Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
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Community Forestry Workshop

Cover Image for Community Forestry Case StudyOpportunity

Communities in New Hampshire expressed interest in acquiring and managing forest land for public benefit. The Quebec-Labrador Foundation came to Yellow Wood for assistance designing and facilitating a See the Forest® workshop to foster information exchange between community members currently managing their own forests and community members that would like to do so. Community-owned forests provide rural areas with a range of benefits including source water protection and ecosystem services, recreational opportunities, energy security, educational and research opportunities, timber and non-timber forest products, connections with their cultural and historic roots, and financial returns from sustainable timber management.  See the Forest®, an educational program developed by Yellow Wood, helps communities recognize and realize the benefits of forests in and around their communities.  See the Forest® addresses forest economies, forest health, and institutional arrangements governing forest ownership and use.

Approach

The daylong highly interactive workshop included a brief history of community forests in New Hampshire, a site visit to the host community forest with a picnic lunch, and structured information exchanges around topics of interest to participants, including:

  • How to engage a community in planning for its town-owned forests;
  • How citizens can influence decision-making with respect to the use of town forests;
  • Options for how to use town-owned forest resources;
  • Challenges in management and use of town-owned forests;
  • Strategies and resources for overcoming these challenges;
  • Setting community-wide goals for managing town-owned forest resources; and
  • Questions and lessons to share with other towns.

Outcome

A publication, Choices and Challenges in Town Forest Management resulted from the workshop.  Yellow Wood has designed and facilitated community forestry workshops for communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Client

The Quebec-Labrador Foundation (www.qlf.org) exists to support the rural communities and environment of eastern Canada and New England to create models for stewardship of natural resources and cultural heritage that can be applied worldwide.

Download a copy of this page as a formatted PDF ready-to-print: Case Study: Community Forestry Workshop.