Maine Climate Resilient Forest Management Workshop

Background

As our climate shifts, land trusts and conservation organizations stewarding Maine forests are focusing their experience and creativity on ways to successfully respond to those changes. This project will facilitate shared learning at an in-person workshop for land trust and conservation professionals/landowners on how to plan and manage for climate resilience across forested ecosystems in Maine. The workshop will support implementation of adaptation actions following the resistance, resilience, and transition (R-R-T) adaptation concepts. Additionally, the workshop will explore the intersection of climate change adaptation and Tribal needs in Maine forests and ways land trusts and conservation landowners can support the Tribes of Maine. Several participating teams will be selected to engage in rigorous follow-up consultation to ensure that plans created during the workshop are brought to the implementation phase. Partners involved in the project include the Forest Stewards Guild (Guild), the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS), and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub.

Workshop description

This facilitated workshop is designed for teams of 2-5 people (including land trust staff, natural resource professionals, and landowners in Maine) to gain new insights on climate change impacts on forests, wildlife, and communities dependent upon them. The workshops will help participants incorporate climate change considerations and identify actions for adaptation into their own real-world forest management/stewardship projects using the Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate change tools and approaches for land managers, 2nd Edition, and the Adaptation Workbook. The workshop will engage key landowners and land managers in Maine and will be led by staff from NIACS and the Guild. 

At the workshop we will:

• Provide information on the current and anticipated effects of climate change on Maine forests.
• Describe resources and tools that can be used to integrate climate change into management.
• Outline adaptation concepts and strategies that can enhance the ability of forests and other ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions.
• Explore the intersection between Tribal needs and climate change adaptation in Maine’s forests and empower participants to collaborate with Tribes in their climate adaptation planning.
• Engage participants in a variety of interactive activities to identify climate change issues and potential adaptation actions.
• Build connections between land trusts and conservation organizations stewarding Maine forests.

This project is supported through the Land and Climate Grant Program, a joint initiative of Open Space Institute and Land Trust Alliance made possible with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation, Jane’s Trust Foundation, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, the Merck Family Fund, the Volgenau Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation.

Agenda

May 1-2, 2024: Viles Arboretum (153 Hospital St, Augusta, ME 04330)

View Workshop Agenda

Registration

BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THIS WORKSHOP PLEASE NOTE: We ask each team to bring a real-world project to set context for discussions and activities. This workshop is designed to help you customize a site-specific climate adaptation plan that complements existing management and conservation efforts. Please see more instructions under "Workshop Preparation" below.

Register here

Workshop preparation

Before the workshop, please review and complete the following:

• Send us your project proposal. With your project team, complete the Adaptation Workbook Step 1 worksheet identifying the select goals and objectives of your project that you plan to focus on in the workshop sessions. We know you have rich, complex projects, but we have limited time together at the workshop. We suggest prioritizing your top 2-3 management goals (broad, conceptual) and top 1-3 specific management objectives (more specific, measurable) for each goal. We hope after the workshop you will continue to go through the steps of the Adaptation Workbook on the remaining aspects of your property plan. 

Download Step 1 worksheet *** Please email the Step 1 Worksheet to Samantha (smyers3@uvm.edu) and Mattison (mattison.brady@uvm.edu)  by April 19***

• Gather additional information that may help your individual project team at the workshop. Information such as: Site maps, inventory data, and management plans that describe current site conditions (tree species composition, canopy cover, soils, etc.). This information may be of use to your team, but don’t go overboard! You will not have a lot of time in the workshop to go through too many items, so choose items that help set context.

Readings

Required readings:

• Review information on climate change impacts to ecosystem types and tree species. As you review, please take notes and bring ideas related to how climate may affect your property at the site-level (we recommend reserving 1-2 hours to review these materials): www.forestadaptation.org/ne-assessment.  
• Acquaint yourself with the Adaptation Workbook process to understand the workshop’s conceptual framework, download the Forest Adaptation Strategies and Approaches and Adaptation Workbook.

OPTIONAL readings if you have the interest and time available:

• Washington Post article: In Maine, a return of tribal land shows how conservation can succeed
• Tribal Adaptation Menu Team (2019). “Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu”. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odanah, Wisconsin. 
• “Restoring old growth characteristics to New England’s and New York’s Forests”
• D’Amato et al. (2023) “Species Preservation in the Face of Novel Threats: Cultural, Ecological, and Operational Considerations for Preserving Tree Species in the Context of Non-Indigenous Insects and Pathogens.”
• Littlefield and D’Amato (2022). “Identifying trade-offs and opportunities for forest carbon and wildlife using a climate change adaptation lens”

Office Hours (optional)

For those who have questions related to the workshop or your project proposal, please schedule an appointment with us. Email Sam (smyers3@uvm.edu) and Mattison (mattison.brady@uvm.edu) to set up a check-in meeting.