Andrews Community Forest Information

Andrews Community Forest Information

 

Resources about Andrews Community Forest

Contents of this page:

 

Additional Pages:

Literature and Science page (Here)
 
Community Forest Website and Websites of Consultants
o ACF Committee http://www.richmondvt.gov/boards-minutes/conservation-commission/richmond-town-forest/
o ACFC Bylaws (Ammended May 2024)
o ArrowWood
o Sinuosity



Stewardship Guides

The Vermont Town Forest Stewardship Guide: A Community Users’ Manual for Town Forests. Northern Forest Alliance (date?)

Town Forest Recreation Planning Toolkit This toolkit is the culminating product of a year-long Town Forest Recreational Planning Initiative in Vermont town forests. The initiative was led by the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program, a partnership between the University of Vermont Extension and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, with support from partners, including the Agency of Commerce, and Community Development, and University of Vermont Extension Vermont Tourism Research Center. (Date?)
Documents, etc.
Background
o “story map” about the Field Naturalists’ project
o Farm to Forest – The Andrews Community Forest.UVM Undergraduate thesis by Angus Bisgard Cummings. Jeanette says ‘gives an excellent overview and historical context. Sue Morse recommended it.’
o Vermont Land Trust 11-1-16 Letter to Town and Residents’ Survey Describes opportunity to acquire forest and community preferences for its uses
o Survey Findings of Richmond Residents’ Preferences (2018)
o Application for CRF Funding (2016)
o Richmond Town Forest VHCB Application — FULL.pdf Land Trust Application to Vermont Housing and Conservation Board – April 2017
o Richmond Town Forest VHCB Application — small.pdf Land Trust Application to Vermont Housing and Conservation Board – April 2017
Guiding Documents
Habitat Blocks
C-CAP land cover types for the Richmond, Jericho and Williston area showing habitat connectivity (from Sorenson & Osborne, 2014)
o ACF Conservation Easement (Binding agreement between the Andrews family and VLT to conserve the forest and minimize harm to its sensitive resources)
o ACF Conservation Easement (Text of Conservation and Recreation (converted via Windows Optical Character Recognition).
o Andrews Community Forest – Field Naturalist Report – Jan 2019 (Large file – 38 Mb). This project assesses how wildlife (with a particular focus on large mammals and amphibians) are currently utilizing the Andrews Community Forest, with the goal of minimizing negative impact on wildlife through trail placement that avoids sensitive areas.
o Act 171 and Planning for Forest Blocks and Habitat Connectors. – Amended Vermont Planning Statutes to encourage municipalities to protect forest blocks and habitat connectors while supporting the local forest products industry.
o Biofinder Vermont’s database and mapping tool for identifying Vermont’s lands and waters that support important ecosystems, natural communities, habitats, and species.
-> (See article in the Vermont Digger about the Biofinder and connectivity.)
o Vermont Habitat Blocks and Habitat Connectivity: An Analysis using Geographic Information System (Sorenson & Osborne, 2014) This project aims to better understand the distribution of contiguous habitat blocks in the state and to prioritize the blocks for their biological and conservation values along with potential threats from future fragmentation.

Permitting etc.
o 2018 Richmond Town Plan and associated documents.
o Richmond Zoning Reulations
o Recreational Trail Building and Wetlands Vermont Wetlands Program – Public Guidance. In: “Allowed Uses and Best Management Practices (BMPs)” VT Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation.

Videos with experts addressing conservation and human impacts in the Forest
-> Link to annotated list of important literature and science about biodiversity, trails, etc.
Some Videos
o The Forest Comes alive in this video “Tracking Wildlife in Winter at Andrews Community Forest” with Vermont Naturalists on the trail of bear, bobcat, porcupine, and more, celebrating the rich wildlife habitat in our community forest and its essential connection within a greater stretch of conserved forest from Camel’s Hump to Mount Mansfield.
o Conservation Commission panel discussion on balancing conservation and trail-based recreation.
Video by MMCTV
Meeting Plan
Report in Times Ink! May 2023 by R.Low
o Sue Morse of “Keeping Track”
Talk “Enjoying Our Trails with Wildlife in Mind”: June 7th 2023″
Video by MMCTV
ACF Management Plan (2018)
o ACF Management Plan (Ammended 5-6-24 with revised Bylaws). Includes ecological reports from VLT, UVM, Audubon and Science to Action, plus SE Group’s resident surveys and preferences
o Trail Concept Map
o Draft Community Forest Plan Small.pdf Jan. 2017
o Request for Trail Design Proposals (Specifies the scope of work to be completed by the consultants)
Revised Management Plan Proposal (March 2023)
o Management plan with updates visible. March 2023. Version showing both original (2018) and updated language, modifications in colored text.
o Management plan with updates integrated. March 2023 Version showing what the document would look like if all changes were implemented):
o Questions presented for experts at the March 29th 2023 ‘Public Engagement’ meeting Re: Proposed Updates to the Andrews Community Forest Management Plan. Wednesday March 29th.
o Video recording of Public Engagement meeting March 29th 2023.
Transcript (per YouTube) here with speakers identified, and edited for clarity; and partial timeline here
o Appendix D Indigenous Land Acknowledgement and Land Use
o Facilitator report – Comments after “Public Engagement” meeting (March 29th 2023)
o Summary of Facilitator Report
o ACF Management Plan – Maps and Appendices – October 2022 15 MB Is this the presentation used at the ‘Engagement’ meeting?
Consultants’ Proposal – Trails
o Ecological Trail Planning Project Summary Report (1-June-2021 from Arrowwood site)
o Trail Map
o Trail Map Overlaid on ACF’s ecologically sensitive areas (Data from Arrowwood)
o Follow up report from Arrowwood and Sinuosity (February 2022) – Includes comments posed to these companies by the committee related to concerns about proposed trail routes in the initial report
o Rubric for committee discussion of trail route options (February 2022)
o Detailed Field Assessment in area of Select Proposed Trails By Arrowwood November 2022.
Public Comment Documents
Spring 2022 Online Public comments on the proposed trail route:
o Comments submitted via form
o The comments here in ‘readable’ form and organized by category.
o Public comments related to proposed trail route and committee responses – ACF trail proposal comments spring 2022_v.220531.

Comments on the facilitated forum for public input about the revised Management Plan (March 29th 2023):
 o Questions for the expert panel sent to the ACFC for the facilitated forum meeting on March 29th 2023
o Facilitator report – Comments after “Public Engagement” meeting (March 29th 2023)
o Summary of Facilitator Report
o ACF Management Plan – Maps and Appendices – October 2022 15 MB Is this the presentation used at the ‘Engagement’ meeting?
o Meredith Naughton- Wildlife Biologist
Talk “Conservation, Recreation Visioning: Community Learning Session. Wildlife and Trails”:
Feb 2nd 2024
Community, Conservation Recreation Visioning, Waitsfield, Mad River Valley, Vermont.
Video by MRVTV)
Methodology and findings for monitoring trail usage

Monitoring Traffic on Hinesburg Town Forest (2017)
Monitoring traffic on Johnnie Brook Trail
Methodology: A simple method for interpolating from sample monitoring to estimate longer term traffic volume.

Slopes, Ridges and Landslides


o Maps (e.g. click to enlarge this map) provide quantitative information specific to the Andrews Forest from the VT ANR Viewer
o From Richmond’s Town Plan, page 33: “7. Restrict development on steep slopes between 20% and 35%, cliffs, and ridgelines over 900ft in elevation, and prohibit all structural development (including renewable energy generation facilities and distribution/transmission infrastructure) on slopes greater than 35% , in order to maintain habitat connectors and mitigate erosion”
Individual Thoughts and Correspondence
o FPF_Postings_about_ACF.pdf (since October 2021)
o Sue Morse’s letter to the AFC

Letters to the Times Ink!:
o Letter to the Times Ink! (April 2022) by Brad Eliott
o Forest Stewardship and Recreation in the ACF – An Opportunity Times Ink!, July 2022 Issue, by Nancy Zimny.
o The Conservation-Recreation Dilemma in Richmond Times Ink!, March 2023 Issue, by Nancy Zimny.
o ‘Concerns About Trail Network. Times Ink!, April 2023 Issue, by Susan C. Morse.

Other Published articles about ACF
Article in the Sierra Club Magazine by Jen Rose Smith:  “The Quandary of Balancing Trails and Wildlife: One small-town fight signals a growing rift”

ACF Committee Minutes, and ‘packet’ attachments (Since June 2021)

Meeting attachments (‘packet’)


 


Other Towns

Williston
Catamount Town Forest Plan:
and Williston Town website that has all appendices to Catamount Town Forest Plan listed as hot links: here

Hinesburg
Monitoring Plan
Recreation Planning Toolkit
Town Forest website
Town Forest Committee
Trailforks web page

Hinesburg, Charlotte and Monkton
Introduction to The Raven Ridge Natural Area And Purpose Of This Management Plan

Burlington
Arms Forest Master Plan

South Burlington:
Redrocks revised Management Plan

Cambridge
The Peter A. Krusch Nature Preserve

Bolton
Preston Pond Conservation Area Management Plan

Waitsfield
Waitsfield Scrag Forest Management Plan – December 2012

Mad River Valley

MRV Conservation / Recreation Community Public Forum) June 15th 2023″
Video by Mad River Valley Television MMCTV) Four towns, Duxbury, Fayston, Waitsfield and Moretown were awarded a VOREC grant of $408K, the biggest VOREC grant to develop a model for how to enhance recreation opportunities in an ecologically sound way by documenting and mapping where trails would go in the coming years. In this event the panel included representatives of Conservation Commissions and of the recreation economy in the area. See Mad River Valley Recreation District

Montpelier
Hubbard and North Branch River Parks Management Plan

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