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Andrews Community Forest

Meets last Monday of the month in the evening. Please see Front Porch Forum announcements or the town calendar (https://www.richmondvt.gov/calendar) for start time and Zoom link.

The Richmond Town Forest was established in 2018. Through the generosity of the Andrews family, the Town acquired and conserved 428 acres of forestland and farmland through the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. This land will be protected as a Town Forest in perpetuity.

Follow-up to March 29 meeting for participants

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Did you attend the March 29 meeting but were unable to leave written comments? Please enter your comments via this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK-51BFvedz4j56qCdPXJOWNuwcuWHy1D5LrEThgaaDjdehg/viewform

This form is for meeting attendees to share their perspectives after hearing from the panelists and other community members at the meeting. If you did not participate in the meeting, the committee welcomes your input as always via email (richmondtownforest@gmail.com) or at one of our monthly public meetings.

This form will close at the end of Sunday April 2.

 

Proposed updates to the management plan

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Proposed updates available for review via two documents.

  •  A version with “track changes” turned on (i.e., showing both original and updated language, with modifications indicated by colored text)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​:​​​​​​​ Management plan with updates visible.
  • A clean version in with the changes in the above document have been made (i.e., what the document would look like if all changes were implemented): Management plan with updates integrated.​​​​​​​

Andrews Community Forest Committee Members

9 members – 3-year term

MembersTerm StartTerm EndType
Jesse Crary – Chair – Trails Committee Recommendation, email jessecrary@ gmail.com 20212024Appointment
Melissa Wolaver20222025Appointment
Caitlin Littlefield – Secretary – Conservation Commission Recommendation20202023Appointment
Daniel Schmidt – Conservation Commission Representative20212024Appointment
Chase Rosenberg – Trails Committee Representative20222025Appointment
Amy Powers20202023Appointment
Cecelia Danks20222025Appointment
Jim Monahan20212024Appointment
Nick Neverisky – Appointed Mid-Term20202023Appointment

Upcoming Meetings

Access upcoming meeting documents by clicking on the meeting.

Meeting & Document Archives

Materials related to the proposed trail route

During the February 28 ACF Committee meeting, the committee reviewed trail route options considering significant public input over the previous months, the management plan, the initial ecology and trail report, and a follow up ecology and trail report (all materials available via the links below). During the meeting, the committee voted to propose a modified trail route in ACF. This proposed route differs from the previously proposed route in one way: it does not include the western most of the three parallel trails in the northeast quadrant of the forest (referred to as "Ridgetop" in the initial trail report). The committee made this edit to the proposed route in response to public concern about its proximity to a sensitive ecological zone, retaining the two trails in the northeast quadrant farther from that zone to retain the potential for trail users to have a loop route in that area.

Materials

  • ​​​​​​​​​2018 Management Plan - Describes the vision for the forest as per public engagement activities in 2018 when the forest was acquired by the town ​​​​​​​​​​(​​​​​​​​a​​​​​​​s​​​​​​​s​​​​​​​o​​​​​​​c​​​​​​​i​​​​​​​a​​​​​​​t​​​​​​​e​​​​​​​d​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​m​​​​​​​​a​​​ps and appendices available here​​​​ ​​​​here).​​​​​​​
  • Trail design RFP - Describes the parameters and goals under which the ecologists (Arrowwood) and trail designers (Sinuosity) developed their proposal.
  • Initial report from ecology (Arrowwood) and trail design (Sinuosity) companies - Describes ecological features identified by Arrowwood, proposes trail routes based on RFP parameters and ecological features of the forest, describes rationale for proposed trail route.
  • Follow up report from Arrowwood and Sinuosity - Includes comments posed to these companies by the committee related to concerns about trail routes proposed in the initial report
  • Minutes from Feb. 28 committee meeting
  • Map of updated proposed trail route

Public comment on the proposed route

Revised land acknowledgement draft appendix for consideration in management plan - land-acknowledment-and-use-agreement-appendix 1.31.21 draft (5179783_1)

Maps

Annual Report

    Ongoing management actions

    Trail Design

    The town contracted with an ecological assessment company and a trail design company to develop a route for additional trails in Andrews Community Forest. Trails will be designed to support the needs of multiple user types (e.g., bikers, hikers, etc.) and the natural communities present in the forest.

    This resulted in a proposed trail route represented in the report and map at arrowwoodvt.com/acf/. This is the document presented by Arrowwood and Sinuosity in the August 28, 2021 public meeting when it was approved by the committee in a vote 6 in favor, 2 against, 1 abstention.

    2020-21 Forest Management at the Andrews Community Forest

    Per the Andrews Community Forest (ACF)’s Forest Management Plan, a forest management project began in September 2020 in Stands 3, 4, and 6 (in the eastern portion of the property). This project will be underway through March, 2021, and perhaps again from August – November 2021. A major objective of the project is to provide opportunities for everyone to learn about forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way. While COVID-19 means that public events at the ACF this year will be largely virtual, numerous opportunities will be provided for you to learn about this project, and we will resume in-person events as soon as it is safe to do so:

    • Stay tuned to Front Porch Forum, the Andrews Community Forest Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AndrewsCommunityForest) or email the Chittenden County Forester (ethan.tapper@ vermont.gov) to join his mailing list;
    • Join us for our virtual event series, discussing the forest management project at the ACF with a focus on wildlife, Emerald Ash Borer, birds, carbon and climate change, and ecology and conservation. These events will feature a diverse group of partners, including Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Vermont’s Urban and Community Forestry program, Vermont Audubon, the Vermont Land Trust, Vermont Coverts, Vermont Woodlands Association and the Richmond Free Library.
    • You can follow along with the progress of the job by watching regular short videos on the “Andrews Community Forest” Playlist on the Chittenden County Forester’s YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AanLRDAm3UE&list=PLWk3DKdWmNIb5VOql7MqxJ09GqXg0kPVl. Recordings of all of the webinars and online events associated with this project will also be stored on this page, for you to watch at your convenience.
    • Map of forest management areas: ACF forest management marking map 071520
    • Read the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation’s press release on the project, here: https://fpr.vermont.gov/news/andrews-community-forest-management

    For more details on the planned work, see the ACF’s Forest Management Plan on this page. Please contact ethan.tapper@vermont.gov or richmondtownforest@gmail.com if you have any questions about this project.

      Management Plans

      The “Management Plan” that was approved in 2018 (see link below) provides general goals, objectives and administrative details for the management of the parcel.

      Below are links to the management plan and associated files.

      Forestry Management Plan

      The “Forestry Management Plan” is an addendum to the “Management Plan,” providing specific data and information on the management of forested stands at the Andrews Community Forest. This document focuses on forestry and ecological management (other documents related to the "Management Plan" above relate to holistic management of the parcel including recreation).

      Other files