What’s New at Wildlands
Chainsaw Training for Professionals Offered at The Stewardship Training Center
The trainees and their gear and the Stewardship Training Center on March 5, 2023.
Over the weekend of March 4 – 5, Wildlands Trust hosted our first pilot program at the new Stewardship Training Center on Halfway Pond in Plymouth. This training, offered to our land conservation colleagues in Massachusetts, included basic chainsaw safety, use, and equipment maintenance. Bill Girard of Girard Custom Cut Hardwood is one of very few chainsaw safety trainers in the country, and we were lucky to have his leadership and expertise. The 7 attendees included our own Stewardship Coordinator Zoë Smiarowski and Conservation Restriction Coordinator Tess Goldmann, as well as staff from the New England Forestry Foundation, Buzzards Bay Coalition, Manomet, and Wareham Land Trust.
Conservation Restriction Coordinator Tess Goldmann puts her chainsaw training to use on a downed White Oak obstructing the trail at our Brockton Audubon Preserve on March 6, 2023.
Beginning with an emphasis on safety, day one focused on proper use and maintenance of personal protective equipment like helmets, chaps, goggles, boots, and first aid kits, as well as chainsaw mechanics and troubleshooting. Day two started with saw checks and project planning before trainees got to practice using their chainsaws on downed trees. By Monday, Tess Goldmann was putting her skills to the test on a large white pine that had fallen at our Brockton Audubon Preserve during this winter’s strong winds.
Wildlands’ team of stewardship staff often uses chainsaws for removing downed trees that block trails or pose a safety threat. We require that staff undergo safety training and always work in pairs when using these powerful tools. This important training is one of four pilot programs Wildlands will offer at our new Stewardship Training Center for land conservation professionals this year. Stay tuned; more about the Stewardship Training Center will be shared with our members in this spring’s print newsletter.
Wildlands’ Community Stewardship Program Builds New Trails and Amenities in Wareham
Since January of 2022, Wildlands’ Community Stewardship staff and volunteers have been assisting the Town of Wareham at its Minot Forest property.
By Owen Grey, Stewardship Manager
Wildlands Trust established our Community Stewardship Program in 2015 to help towns and conservation groups in Southeastern Massachusetts that lack staffing resources to care for conservation lands. Staffing constraints often mean that communities cannot fully benefit from the investments they have made in open space protection: management plans are not established, new trails are never built, and older trail systems and amenities are not properly maintained. As the region protects more open space, it is important to care for these conservation lands and, when appropriate, to establish access for safe public use and enjoyment.
Since January of 2022, Wildlands’ Community Stewardship staff and volunteers have been assisting the Town of Wareham at its Minot Forest property. Minot Forest, Wareham’s largest municipal conservation area, is contiguous with Wildlands’ 104-acre Great Neck Conservation Area, making it a perfect Community Stewardship site. The Wareham Land Trust and New England Forestry Foundation also own land in this area, and combined, the four groups protect 484-acres of conserved land with 8.5 miles of trails. Wildlands viewed this project not only as a chance to add trail improvements at a popular conservation area, but also as an opportunity to build a large and cohesive trail system that allows users to access a variety of protected lands.
Our work at Minot Forest began with a site visit in late January 2022 with representatives from Wildlands Trust, Wareham Land Trust, Wareham Natural Resource Department, and the Minot Forest Committee. We were excited by the potential the property had for public access and many miles of trails weaving throughout the property. The group unanimously agreed that the extensive trail system, while well established and heavily used, desperately needed some TLC. In the following months, Wildlands worked with Wareham Natural Resource Department to put the group’s vision into effect. We improved old trails, formalized trail loops, built new trails, and created an updated trail map. Once the trail loops were formalized, we marked each loop with color-coded trail markers called blazes. We have constructed ten wooden benches to be placed along the trails and are currently constructing three trailhead kiosks, which will hold maps and other important information for trail users. All work done by our staff and volunteers at Minot Forest was funded by a Massachusetts Recreational Trails Grant acquired by the Town of Wareham.
The work at Minot Forest is expected to be completed by December 2022. We encourage anyone who enjoys passive outdoor recreation and exploring new places to head over to Minot Forest; you will not be disappointed! Building relationships with Community Stewardship partners makes us feel lucky to have this program at Wildlands Trust. Our work with the Town of Wareham at Minot Forest has been a pleasure for our team and we look forward to continuing the relationship moving forward.
Want a guided hike of Minot Forest?
Join Wildlands Trust for Hike & Hops on November 20 – learn more and buy tickets here.
