What we in the Northeast sometimes call a “Town Forest” is known elsewhere as a “Community Forest.” Although common and cherished by local residents, these publicly accessible, locally managed woods are not well studied by academics. A new survey of eastern U.S. community forests, led by researchers based at University of Arizona and the USDA Forest Service, found a diverse spectrum of forest ownership governance structures, management authorities, and uses.
Published in a special issue of the journal Forests that focused on forest ecosystem services and landscape design, the study identified 70 community forests in the eastern United States, from Puerto Rico to Wisconsin, with more than half located in the Northeast. While not comprehensive, the list reflects an increase in community forests resulting from the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program, part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
Researchers, led by Meredith Hovis of the Udall Center for Public Policy, identified three purposes for establishing community forests: to secure local access to various goods and services, to allow for public participation and input in decision-making and management processes, and to protect properties from being converted to other uses such as housing and commercial development.
Community forests provide space for recreation and learning, as well as for protecting air and water quality, sequestering and storing carbon, providing habitat for wildlife, and supplying timber and other materials. The main difference between community forests and traditional public parks is who owns them and how they are governed. The process of creating a community forest often brings together diverse groups, or at least a small number of very committed groups and individuals, the researchers wrote. However, they noted that “participation in decision-making processes is not always a priority nor explicitly included in management decisions or processes. Some community forests seemed to mostly incorporate these elements to comply with funding requirements.”
Widespread, deep participation by a large portion of community members was rare, but occurred at Birch Ridge Community Forest in New Durham, New Hampshire, one of four case studies. According to the researchers, Birch Ridge is “unique in its incorporation of in-depth public input and participation in forest decision-making.”
Yet finding and retaining community members to assist in decisions about forest management is a challenge, along with funding, according to the study. Community forests in the study struggled to support staffing and maintenance, and to balance promoting use of the forest with protecting forest resources.