Wildlands and Woodlands: An Update

Since the release of the scientific report "Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the Forests of Massachusetts" calling for a bold new land protection effort to stave-off accelerating forest fragmentation in Massachusetts, many organizations and persons from the private forester to the public servant have expressed interest and/or endorsement of the vision. Below are some examples of efforts already underway:

• Visit by the Save the Redwood League to discuss the W+W plan and mutual interests in protecting forest lands through public-private partnerships.
• " Expanding the regional application of Wildlands and Woodlands by holding a forum for students and faculty at Yale University School of Forestry and giving presentations at the Highstead Arboretum in Redding, CT.
• Planning a visit by the Massachusetts Joint (Senate and House) Legislative Committee on Natural Resources to provide an overview of Wildlands and Woodlands and related issues in forest research.
• Continue to meet on a bi-monthly basis with a growing group of state agencies, conservation organizations, and private foundations to discuss the implementation of W+W. The current focus centers on three major topics: Funding, Policy (state and local regulations that affect land use planning and forest conservation), and Outreach.
• Jim Levitt and the Program in Conservation Innovation has applied for funding to host a workshop early in '06 of national experts in land protection and conservation funding in order to devise strategies for funding the W+W vision.

In the most recent newsletter of the Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Director Wayne Klockner discusses the W+W Vision "With the publication of Wildlands and Woodlands, A Vision for the Forests of Massachusetts earlier this year, David Foster and his colleagues from Harvard Forest propose a strategy for forest conservation that could be a rallying point for us all." Click here for the complete article.