From the Center

Owning and managing a piece of woodland is, among other things, an act of faith. Landowners sink their fortune in the notion that this place can provide sustenance, enjoyment, and a lasting legacy. Many factors that shape this adventure – weather, pests, taxes, and markets – are largely beyond the steward’s control, and the outcomes of land management actions are only moderately predictable. You could invest vast time and energy in encouraging regeneration of high-value hardwoods, for example, only to watch them become lunch for a burgeoning deer or moose population.

Similarly, the Center for Woodlands Education is an act of faith.

We believe that a well-written, informative magazine will inspire readers to bring all their intelligence and passion to bear on the way they see and manage their land.

We believe that outreach to students through Northern Woodlands Goes to School will help to create the next generation of forest stewards.

We believe that inviting journalists into the forest to learn about issues and practices of forest management will increase public awareness and discussion of forest issues.

We believe that, if we create a thoughtful, comprehensive manual on caring for your land, it will get dog-eared from frequent use and will occupy a place of honor in the tool shed next to the chainsaw.

But will it?

Our faith in our forests and the people who live and work here tells us it will, but honesty requires us to ask the question. As Ronald Reagan liked to say, “Trust, but verify.” (I quoted Bob Dylan in the last issue, and we do strive to be balanced.)

The best way for us to pose this question and learn from the answer is to ask our readers and supporters. So we’d like to hear from you, in answer to these questions:

Has the work of Northern Woodlands and the Center changed the way you view your woodlands?

Have you learned something from our pages and applied it to your forestland, and has it made a difference? Has it enlivened your view of the task at hand in your woodland?

Do you look at some particular forest issue differently – for example, clearcutting, bear baiting, wind energy, or the role of the vole – as a result of what you’ve read in these pages?

Has this magazine failed to meet your needs or expectations? Do you have suggestions for improvement of the material we publish?

We’re serious about this. We’d really love to hear from you, whether it’s two sentences or five pages, whether your comments are positive or negative. Real faith doesn’t succumb to an honest challenge to its assumptions.

Of course, since this is all about faith, we trust we’ll get some positive answers. More importantly, however, we’ll use whatever you tell us to help us do our work even better.

We’re not soliciting letters for publication. We’re looking for feedback and frank appraisal of the work we do. Write to us at PO Box 471, Corinth, VT 05039. Or email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).