A Brief History of Northern Woodlands
1994 Virginia Barlow and Stephen Long, neighbors in Corinth, Vermont, partnered to start a forestry magazine. Vermont Woodlands premiered in the summer of that year as a 28-page, two-color publication with a circulation of less than 1,000.
1998 Developed a program for students in middle and high school that has evolved into Northern Woodlands Goes to School and reaches 5,000 students each year.
1999 Recognizing that all of New England and New York needed to be involved in this important discussion, Vermont Woodlands became Northern Woodlands to serve that expanded geography.
2002 Began syndicating weekly ecology columns that appear in newspapers across the region. Known as "The Outside Story", the columns now reach a readership of 120,000.
2003 Became incorporated as a nonprofit, the Center for Northern Woodlands Education, Inc., operating with the tradename of Northern Woodlands. Attracted the support and expertise of a committed board of directors, professionals with diverse experience and a passion for the Northern Forest, making it possible to expand the mission further.
2006 Branched out with three new publications: two region-specific versions of The Place You Call Home, one for the Catskills and one for the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont; and The Outside Story, a paperback collection of the syndicated columns.
2007 Plans continue for more editions of The Place You Call Home: western Massachusetts, Vermont, North Country (in New Hampshire and Maine). Work begins on Northern Woodlands Guide to Stewardship, a three-book series for people who own forestland and want to be good stewards.
Northern Woodlands is now an 80-page, full-color, perfect-bound quarterly with a paid circulation of 12,000. It is a benefit of membership to these associations:
• New England Forestry Foundation• Vermont Woodlands Association
• Massachusetts Woodland Cooperative
• Tug Hill Resources Investment for Tomorrow
• Empire State Forest Products Association
• New York Forest Owners Association
Programs of Northern Woodlands
We accomplish our mission of “encouraging a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast” through the following distinct programs:
Northern Woodlands magazine: A new way of looking at the forest! An award-winning 80-page, four-color, perfect bound, quarterly publication serving New England and New York, sold by subscription and on newsstands and provided as a benefit of membership to regional associations.
Northern Woodlands Goes to School: Throughout the school year, we supply copies of the magazine to over 5,000 area middle and high school students, coupled with a supportive Teacher’s Guide. We work in conjunction with Project Learning Tree, Maine TREE Foundation, A Forest for Every Classroom, and other place-based educational organizations.
The Outside Story: syndicated weekly ecology newspaper column, currently reaching over 120,000 readers. In 2007, we released our first book, also called The Outside Story, a best-of-anthology of the syndicated columns.
The Place You Call Home: A Guide to Caring for Your Land: Magazine-format guides for landowners new to forest ownership. We published our first two versions in 2006: one for the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont and one for the Catskills.
NorthernWoodlands.org: Our website provides information from our publications along with other forest-related material.
Woodland tours and workshops: We conduct woodland tours for groups of journalists and teachers. We co-sponsor workshops with landowner associations, conservation commissions, and forestry associations.
Awards
Northern Woodlands has received a number of awards including recent recognition from: Northern Forest Center, New England Wild Flower Society, Northeastern Loggers Association, the New England Society of American Foresters, and the Fairbanks Museum's Franklin Fairbanks Award.
Major Grants & Gifts
Generous support comes annually from more than 1,000 individuals, businesses, and foundations. Prominent among them are:
Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation – Upper Valley Region, Maine TREE Foundation, Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Institute, French Foundation, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.
