DRAFT Andrews Community Forest

This page is about the Andrews Community Forest.
There is a page about the Andrews Community Forest Committee under “Boards & Meetings” (link)
 

Table of Contents

Andrews Community Forest
     Welcome!
     Visiting
          Parking
          Rules and Guidelines
          Recreational map
     What You Can See in the ACF
          Ecological Studies, History, Reports and Observations 
               A video from the Vermont Master Naturalists program
               Video - ACF Wildlife Habitat
               Powerline Operations
     Other Information
     Maps
     Forestry Management Plan
          Forestry Maps

Welcome

The Andrews Community Forest is part of one of Vermont’s largest remaining expanses of interior forest and highly ranked for its own biodiversity and ecological integrity. The Town of Richmond was able to acquire it thanks to the generosity of the Andrews family, who for decades had owned and cared for the forest and surrounding farmland. The Town also had tremendous assistance  from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Land Trust, Richmond’s Conservation Reserve Fund, and many private donors. In 2018 the Town conserved it for its “landscape connectivity and natural resource, recreational and aesthetic values.”  The Forest is managed by the Town’s Andrews Community Forest Committee.


The Andrews Community Forest is located within Ndakinna (in-DAH-kee-NAH), the homeland of the Western Abenaki people, who have a unique connection to this land and have been its traditional stewards for millennia. For many generations before the European colonists arrived, the Abenaki people harvested animals, nuts, plants, berries, fiber, and timber in these forests, without degrading their ecological health. More details: Proposed Indigenous Land Acknowledgement and Use Agreement

Visiting

Parking

Please park in the Community Forest parking lot by Route 2 and not on the adjacent private property. Respect the privacy of the neighboring homes and businesses.

Rules and Guidelines

The Forest is open to the public from 4am to 10 pm for a wide range of recreational activities. The parking area is 1.1 miles east of the traffic light in Richmond Village. Ticks are abundant - so be sure to check for them after you leave. Biking is permitted on designated trails – please check and download the map below – see information posted at the kiosk by the parking area. Hunting is also permitted per State regulations. Dogs are only allowed in the southern zone (See Recreational Map below and details at Trail Finder.) Keep pets on a leash. Avoid disturbing wildlife or livestock. Remove all pet waste. 

Recreational map 

What You Can See in the ACF

The AndrewsCommunity Forest’s terrain, its uncommon natural communities, and largely unfragmented, undisturbed interior expanse make it a wildlife hotspot. 

Birds abound from its high hemlock canopies to the bushes and brambles in open areas along trails and old logging roads. Spring and fall bring an extra bonanza of migrant stopovers. You might see a bear, bobcat, fisher, moose or coyote – or, more likely, their tracks, scat, tree scratches and scrapings, and other signs. White-tailed deer are active throughout the ACF. Frogs and salamanders live in the Forest’s streams, wetlands and vernal pools, filling the latter with masses of tadpoles each spring.

The ACF’s biodiversity and unfragmented acreage has attracted the attention of many naturalists, biologists, botanists, ornithologists, ecology students and other professionals. Their assessments provide us with the information we need to care for the forest and its wild inhabitants. Amateur naturalists play an important role as well, filling in the fine detail of what lives in the Forest. Apps like iNaturalist and eBird will help you identify and learn more about the plants and animals you see. The sightings you can log on them will help us in managing the Forest for wildlife and people alike. 

 

Ecological Studies, History, Reports and Observations

The popular app iNaturalist has a special page for the AndrewsCommunity Forest in its listings for “Projects.” Be sure to record your sightings!  

A video from the Vermont Master Naturalists program

The ACF comes alive in this video “Tracking Wildlife in Winter at Andrews Community Forest” will put you on the trail of the Forest’s bears, bobcats, porcupines and other species.​​​​​​

Video - ACF Wildlife Habitat

ACF Wildlife Habitat (Ethan Tapper with Andrea Shortsleeve, VT Dept. of Fish and Wildlife 2/23/21) Ecological Forestry in the ACF 

Powerline Operations
Two power lines and their maintenance roads cut owned by VELCO and Green Mountain Power cut across the ACF on right-of-ways owned by the utilities. While visiting the forest, you might encounter crews maintaining the lines and access roads. Please be sure to avoid their equipment. Tip: Keep a special look-out for birds when passing under the lines. Many species frequent the low, brushy growth that the utilities maintain there.

Other Information

Maps

  • Biodiversity Rankings – ACF’s standing and contributions to its 70,000-acre forest block (Vermont Conservation Design)
  • Natural Communities (Arrowwood Environmental) – Unique assemblages of plants essential to ACF biodiversity and wildlife viability
  • VLT Ecological Protective Zones
  • Heat Map – Areas of the ACF color-coded to show their sensitivity to habitat disturbances (UVM Field Naturalist Program)
     

Forest Management Plan

The ACF’s Forestry Management Plan is built on the principles of “ecological forestry,” which uses practices such as the careful harvesting of trees to emulate the natural disturbances that foster greater biodiversity and forest resilience. It also covers the ACF’s place and contributions to its 70,000-acre forest block – one of the state’s highest-priority blocks – as well as wildlife habitat, water management, recreation, invasive species control and other topics. It describes the Forest’s division into three zones, each with its own management approach. 

Since the Forestry Management Plan was adopted, several acres have been harvested. Some of the wood was sold, with proceeds going to the Forest’s management fund. Other wood was milled and stored on site, for use in picnic tables, information kiosks and other infrastructure. Firewood was donated to a local non-profit that makes it available for little or no cost to disadvantaged families and individuals.

 

Forestry Maps