Join Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, on Saturday, May 13 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM for an educational bike ride through the Catamount Community Forest.
In September of 2023, the Catamount Community Forest (CCF) in Williston will be doing some forest management as part of a research project called Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC). The goal of this project is to make a 25-acre area in the northwestern corner of the CCF more adaptive and resilient to climate change, in addition to creating more diverse wildlife habitat and making this relatively young forest more like an old growth forest. All this will be done while partnering with the University of Vermont to research how to care for our forests in a changing climate.
As the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Ethan Tapper advises private landowners, municipalities, conservation organizations, foresters and loggers on the responsible stewardship of forestland, administers Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal (or “Current Use”) program in the County, and manages over 4,500 acres of Community Forests. He writes a monthly column for 11 newspapers and a quarterly column in Northern Woodlands magazine, maintains a YouTube channel with over 100 videos, and leads public events in Vermont and throughout New England which are attended by thousands of people each year. Ethan is the Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance’s 2021 CFM Forester of the Year, the 2021 recipient of the Vermont American Tree Farm System’s Education and Outreach Award, 2020 recipient of Vermont Coverts’ James B. Engle Award, and the 2022 recipient of the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program’s Vermont Tree Steward Award. Learn more about Ethan’s work at: https://linktr.ee/ChittendenCountyForester
To join the ride, bring your mountain bike to the Catamount Outdoor Family Center’s parking area at 592 Governor Chittenden Road. We will be riding on relatively flat, graded terrain for a total distance of about 1 mile.
