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VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMNemesis for Some, Manna forOthers: American Red Squirrelby John Buck, wildlife biologistWhile conducting my daily vacuumcheck last week I noticed a very lowreading from line #3. A low vacuumreading can be caused by a number ofailments such as a blow-down on theline or frozen sap in the line. However,the weather had been calm and lackingany significant freeze so these twopossibilities weren’t prime suspects. Athird common possibility is damageto the lines by various wildlife species.Moose are known to walk throughlines tearing them down as theytrudge on. Coyotes and bears havebeen observed to bite the lines whichproduces tell-tale puncture holes inthe tubing. But for many sugarmakersthe number one wildlife culprit is theAmerican red squirrel.The squirrels don’t walk through orbite the lines but, as rodents are proneto do, gnaw on them (and on thetaps and fittings too). Damaged anddestroyed taps, fittings, and pipelineis of course more than a nuisance. It’slost productivity in both time and sapcollection. But in thinking about thisin a greater context, red squirrels didn’tfind their place on the earth just to be amenace to sugarmakers.In addition to their inherent intrinsicvalue as a member of the native wildlifecommunity, they are a vital foodsource for a host of forest carnivores.Some of the common beneficiaries ofa red squirrel diet are Cooper’s andsharp-shinned Hawks, barred andgreat-horned owls, grey foxes, bobcats,and fishers to name a few. The species’ability to feed so many other forestresidents is due in large part to theiromnivorous diet and ability to seekshelter in a variety of forest types andconditions. The seeds of coniferoustrees and a host of mushroom speciesmake up a large part of the squirrel’sdiet. Squirrels hoard food in closeproximity to their nest. As they forageabout the forest squirrels performan important ecological functionby distributing seeds and sporesthroughout the forest. This resultsin greater reproductive success forthe trees and fungi and also helps tofortify the forest’s diversity therebystrengthening it against disease andinsect damage.Red squirrel reproduction is anothermeans that keeps the species in goodsupply. They often have two litters peryear, one in the spring and one in latesummer, each with 3-5 litter mates.Gestation is a brief 35 days. Followingbirth the offspring will nurse for about 2months then forage on their own. Theywill reach full body size after another 50days. The following year the now oneyear old squirrels will be sexually matureand capable of producing a litter of theirown. Mortality is very high during thesquirrel’s first year of life where about25% survive to their first birthday. If thatbenchmark is reached squirrels have alife expectancy of 3-5 years.Adding to its survivorship abilities areits keen senses of sight and sound aswell as their communication skills. Ican attest to all of that. One autumnSQUIRREL, continued on next pagevermontwoodlands.org vermonttreefarm.org 5

VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMSQUIRREL, continued from pg.5afternoon I was watching a red squirrelforage in and out of its brush pileresidence from my tree stand. All thewhile it was racing about it was veryaudibly alerting the entire forest ofmy presence. As it sat atop the brushpile, sassing me in no uncertain terms,it suddenly stopped and quicklyducked out of sight just as a barredowl swooped over its former placefrom an oblique angle. The squirrelsurvived and the owl went hungry bymere thousandths of a second. Owls areexcellent hunters and do so discreetlyand under a cloak of absolute silence.Yet, the squirrel escaped!Success for predator and prey alikedepends on the availability of abundantand good quality habitat. Ensuringthe forest is diverse with respect to itsage, species, and structure (layers ofvegetation at different heights fromthe ground to the top of the canopy).Although a very adaptable speciesthese habitat components are true forthe red squirrel too. Now, providingquality habitat near one’s home mayseem a contradiction because notmany people want red squirrels in theirhomes- another nemesis character.Addressing that is for another story.As for the forest community though,quality habitat not only serves the redsquirrels well but it does so too for itspredators. Available red squirrels equalsa good food source for all the speciesmentioned before. But even under goodhabitat conditions the predator-preyrelationship is an equilibrium that ebbsand flows.Two key factors influence theequilibrium. The first is foodabundance. Simply put, the greater thefood supply, the greater the chancesfor successful pregnancy and neonatal6 Membership Newsletter: Vermont Woodlands Association and Vermont Tree Farmwhich leads to greater numbers ofthe species. One of the squirrel’s mostimportant food groups are seeds andnuts. Many scientific studies havelinked squirrel abundance with theprevious year’s nut and seed output.Owing to the squirrel’s diverse foodhabits a large number of native seedand nut producing species are found inVermont. Two of them are red spruceand American beech because of theirstate-wide distribution. These speciesproduce abundant nuts every 3-5years. This is an average, not a regularcycle and, the spruces and beeches arenot synched with one another. Thisis another advantage for the squirrelbecause even in poor production yearsthere are still some available nuts.The second factor that significantlyinfluences the number of squirrelsthat are born each year and surviveto their first year is snow depth. Foodabundance is important but only asimportant as it is available.Squirrels cache their food throughoutthe year in precise locations not farfrom their nest. Not a hibernatingspecies they then travel about duringthe winter to access their caches.What is a significant impediment tosurvival for many species, snow depthis actually a benefit to the squirrels.To gain access to their food reservessquirrels construct and maintain anetwork of subnivean (below the snow)tunnels. Hence, the greater the snowdepth the less likely to be caught by apredator while accessing food.Those are factors that forestlandowners have little control over. Butforest composition is. By managingforestland for the natural diversity it iscapable of producing, landowners caninfluence the predator-prey relationship

VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMto some degree by providing anarray of nesting, feeding, and hidingplaces. For example, cavity trees offerexcellent nesting sites for barred andgreat-horned owls, well maintained,day-lighted forest roads offer excellenthunting lanes for Cooper’s hawks andnorthern goshawks, and downed,decaying trees provide nesting andhiding habitat for short-tailed weasels.The latter traveling by winter asermines making use of the subniviantunnels to hunt squirrels and mice.Enjoying red squirrels while keepingthem away from your bird feeders andout of your home is another matter foranother day. Sugarmakers will alwaysneed to be vigilant in monitoringlines and squirrel abundance. But lostproductivity will be minimized bymaintaining a diverse forest where itsoverall health is sustained by gains inlong-term forest resiliency.Vermont Woodlands Consulting ForestersCommitted to promoting and strengthening the long-term conservation and management of Vermont’s natural resources.VWA Consulting Foresters are licensed by the State of Vermont and meet all continuing education requirements.Dan AdamsDan Adams Forestry SvcBrattleboro, VT802-254-3502Patrick Bartlett, TSP*Bartlett Forestry &WildlifeWoodstock, VT802-291-0179Kathy Beland*Not Just TreesW. Rutland, VT802-438-5495Ben CampbellE.B. CampbellForest Land Mgmt.Starksboro, VT802-453-5591Richard Carbonetti*LandVest TimberlandNewport, VT802-334-8402Dale CoveyGroveton, NH603-728-7577Markus Bradley*Redstart ForestryBradford, VT802-439-5252Beth Daut*M.D. ForestlandConsultingBerlin, VT802-272-5547Michael BrownBirdseye ForestryMoretown, VT802-777-5240Edward Denham*NE Woodland Mgmt.Stockbridge, MA413-232-4000Alan Calfee, TSP*Calfee Woodland Mgmt.Dorset, VT802-231-2555Peter Everts*Everts Forest Mgmt.Barnet, VT802-592-3088Charlie Hancock, TSP*North Woods ForestryMontgomery Ctr, VT802-326-2093Andrew HutchisonHutchison ForestryLeicester, VT802-247-3117Steve Handfield, TSP*Poultney, VT802-342-6751Addison Kasmarek*Greenleaf ForestryWestford, VT802-849-6629Luke Hardt*Hardt ForestryHardwick, VT802-673-7769Zachary HartLandVest TimberlandNewport, VT802-334-8402Dan HealeyLongview ForestryBrattleboro, VT802-387-6128Frank Hudson, TSP*Not Just TreesW. Rutland, VT802-483-2397Ryan Kilborn, TSP*Meadowsend Forestry CoWashington, VT802-323-3593Ben MachinRedstart ForestryBradford, VT802-439-5252John McClain*NE Forestry ConsultantsRandolph, VT802-728-3742Elisabeth “Tii” McLane*S. Strafford, VT802-765-4745Consulting foresters assist private landowners in identifying and achieving goals for theirHOW CAN Awoodlands, including managing for forest products, wildlife habitat, recreation, water resources,CONSULTINGFORESTER HELP YOU? and aesthetics. VWA Consulting Foresters can help you meet your management objectives.Len Miraldi*Tamarack ForestryServicesNorwich, VT802-649-1564Harris Roen*Long MeadowResource Mgt.Burlington, VT802-658-2368Scott MoreauGreenleaf ForestryWestford, VT802-849-6629Andrew Sheere, TSPLongview ForestryChester, VT802-591-2007Ross Morgan*Northern ForestConservation ServicesCraftsbury Common, VT802-586-9697Allan Thompson*Northern StewardsWaterbury, VT802-244-8131Josef Peterson, TSP*Timbercraft ForestryN. Clarendon, VT802-773-0370Tucker Westenfeld*Bartlett Forestry &Wildlife LLCWoodstock, VT802-291-0179Russell Reay*Cuttingsville, VT802-492-3323TSP: NRCS TechnicalService Provider* Tree Farm InspectorPO Box 6004, Rutland, VT 05702-6004 802.747.7900Visit the website for complete forester contact ds.org vermonttreefarm.org 7

VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMNEWS FROM VERMONT DEPARTMENT OFFORESTS, PARKS & RECREATIONThe Hinesburg Town Forest: Diversity,Inclusion and Demonstrationby Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County ForesterMany of the readers of this articlehave probably heard of the HinesburgTown Forest (HTF) in one way oranother. This 864-acre parcel is oneof Vermont’s early town forests, anaggregation of old hill farms acquiredby Hinesburg between the 1930’s and1950’s. Among other accolades, theHTF’s history of excellent managementis one of the reasons it was recentlylisted on the National Register ofHistoric Places. Former CountyForester, and current Commissioner ofthe Department of Forests, Parks, andRecreation Mike Snyder also credits theHTF as the birthplace of the Forestersfor the Birds program, which greatlyinfluences silviculture in Vermontand beyond. More recently, the HTFis known for its recreational offerings,including a multi-use trail networkmaintained by Fellowship of the Wheel(a chapter of the Vermont MountainBike Association) and used by manyfor mountain biking. The HTF has alsobeen part of the American Tree FarmSystem since 1990.I have regarded the HTF as an iconicproperty since my time at UVM, whenI visited it as part of Mike Snyder’sSmall Woodlot Management Class.After becoming County Forester in2016 I came to appreciate the workbehind the HTF’s success: throughoutits history it has been thoughtfullymanaged by the Chittenden CountyForester: George Turner, Bill Hall,then-assistant Chittenden CountyForester David Brynn, Mike Snyder,and Keith Thompson, often workingwith the exceptional now-retired loggerBill Torrey and under the leadershipof Hinesburg Town Forest Committeechairs Steve Russell and Pat Mainer.The fact that the HTF is such awonderful resource is no accident; itis the product of all of these incrediblepeople, laboring for decades to createsomething truly special.The HTF has a comprehensiveManagement Plan, a broad governancedocument dictating rules, goals,8 Membership Newsletter: Vermont Woodlands Association and Vermont Tree Farmobjectives, and the interactions betweendifferent uses and user groups, whichwas developed over a three-year publicprocess with the help of Snyder andThompson. However, when I cameon the scene we still needed somemore detailed information: a ForestManagement Plan, with data and“prescriptions”— a clear, sciencebased roadmap for the managementof the HTF’s forested stands. We putthe project out to bid and hired HarrisRoen of Long Meadow ResourceManagement to do the work. Werecognized the opportunity to activelymanage the HTF for improved foresthealth, wildlife habitat, resilience and

VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMother objectives, and so we prescribedsome forest management over thenext 10 years. The Forest ManagementPlan was adopted by the HinesburgSelectboard in 2017.One of the opportunities offered byHTF, and town forests in general, isthe chance to showcase high-qualityforest management while connectingwith the character, culture andhistory of an individual community.In Chittenden County the potentialimpact of demonstrating good forestryis especially great; the county is hometo about 25% of the people in Vermont,so outreach can have an oversizedimpact on our state’s overall forestmanagement culture.Over the past two winters, our goal forthe forest management at the HTF istwo-fold:To showcase modern, responsibleforest management that createsa healthier, more diverse, moreresilient forest with improvedwildlife habitat, while generatinglocal, renewable resources. Inparticular, we’re emphasizinguneven-aged silviculture andencouraging late-successionalattributes in the forest;To demonstrate modern,responsible forest management inan open, transparent and inclusiveway. We hope that by providingmany opportunities for the publicto engage with, and ask questionsabout, the work at the HTF, we canstimulate and improve the qualityof forest management on privatelands. We aspire to support animproved understanding of whatgood forest management looks likeand the many benefits it brings.the local, renewable resourceswe’ve harvested and local economicbenefits we’ve been a part of, whichwe’re also very proud of. We hiredTim Brown, a skilled logger fromHinesburg, who uses a trucker fromHuntington, the next town over. Timprocesses and sells firewood locally,and the softwood sawtimber from thejob stays in the county, including agood deal of it ending up at CliffordLumber in Hinesburg. The stumpagepayments from the job have fundedtrail restoration at the HTF andinvasive species control at the LaPlatteHeadwaters Town Forest, Hinesburg’sother town forest, among other things.Over the last year, we’ve hosted 13public events attended by over 300people, including numerous forestmanagement walks before, during andafter the harvest, “wildlife walks” withwildlife biologists, presentations at theHinesburg Library focusing on forestmanagement in general and specificallywith forest birds in mind, a “HinesburgTown Forest History Night,” and anupcoming storytelling night with BillTorrey. In addition, the harvest hashosted numerous classes of UVMForestry students and was showcasedduring the New England Society ofAmerican Foresters annual conference.We have partnered with VermontWoodlands Association, VermontCoverts, Audubon Vermont, Woods,Wildlife and Warblers, Vermont Fishand Wildlife and the Vermont LandTrust, in addition to less traditionalpartners like City Market Coop and theOutdoor Gear Exchange in Burlingtonand Vermont Pride Center to connectany and all interested Vermonters tothis kind of educational opportunity.As we move into this project’s secondwinter, we hope to engage manymore people in the work that we’redoing. There will be numerous publiceducational walks and opportunitiesthroughout the duration of the project,all of which will be free and open toall. Whether you are an interestedlayperson, a landowner who wants tomanage your forest but doesn’t knowwhat to expect, or a consulting foresterwith a client who is leery of, or curiousabout, active management, pleasetake advantage of the educationalopportunities offered by this project.We hope that our work can createa healthier Hinesburg Town Forestwhile contributing to better forestmanagement everywhere.Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden CountyForester for the Vermont Departmentof Forests, Parks, and Recreation.He can be reached at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov or 802-585-9099.In addition to demonstrating how wemanage forests well, another criticalfacet of this project is showcasingvermontwoodlands.org vermonttreefarm.org 9

VERMONT WOODLANDS ASSOCIATION VERMONT TREE FARM PROGRAMNEWS FROMAUDUBON VERMONTIs Burning Wood Good for Birdsby David Mears, Executive Director of Audubon Vermont and Vice President of the National Audubon Societythat not only displaces fossil fuels butalso helps birds. While cutting downtrees to help birds may not seem likean obvious recommendation from anenvironmental organization, harvestingthose trees in a careful and sustainablemanner, and burning the wood fromthose trees in advanced wood heatingstoves and furnaces can be good forforests, birds and the environment.I have been splitting, stacking andhauling firewood since I was a kid,though I now cheat a bit and orderfrom a couple of local brothers whodeliver the wood already split. Thestacking and hauling still keeps mebusy enough and, as they say, thewood warms me twice. I enjoy thedaily ritual of starting a fire on a coldmorning, and the warm glow of ourstove provides a nice gathering spotfor my family in the evening duringthe winter months. That warmth isall the more pleasant, knowing thatI am contributing to our local foresteconomy, and replacing the use of myother source of heat, an oil-burningfurnace.Since joining Audubon Vermont a littleover a year ago, I have also learnedthat those of us burning wood to heatour homes can do so in a mannerVermont’s forests provide manybenefits in addition to providinghabitat for birds and other wildlife. Ourforests provide clean water, clean air,flood resilience, and also capture andstore carbon. In order to realize thesebenefits, we need to keep our forests asforests. In Vermont, a large majority ofour forest land is privately owned. Forthat reason, we need to find ways tohelp forest landowners get an economicreturn from their land. Buying woodfor use to heat our homes, whether inwoodstoves or wood pellet boilers, isone way to help provide that financialbenefit for those landowners who needthe income and who prioritize carefullong-term and sustainable managementover short-term profit.Buying wood harvested from thoseforests can benefit birds. AudubonVermont works with Vermont’s forestersand forest landowners, in collaborationwith the Vermont Department ofForests, Parks and Recreation andpartners like the Vermont WoodlandsAssociation to promote bird-friendlyforest practices. These practices not only10 Membership Newsletter: Vermont Woodlands Association and Vermont Tree Farmallow, but depend upon the harve

Vermont Woodlands Association and Vermont . Tree Farm Program. A VOICE FOR HEALTHY FORESTS. Vol. 16, No. 1 March 2020. vermontwoodlands.org. vermonttreefarm.org