Have you ever wondered what types of forests are at Little Long Pond? How old they are? What are their conditions? How the Land & Garden Preserve is managing them? The answers to these questions and more can now be found in a single document: The Forest of Little Long Pond: Assessment and Management. This is the first of several management plans that we will produce in the coming years. It is focused purely on the forest whereas future plans will address our other ecosystems (pond, meadow, marsh, etc.). This plan pulls together all the forest-based data that we have been collecting since 2018 and presents it through a management lens.
Why write a management plan? Just like other forms of management, land management requires the recording and tracking of lots of data such as dates, times, ideas, photos, successes, failures, goals, and plans. A filing system is an obvious start, but that is still more or less raw data. A management plan is a venue for documenting analysis, presenting patterns, and sharing a more comprehensive look at the land. It gives staff goals and strategies to coalesce around and provides a common language. It also gives our friends, neighbors, and supporters an opportunity to understand our land management.
The initial forest management plan document was rather long, so we boiled it down to a condensed version. You can find it on our website. I will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, January 12 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. eastern time that will focus on the management plan. I encourage you to tune in to learn about the Preserve’s forest and what we are doing to keep it healthy. We will send out an invitation to the webinar after the first of the year. I will also host a public walk at Little Long Pond next summer (date TBD) where we can bring the document to life by seeing real-world examples and deepening our discussion. Enjoy!
By Tate Bushell, Director of Natural Lands
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