSKY, OWNER OF THE BRADFORD CAMP, SPENDS A LOT OF TIME WITH HIS HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, FERRYING GUESTS IN AND OUT OF HIS REMOTE NORTH WOODS SPORTING CAMP IN A FLOATPLANE. TAKE IT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY. BUT IT ALSO REALLY FILLS MY SOUL. KATAHDIN IS RIGHT OVER THERE. THAT’S WHERE WE’RE 40 MILES AWAY, 30 MILES AWAY FROM CANADA. I FLY RIGHT NEXT TO THAT MOUNTAIN ALL SUMMER LONG TO MY FAVORITE MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, SIKORSKY SPAWNING CAMP SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF A VAST, PROTECTED FOREST. THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION ACRES BELOW LARGEST CONSERVATION EASEMENT IN US HISTORY. THE LAND CAN NEVER BE BUILT ON, BUT IT CAN BE LOGGED. LUCKY FOR THE SIKORSKY IS THE PROPERTY SURROUNDING THE CAMP IS OWNED BY THE PINGREE FAMILY, LONG KNOWN FOR THEIR SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE LOGGING PRACTICES. OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF KATAHDIN, A SPORTING CAMP THAT WASN’T SO LUCKY, CLEARCUTTING CAME TO HILLSIDES AROUND WESTBROOK RANCH POND CAMPS IN THE MID 80. WHEN YOU TURN A PERFECTLY HEALTHY FOREST INTO A RASPBERRY DESERT, WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION? RASPBERRIES WERE ABOUT THE ONLY THING LEFT IN THE BEAR PATCH. THE MACHINES LEFT BEHIND, AND CAROLE STERLING GREW UP HERE AT THE WEST BRANCH POND CAMPS, THE OLDEST FAMILY OWNED SPORTING CAMP IN MAINE, A LOYAL CLIENTELE COMES YEAR AFTER YEAR TO WATCH FOR MOOSE FISH FOR NATIVE BROOK TROUT AND SKI. THE BACKCOUNTRY IN THE WINTER. IT’S A TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE THAT CAME UNDER ASSAULT WHEN THE BIG MACHINES ROLLED IN 40 YEARS AGO, AND NOW IT’S AN INTRUSION OF WHAT WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR 10,000 YEARS. IT WAS THE THE FALL BEAUTY AND NOW THERE’S THAT WORKING FOR US. IT’S A PLANTATION. OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, CAROLYN AND A FAMILY HAVE WATCHED THE SCAR ON THE FARM MOUNTAIN SCAB OVER THE SOUTH AFRICAN LOGGING COMPANY THAT TOOK THE HARDWOODS PLANTED ROWS OF FAST GROWING RED PINE ON THE WAY OUT, A MONOCULTURE GROVE WHERE A HEALTHY FOREST ONCE STOOD. ALL THAT HUGE HARDWOOD WAS SHORT TERM PROFIT JUST GONE. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE PROGRESS. I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER THINK OF IT AS THIS PROGRESS. MONEY ISN’T THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD, AND THE LAND HAS SINCE CHANGED HANDS AND FORTUNATELY, SO HAVE ITS PROSPECTS. THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB, OR AMC, HAS GOTTEN IN THE LOGGING BUSINESS WAY DIFFERENT. THEY ARE DOING A BEAUTIFUL JOB. I MEAN, THE FORESTERS GO IN AND DECIDE VERY CAREFULLY WHAT SECTIONS OF THEIR LAND NEED, WHAT. OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, THE AMC HAS BEEN BUYING UP LAND IN MAINE’S 100 MILE WILDERNESS AND UNDEVELOPED TRACT OF WILD LANDS EAST OF MOOSEHEAD LAKE, SOUTH OF KATAHDIN. IT WAS VERY CLEAR IN THE 1990S THAT IF WE WANTED TO CHANGE THE PARADIGM AND WE WANTED TO TO DO SOMETHING ELSE TO ADVANCE CONSERVATION IN THE NORTHEAST, WE HAD TO START OWNING LAND OURSELVES. AND THAT MEANS MANAGING THE LAND WHICH INCLUDES LOGGING. STEVE KATKO, THE AMC’S DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYS MUCH OF THE 75,000 ACRES OF AMC LAND HERE NEEDS HELP AFTER MORE THAN A CENTURY OF INDUSTRIAL HARVEST PRACTICES. WE SAW THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS, SO TO SPEAK, AND PRACTICE ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY IN A WAY THAT PRODUCE IS LONG TERM COMMUNITY BENEFITS, LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS. TATANKA POINTS OUT AN AREA RECENTLY HARVESTED BY THE AMC, A MIX OF TALL, MATURE TREES AND YOUNG REGENERATING SPRUCE FIR AND CEDAR, A VARIETY OF AGE, CLASS AND SPECIES. IF THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR, THE AMC’S APPROACH TO HARVESTING CLOSELY RESEMBLES THE EXEMPLARY FORESTRY STANDARDS PROPOSED BY THE NEW ENGLAND FORESTRY FOUNDATION, OR NEF. THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB, IN NEED OF A LONG RELATIONSHIP GOING BACK DECADES IN CONVERSING ABOUT FOREST ISSUES, TANKO HAS MORE THAN A PROFESSIONAL INTEREST IN THE HEALTH OF THIS LAND. HE’S A LOCAL KID WHO GREW UP IN NEARBY MUNSON. YEAH, GREW UP RIGHT HERE. YEAH. I MEAN, THESE ARE PLACES THAT I WENT TO GO SPRING BROOK TROUT FISHING AND, YOU KNOW, GONE TO HARVEST FIDDLEHEADS ALONG THE SHORE OF THESE PLACES. SO IT WAS PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL FOR TATRO WHEN IN 2020, ATLANTIC SALMON WAS SPOTTED IN THE MIDDLE BRANCH OF THE PLEASANT RIVER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 180 YEARS. THE RESULT OF DAM REMOVAL AND CLEANER WATER FROM A RECOVERING FOREST. IT IS A MIRACLE. AND IT’S NOT OVER. I MEAN, THERE’S STILL A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE. IT’S SORT OF AN AMAZING THING TO REALLY CONCEPTUALIZE. WE’RE ABOUT 110 RIVER MILES INLAND, RIGHT NOW FROM THE GULF OF OF THE MAINE AND HAVE THESE FISH COME BACK REALLY SPEAKS TO THE QUALITY OF THE WATERSHED THAT’S HERE. AND THAT’S LARGELY DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF A FOREST AND LANDSCAPE. APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB IS IN THE PROCESS OF INCREASING THEIR HOLDINGS IN THE 100 MILE WILDERNESS TO GET TO A TOTAL ACREAGE OF AROUND 100,000. AT THIS POINT, YEAH. AND THEIR BRAND OF ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY IS ALSO PRACTICED BY MAINE’S BUREAU OF PARKS AND LANDS, WHICH OVERSEES THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION ACRES OF FO

Nature regrows forests, can humans do the same?

The New England Forestry Foundation has put forward a prescription for a healthier New England Forest, which they call exemplary forestry.

Updated: 8:10 PM EDT Aug 15, 2023

Bob Perschel–of the New England Forestry Foundation, or NEFF, which has put forward a prescription for a healthier New England Forest, which they call exemplary forestry. The goal: to improve wildlife habitat, grow better wood for commercial markets, and help mitigate climate change–all at the same time.Want to get away? Try Bradford Camps, a traditional sporting camp located on Munsungan Lake, north of Katahdin… 50 miles from the nearest cell signal!Northwoods Aerials provided by Isaac Crabtree’s drone photography.

Bob Perschel–of the New England Forestry Foundation, or NEFF, which has put forward a prescription for a healthier New England Forest, which they call exemplary forestry. The goal: to improve wildlife habitat, grow better wood for commercial markets, and help mitigate climate change–all at the same time.

Want to get away? Try Bradford Camps, a traditional sporting camp located on Munsungan Lake, north of Katahdin… 50 miles from the nearest cell signal!

Northwoods Aerials provided by Isaac Crabtree’s drone photography.