Sharing and Learning: Amherst Community Forest leaders visit Grand Lake Stream

November 4, 2011

Thanks to, and with help from, The Community Forest Collaborative, Downeast Lakes Land Trust hosted representatives from the Amherst Mountains Community Forest today for a “Community Forest Exchange”.

We’re nearly neighbors, with the community of Amherst located on Route 9 to our west, but this was the first time leaders from our two projects had been together. We discussed the different approaches and common elements between the two communities and our projects, and then did a tour on part of the Farm Cove Community Forest. We saw an area where local residents are harvesting firewood to improve wildlife habitat, looked at one of our timber harvests, saw a brook trout habitat restoration project, and one of our recreational access sites, the boat landing on Wabassus Lake.

Downeast Lakes Land Trust is always happy to share our experiences, and in some respects we’re already serving as a model for other communities. We’re quick to point out that we won’t be a model for success until the West Grand Lake Community Forest Project is complete, and even then we’ll have lifetimes of work ahead fulfilling our mission. In every case when we meet other communities, we also find we can learn from the experiences of others.