Gould Farm Land Use Plan (Winter 2016)

Human services come first at Gould Farm. The working farm is the physical body of one of the country’s oldest residential therapeutic communities.

Guests enter the program of community living, meaningful work, and clinical care, to work toward greater independence. Gould Farm has been in operation for over a hundred years, working the land through forestry and farming. In addition to documenting existing conditions and desired future uses, this plan includes recommendations for conserving a forever wild forest preserve and reclaiming the gravel pit site. This document is intended for use by the entire Gould Farm community as a resource of information about the uses and patterns of their landscape.

The Conway School is the only institution of its kind in North America. Its focus is sustainable landscape planning and design and its graduates are awarded a Master of Science in Ecological Design degree. Each year, through its accredited, ten-month graduate program students from diverse backgrounds are immersed in a range of real-world design projects, ranging from sites to cities to regions.

Graduates play significant professional roles in various aspects of landscape planning and design.

Gould Farm Land Use Plan

Grant Kokernak and Faren Worthington The Conway School Winter 2016

Contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................... 2 Section I: Introduction....................................................................................................... 5 Section II: Inventory and Analyses..................................................................................... 9 People............................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Site overview.................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Access and Circulation................................................................................................................................................... 18 Existing Land Use Pattern and Context.......................................................................................................................... 20 Forestry.......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Farming........................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Landscape Experience.................................................................................................................................................... 30 Protected Land............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Hydrology and Water Treatment................................................................................................................................... 36 Surficial Geology and Soils............................................................................................................................................. 40 Ecological Analysis.......................................................................................................................................................... 44

Section III: Forever Wild Conservation Recommendation................................................ 51 What is Forever Wild?...................................................................................................................................................52

Siting Forever Wild........................................................................................................................................................56 Conservation Recommendations..................................................................................................................................58

Section IV: Exploration of Gravel Pit Alternatives............................................................ 61 Gravel Pit Overview.......................................................................................................................................................62 Restoration....................................................................................................................................................................66 Renewable Energy.........................................................................................................................................................68 Buildings........................................................................................................................................................................71 Intensive Agroforestry...................................................................................................................................................72 Next Steps.....................................................................................................................................................................76

Section V: Resources and References.............................................................................. 79

Appendix A: Letters from Benton MacKaye..................................................................................................................80 Appendix B: Forest Stewards Guild Statement.............................................................................................................83 Recommended Resources............................................................................................................................................85 Image Credits................................................................................................................................................................85 Works Cited...................................................................................................................................................................86 Map References............................................................................................................................................................88 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................................90

Executive Summary Human services come first at Gould Farm. The working farm is the physical body of one of the country’s oldest residential therapeutic communities. Guests enter the program of community living, meaningful work, and clinical care on a path of recovery, health, and greater independence. Gould Farm has been in operation for over a hundred years, working the seven-hundred-acre property through forestry and farming. Sustainable practices and programs require planning and documentation, necessitating the update of guidance documents and reassessment of goals to ensure all aspects of the Gould Farm Mission are fulfilled.

In the northern portion of the property, a large deposit of sand and gravel is mined by a local contractor. While the gravel pit provides revenue for Gould Farm it is an exhaustible resource that is nearing a point of decommissioning.

This report proposes a more conservative boundary for gravel extraction which, at current rates, would allow about two more years of active mining. This report also makes some suggestions about what to do with this large open space when the gravel operation is complete. Those include restoration to forest or field, development for future buildings, development of alternative energies, or intensive agroforestry.

The Gould Farm community engaged The Conway School to create A Land-Use Master Plan for Conservation and Continuation at Gould Farm in 1994. That plan documented the existing land uses and made suggestions for improving those practices. The 1994 report from The Conway School team also made recommendations for siting wildlife and habitat conservation areas on the property in the form of conservation restrictions (CRs). Gould Farm adopted some of the recommendations from that report, securing permanent protection of working farmland and forests in an Agricultural Preservation Restriction.

The plan concludes with a discussion of Gould Farms’ next steps for adopting these recommendations and plans and for how to continue to serve as a therapeutic working landscape.

In 2016, Gould Farm engaged the Conway school again to provide an update to the land use plan. This document, the 2016 Gould Farm Land Use Plan, fills a need for a baseline of knowledge about existing land use patterns at Gould Farm. By establishing that baseline of knowledge among the guests, staff and volunteers, and administration the community will be better able to engage with future land use planning processes. It also identifies other planning processes underway and their relationship with specific land uses so that they may be informed by the 2016 Gould Farm Land Use Plan. This plan can be used as a resource of information about existing land uses and patterns on the landscape. The plan documents those components and patterns of land use and analyses their role in Gould Farm’s therapeutic mission so that the community may be served for years to come.

The 2016 plan also responds to specific requests from the Gould Farm community. This plan offers guidance for future protection of forested land and strategies for implementing that protection in ways that are in keeping with Gould Farms therapeutic mission. It also evaluates existing conditions at the gravel pit in order to make recommendations and inform decisions regarding it’s decommissioning. Furthermore, this plan explores alternatives for the reclamation of the gravel pit.

An inventory and analysis of human resources, infrastructure and land uses at Gould Farm is presented first. People are integral to the functioning of this therapeutic community. The human element resides in the physical body of the property, its buildings, roads, trails, fields and forests. These features are documented and, in some cases, suggestions as to the future uses or improvements are made.

Given all of the existing conditions, the plan explores siting a conservation restriction and the decommissioning of the gravel pit and options for its future reclamation. While the 1994 Conway School report made multiple spatial recommendations for siting a ‘forever wild’ style of conservation restriction at Gould Farm, the community chose instead to protect the agricultural land in the northern portion of the property, known as Lower Campus, with a deeded Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR). The APR protects the farmland from development and secures this scenic landscape for future generations to enjoy. Thus Gould Farm’s agricultural areas are protected from development, however working forest and wildlife habitat remain unprotected. This lack of protection is addressed in this plan through evaluation of a new ‘forever wild’ CR and a working woodland CR. The first recommendation is to place a forever wild type CR on the thirty acres of the southwestern corner of the property. The second recommendation is to also put much of the southern portion of the property, an area which is important to both Gould Farm’s working landscape and to the local ecology, in a conservation restriction that allows for timber harvest, sugaring, and silvopasture. This provides opportunities to continue these activities into the future. Both the minimal uses allowed in the forever wild and the conditions needed for a working landscape could be restricted under one conservation restriction with zones for each level of restriction.

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Section I Introduction

Introduction Nestled amongst the forested hills of the Berkshire county towns of Monterey and New Marlborough, Gould Farm is a venerable leader in the field of holistic psychiatric treatment. The Farm was founded in 1913 by William and Agnes Gould to provide care and succor to those in need. After Williams’ death, Agnes continued to operate the farm to cure people of “psychiatric difficulties” by overcoming those difficulties through the “environment of the farm, an environment of cooperation and hospitality and varied interests” (NYT, 1923). Today, Gould Farm operates as a non-profit residential treatment facility licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, accepting many individuals living with serious mental illness into its practice. Clients, referred to as “guests” at Gould Farm, become part of the community. Guests integrate with staff and volunteers through communal living, such as shared meals and activities and a guided work program including farming, sugaring, gardening, and wellness programs. These therapeutic activities engage individuals with the landscape and the Gould Farm community.

The farm and forest landscape is integral to Gould Farm’s mission of care. Benton MacKaye’s recognition of the healing atmosphere of nature inspired the founding of the Appalachian Trail. He shared some of his insights with his friends, the Goulds. “For the purposes of psychological rehabilitation, the forest influence is uppermost. It is the environment of calm as against that of confusion” (MacKaye, 1945 in Zorzin, 2006). This observation is but one side of the landscape’s role in Gould Farm’s practices. William Gould recognized the importance of experiencing working the land in the process of healing, but also understood that it was important to “showing them where they fitted into the scheme of things” (NYT, 1923). By engaging in meaningful work, such as farming, community members realize how they can benefit their community and come to see their place in the world or as William Gould would have said, “in the scheme of things.” By showing people how they benefit their microcosm of society, the Gould Farm community, individuals gain valuable insight into how they are valuable and meaningful members of the larger world. When this is combined with the clinical care and community support, the healing power of the integrated system of landscape, work, community and care is great.

The combination of community support and clinical care has been effective in the treatment, rehabilitation and transition of individuals living with mental illness or situational needs for the past 100 years. Gould Farm’s mission has reached many and necessarily adapted to changing times “carefully synthesizing the old ways and the new or, with sensitivity, replacing old ways with new ways” (Smith, 2011).

1994 Land Use Plan

2016 Land Use Plan Update

In 1994 a team from the Conway School generated the Land Use Master Plan for Conservation and Continuation at Gould Farm. That document analyzed and made recommendations about the farming operations, land use patterns, building use distribution, and options for future development. That document also recommended that Gould Farm put a forever wild conservation restriction on their land and sited some appropriate places for that conservation restriction. In 2006, Gould Farm put much of the northern portion of the property into Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) in lieu of a forever wild conservation restriction.

Documentation of the APR is publicly available and on record at Gould Farm.

Now, twenty-two years later, Gould Farm has returned to The Conway School seeking an update. In addition to documentation of existing land use and desired future conditions, this document includes new recommendations for siting a forever wild conservation area and advice for alternatives for the future reclamation of Gould Farm’s gravel pit.

Working Landscape Overview Gould Farm’s working landscape includes farm and forest based enterprises as well as landscape experience. It is a dynamic ecosystem in which people play an important stewardship role. The landscape has changed over the course of Gould Farm’s long history. The history of change is a reminder that land use patterns, practices, and priorities may change again.

The chapters detailing Forestry, Farming, and Landscape Experience are an overview of Gould Farm’s current land use practices. There is concurrent planning for each that this Land Use Plan is intended to support.

William and Agnes Gould

This land use plan is intended to help inform the entire Gould Farm community of where they are in the scheme of things by becoming a unifying document to share ideas and establish a baseline of common knowledge for land use planning. This land use plan, in conjunction with the concurrent Forest Stewardship and Food System plans, offers structure for managing various elements of the landscape within an integrated framework that supports Gould Farm’s mission.

“What is a working landscape? It’s a place that works—economically, environmentally, and socially. A working landscape is: A productive landscape—a place where farms, forests and small towns all contribute to a vibrant economy and community; A healthy landscape—both in terms of environmental and human health; An authentic landscape—in which we recognize that our opportunities are rooted in our natural, cultural, and human assets.”

Quoted from Working Landscapes in North Carolina

Gould Farm is situated in the hills of Berkshire County in Massachusetts

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

INTRODUCTION

7

Section II Inventory and Analyses

9

People “The spirit of Gould farm can be found in the community it creates. It takes people in who are having a difficult time, and through acceptance and empowerment it brings them in to life on the farm. Living out in nature and working on the land, accomplishing meaningful work despite their difficult circumstances, is part of the spirit here. With a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethic and many shared experiences with those in the community, the spirit flows through guests and staff and propels them in their life.”

Tyler, Gould Farm Community Member

People come first at Gould Farm. Community living and the therapeutic work program drive land use decisions.

In turn, human interactions with the land such as forestry, farming, and landscape experience are critical components of recovery for Gould Farm guests. Phyllis Vine, current board chair, describes land and buildings as “the physical body of our community” and goes on to say that the community is “the vessel, metaphorically, where treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery take place.” This land use plan must incorporate the human services mission into all of its recommendations.

With proper guidance and care, guests in the therapeutic work program can accomplish a lot.

Together with staff and volunteers, guests operate a working farm, take care of forests and grounds, prepare meals for the community, and work in the Harvest Barn Bakery and Roadside Café enterprises. Many guests pursue their own projects and interests within the work program. There is concern about expanding work program initiatives without increasing dedicated staff. It is unacceptable for any new initiatives to interfere with the functioning work program and well-being of people involved.

Staff, board and Timberframer’s Guild builders pose on the newly-erected frame for The Harvest Barn.

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

Guests

Board of Directors

Gould Farm treats adult guests diagnosed with mental illness or living with related challenges by providing a safe and supportive environment for recovery. Most guests stay for an average of ten months (ranging from six months to three years) and remain connected to the community and clinical services during their transition back into the wider world. At any given time, Gould Farm accommodates thirty to forty guest, most of whom have a primary diagnosis of a mood or thought disorder and express readiness for treatment. Guests receive clinical treatment and participate in the therapeutic work program, benefiting from both meaningful work and professional guidance. Gould Farm has documented a long history of positive outcomes for former guests having stable mental health and increasing independence

A volunteer board of directors provides mission-based leadership and strategic governance, guiding Gould Farm towards new opportunities while making sure the organization is meeting legal and fiduciary responsibilities. A larger group of Associate Board Members elects the Board of Directors and approves policy changes.

Staff and Volunteers Gould Farm currently employs forty full-time and seventeen part-time staff members in administrative, clinical, programming, operations, and support positions.

A group of volunteers and interns support staff and guests. Most of these staff members and volunteers live on the farm property with their families. They participate daily in shared community meals, programs, and events.

Staff and volunteers build authentic relationships with guests, furthering integration of clinical care, meaningful work, and community living. An additional group of nine staff members and two volunteers work in the Boston Area Program’s transitional services.

William Gould with his fork.

A community meeting.

PEOPLE

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Site Overview The Lower Campus is the hub of farm and agricultural activities at Gould Farm. The building uses vary due to the diversified practices on the farm. There is a garage where machinery is repaired, multiple barns for housing animals, a dairy, and until recently a chicken coop, which burned down in January, 2016. Aside from the buildings for the upkeep of machinery and animals, there are also human services buildings. One of these is the Harvest Barn which serves as the base of operations for the gardening team and is attached to the greenhouse.

Vegetables are stored in large refrigerators and processed here before being sent to the kitchen. The Harvest Barn Bakery provides fresh cakes, bread and goodies to Gould Farm community members as well as

to outside customers. Attached to this building is the permanent greenhouse where plants are grown yearround. Limited staff and volunteer housing in Edgewood and Dairy Dell rounds out the building uses in lower campus. The lower campus abuts the Monterey transfer station and town garage to the north along Gould Road.

The town plans to build a new transfer station next to the north of the existing one in 2017. The presence of the town garage here means that often when it snows, the Gould Farm community is plowed first. The lower campus is also the first place a visitor to the farm sees and where the pastoral quality of the working landscape makes its first and lasting impression.

House

Lower Campus

Biomass Heating A new heating facility built in 2016 houses a modern and efficient biomass burner. In the past, Gould Farm’s lower campus was heated with roughly 200 cords of wood per year in an old and highly polluting furnace. The new burner is designed to put out enough heat for all of the existing buildings on lower campus. It is also powerful enough to supply two additional buildings with heat. The new biomass burner converts its fuel, specially sized wood chips, to heat with high efficiency, producing very low particulate and gas emissions. In the process of installing the new burner the existing infrastructure for hot water transmission will be replaced, increasing the overall efficiency of the lower campus. Many of the buildings are very poorly insulated against heat or cold even if they are maintained, and this lack of insulation makes heating and cooling difficult. Gould Farm recently completed a thermal energy audit which was required for the grant for the new biomass burner and is in the process of implementing all of the recommendations made for increasing thermal efficiency of buildings.

The Upper Campus centerpiece is the complex of Main House, the Old Sap House, and Orchard House. These buildings surround the pond where community members ice skate. Main House is the center for clinical care, community meals, kitchen and community gatherings downstairs while the upstairs is staff offices and volunteer housing. Many of the surrounding buildings, Orchard House for example, are dedicated to community housing with smaller cabins for staff and their families.

Upper campus is building a new sugar shack for processing the farm’s maple sugar at the base of Chalet Trail. The much beloved Red Barn behind Main House was torn down due to its age and condition. The boards

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

Upper Campus

and beams have been kept and there are hopes within the community to attempt to rebuild the Red Barn.

Gould Farm is working with a local landscape architect to redesign the upper campus hub in order to address varied concerns over parking, vehicle and pedestrian conflict, and street lighting. A more general issue that has been stated by the community is the need for a place for the entire community to gather together comfortably. The hope is that a redesign of the Red Barn will create a multi-use building where all campus activities such as dances can take place comfortably.

Further visioning and planning about Upper Campus will continue to consider all of these issues.

SITE OVERVIEW

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Upper Campus

House

Upper Campus Buildings Buisness and Care

Staff Housing

1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Main House*

Farm and Infrastructure

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Owens Lagoon Shed Retreat House Woodshed/ New Saphouse Main Pump House Maintenance Old Sap House

Guest Housing

1 2 3

McKee House East House Orchard House

Cabin 2 Cabin 3 Cabin 1 ABC Chateau Bungalow Robinson Miniature House Avalon Bluebird Hitchin’ Post Tree House Brook Cottage Garden Little House Colt House Hurdy Snow Cottage Rosemary Kirmont

* Main House also has volunteer housing upstairs.

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

SITE OVERVIEW

15

1

1

Lower Campus

2

3

House

4

Lower Campus Buildings Business, Administrative, Mechanical

1

Repair Shop

2

Lower Shop

3

Harvest Barn

Staff Housing

1 2 3 4 5 6

Edgewood Dairy Del Topside Quite Hill Rockside Adams

Guest Housing

1 O’Connell House

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

Farm and Infrastructure

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

O’Connel Cabin O’Connel Garage Dower Shed Pole Barn Pig Palace Pig Shed Chicken Coop (no longer) Machine Shed Dairy Barn Gas House Woodshed and Biomass Pizza Oven Garden Greenhouse Salt Shed Gardens Shed 1 Garden Shed 2 Auxiliary Greenhouse Sheep Barn

5

6

7

8

9

1

15 16

2

14

10 11

3 13

12 1

17 2

18

4

3 5

6

SITE OVERVIEW

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Access and Circulation

Route 23

Roads off the property Gould Farm is accessible from Route 23 to the north of the property. This is the only major road in the area but traffic along it is still sparse. Route 23 is intersected by two roads that provide access to the property. The main entrance with signs and directions to Gould Farm stands at the intersection of Route 23 and Curtis Road. There is also an entrance at River Road’s intersection with Gould Road.

Roads on the property The main road for moving about the property is Gould Road which runs from the northwest tip of the property to the southeast and spans the towns of Monterey and New Marlborough. Gould Road is Town-owned and is used by both the Gould Farm community and through-

River Road

traffic. Pedestrians often use Gould Road as the major route to get from Main House to Lower Campus. Some community members have remarked on the need for lighting for safety at night. From Gould Road the town transfer station, gravel pit, homes along Rawson Brook way, and Wellman Road are all accessible from either direction. Main House is surrounded by a loop road which is fed by Gould Road. This has raised some general concern amongst community members that the Main House area is too car-friendly and should have a more park-like feel. Gould Farm is examining site level designs to provide access to the Main House complex for both cars and people in a way that the community can find aesthetically pleasing.

Gould Road Curtis Road

Wellman Road

Trails Trails traverse the southwestern half of the property and help connect the upper and lower campuses for foot traffic and activities. While trails are sometimes used to access roads, their primary use is to provide access to the forests from the Main House complex. Members of the Gould Farm community have expressed concerns about trail maintenance, pointing out how some of the trails are still difficult to walk on and there is always room for improvement. Suggestions have been made to develop trail-specific work or wellness programs.

River Road

Main House Loop White fences and autumn foliage add to the pastoral aesthetic along Gould Road.

Gould Road

Both two-legged and four-legged community members use roads and paths to get from place to place.

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

ACCESS AND CIRCULATION

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Land Use Pattern and Context

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Gould Farm’s seven-hundred acres are dominated by close to five-hundred acres of forest. The remaining twohundred acres are open land. Open land along Gould Road is mostly surrounding buildings of the upper and lower campuses as well as a few residential buildings scattered between. Open land in the northern portion of the property is mostly agricultural fields, including both pasture and cultivated cropland. Rawson Brook and associated wetlands are in the lowlands to the east.

Much of the forested land in the southwestern portion of the property is on steeper slopes than the gently sloping agricultural and built areas. Steeper slopes may prohibit future development or clearing for agriculture.

This pattern of forested uplands with lowland open areas and wetlands is consistent with the surrounding region.

Berkshire County is mostly forested with development and open land concentrated in river valleys. These shared qualities of land use history and current uses mean that Gould Farm fits into a community of neighbors throughout the region with similar land use conditions and concerns. The forested landscape in this region has changed dramatically in the centuries since European settlement. One-hundred-fifty years ago, more land was cleared than forested. Many people imagine the forests to be pristine and permanent, but in reality the landscape is more of a post-industrial mosaic of secondary forests. Recognizing past changes, land use planners and decision makers must also recognize that the balance between forest and field may change again.

Gould Farm must carefully consider the value of each before taking action that shifts the balance.

Berkshire County is dominated by forest with open land and developed areas concentrated in the river valleys.

An aerial view of the Gould Farm property in summer.

GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

LAND USE PAT TERN

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Forestry Forest ecosystem health is directly related to human health and healing practices at Gould Farm. Work program activities such as sugaring directly connect people to the working forest landscape. The forests provide clean air and water, habitat for wildlife, wood products, and scenic beauty. A central component of Gould Farm’s treatment model is developing understanding of one’s role in the landscape. It is commonly accepted that natural beauty helps people get better. Gould Farm’s forests offer challenge and inspiration to guests. Timber harvests are not a part of the work program, but guests are involved with sugaring, deer lot stand improvement, and trail maintenance in the forests. The forests are also enjoyed by members of the public who come to experience the landscape.

The Gould Farm property was first settled by Europeans in 1750 (McKee, 1994). Since that time, most of the land was cleared for agriculture and has grown back into forest. Much of the forest currently standing was still clear at the time of Gould Farm’s founding in 1913. Today Gould Farm’s five-hundred forested acres are actively managed and recognized as a Model Forest by the Forest Stewards Guild. Joseph Zorzin, the licensed forester who has authored Gould Farm’s Forest Stewardship Plan for enrollment in the Massachusetts Forest Stewardship Program since 1996, articulates Gould Farm’s primary objective for long term guardianship of a healing environment for guests.

Sugaring

Timber harvest

Looking out over Gould Farm’s forests and fields toward distant hils on the horizon.

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

Forest Ecology

Forest Products

A diversity of forest types are represented at Gould Farm. The simplified stand map below, based on forester Joseph Zorzin’s 2006 delineation, shows the pattern of forest composition. The forests are dominated by northern hardwoods in the upland southwestern portion of the property with mixed hardwood and conifer stands surrounding the developed area. Two sugar maple stands are actively tapped by the Gould Farm Community. Pockets of conifer stands and forested wetlands are located mostly in the lowlands of the eastern portion of the property. There is a range of age classes and structural diversity that is characteristic of the region and reflects the agricultural history of the land. The variation of forest type is also due to soil type and slope aspect with species such as oak adapted to dryer south-facing slopes with shallow soils whereas maples are better adapted to deeper, moister soils (Zorzin, 2006). The forest management plan takes into account delicate habitats such as wetlands, the presence of rare species and value of non-commercial wild flora and fauna, and silvicultural practices that can enhance wildlife habitat such as leaving standing snags and patches of early successional habitat.

In addition to their ecological and cultural value, Gould Farm’s forest have economic yields. The Forest Stewardship Plan prescribes improvement cuts stand-by stand. Between 1996 and 2006, timber value from these cuts had a value of approximately $100,000. At an average of $10,000 a year, timber sales account for less than 1% Gould Farm’s annual budget. Nevertheless, there is economic value in the standing timber assets and potential for future harvests. Gould Farm has not previously considered carbon credits as an alternative source of income from the forests. Gould farm has expressed interest in further integrating farming and forestry for other non-timber forest product yields.

Gould Farm’s 500 forested acres are home to a variety of tree species. This map, based on the 2006 Forest Stewardship Plan’s stand delineation, shows the distribution of forest types. Northern hardwoods are common throughout the property. Two sugar maple stands are used for sugaring. Conifers grow in a few dense pockets and forested wetlands grow along Rawson Brook.

FORESTRY

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Forest Stewardship Programs Gould Farm was first recognized as a Model Forest by the Forest Stewards Guild in 2006 following an inspection in 2005 and review of the 2006 Forest Stewardship Plan. The Forest Stewardship Plan is part of the statewide Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Forest Stewardship Program. It is due for its third iteration this year, 2016.

Forester Joseph Zorzin will review Gould Farm’s goals, analyze forest stands, and make silvicultural prescriptions for the next ten years of forest management.

The previous Forest Stewardship Plans do not directly address issues of climate change resilience and mitigation. It is recommended that Gould Farm consider including goals for carbon sequestration in the next Forest Stewardship Plan. Carbon sequestration is the accumulation of atmospheric carbon, a major contributor to climate change, in living organisms. These goals may influence future harvesting decisions and inform other economic opportunities such as joining a carbon credit program. Another consideration is evaluating the sustainable production of wood chips for the new biomass burner heating Lower Campus. Both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Forest Stewards Guild have resources available for carbon sequestration and biomass production.

Prioritized Goals from the 2006 Forest Stewardship Plan High Priority

Enhance the Quality/Quantity of Timber Products Generate Immediate Income Generate Long Term Income Produce Firewood Promote Biological Diversity Preserve or Improve Scenic Beauty Protect Water Quality Protect Unique/Special/ Cultural Areas

Medium Priority

Enhance Habitat for Birds Enhance Habitat for Small Animals Enhance Habitat for Large Animals Improve Access for Walking/Skiing/Recreation Maintain or Enhance Privacy

From the Forest Stewardship Plan, “By enrolling in the Forest Stewardship Program and following a Stewardship Plan, I understand that I will be joining with many other landowners across the state in a program that promotes ecologically responsible resource management through the following actions and values: 1. Managing for long-term forest health, productivity, diversity, and quality.

2. Conserving or enhancing water quality, wetlands, soil productivity, biodiversity, cultural, historical and aesthetic resources.

3. Following a strategy guided by well-founded silvicultural principles to improve timber quality and quantity when wood products are a goal.

4. Setting high standards for foresters, loggers and other operators as practices are implemented; and minimizing negative impacts.

5. Learning how woodlands benefit and affect surrounding communities, and cooperation with neighboring owners to accomplish mutual goals when practical.”

Improve Hunting or Fishing

Not Applicable Defer or Defray Taxes (non-profit organization)

Carbon Credit programs, also referred to as Carbon Offsets, are “a [carbon sequestration] strategy wherein entities that release greenhouse gas emissions pay other entities to sequester equivalent carbon or reduce equivalent emissions (Toensmeier, 2016).” The carbon offset market is controversial because, as it currently functions, climate change is not directly mitigated by reducing total carbon emissions. Nevertheless, carbon credits do offer financial incentives for landowners to increase forest carbon sequestration by implementing long-term forest management plans rather than short-rotation harvests. The ecological and economic outcomes of non-timber forest product alternatives can support goals for economic viability and ecosystem health.

At the current market rate of $8-$12/ton of carbon, a minimum of 2,000 acres is required for enrollment to be cost effective due to the cost of annual monitoring for which the landowner is responsible. The carbon market fluctuates, so Gould Farm can wait to enter such a program until a time when the market is more favorable. It is possible for a group of landowners who own a collective total minimum acreage to enter into an agreement for cost effective enrollment in a 100-year carbon credit contract. Ideally such an agreement is made in collaboration with a regional conservation organization and done simultaneously with any new conservation restrictions so that the statement of purpose in the conservation restriction reflects carbon sequestration priorities.

Carbon credits require more detailed inventory of forest stands than a typical timber cruise does. It is recommended that the next forest inventory establish permanent plots for measurements of total tree height and tree core analyses for total biomass and carbon sequestration calculations. This information establishes a baseline for future enrollment in a carbon credit program. The next Forest Stewardship Plan should at least include acknowledgement of carbon sequestration benefits if not setting specific targets for carbon sequestration rates.

GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

“The Massachusetts Forest Stewardship Program seeks to encourage landowners to practice long-term guardianship of their woodlands. Recognizing both the ecological and social values of our state’s forests, the program is designed to improve wildlife habitat and forest aesthetics, to protect soil and water resources and to ensure a renewable supply of high quality wood products.” Massachusetts DCR

Low Priority

Carbon Credits

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Massachusetts Forest Stewardship Program Principles

Forest Stewards Guild Principles The Forest Stewards Guild sets a high standard for ecological forest management with the following principles: • The well-being of human society is dependent on responsible forest management that places the highest priority on the maintenance and enhancement of the entire forest ecosystem.

• The natural forest provides a model for sustainable resource management; therefore, responsible forest management imitates nature’s dynamic processes and minimizes impacts when harvesting trees and other products.

• The forest has value in its own right, independent of human intentions and needs.

• Human knowledge of forest ecosystems is limited. Responsible management that sustains the forest requires a humble approach and continuous learning.

• The practice of forestry must be grounded in field observation and experience as well as in the biological sciences.

This practical knowledge should be developed and shared with both traditional and non-traditional educational institutions and programs.

• A forester’s first duty is to the forest and its future. When the management directives of clients or supervisors conflict with the Mission and Principles of the Guild, and cannot be modified through dialogue and education, a forester should disassociate.

FORESTRY

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Farming The agricultural operations at Gould Farm, like everything else, are maintained as part of the work program for the therapeutic benefit of the activity. These activities are mostly contained within the lower campus and overseen by Farm Team though a few agricultural activities, such as the apple orchard by Orchard House in the upper campus, are run by the Forest and Grounds Team. Gould Farm is in the process of developing a detail food systetms plan that includes comprehensive visioning and planning for the farm enterprise.

Livestock Gould Farm’s beef and dairy cattle herds are substantial, with forty-five and ten animals in each herd respectively.

These cattle are sometimes pastured at Gould Farm in a field off Curtis Road. There is a plan to add four acres to an existing three-acre pasture behind the Sheep Barn for cattle. Cattle are also pastured outside the property.

Three private land owners in Monterey receive tax credits for allowing Gould Farm to pasture cattle on their land. The cows are fed in winter with ensiled and dry hay. The hay is one of the farm’s primary agricultural products. Some hay is grown on fields north of the gravel pit as well as in patches by the Curtis Foundations and on the east side of Curtis Road. Some hay is also brought in from off the property. A long-term arrangement with the Woodburn Farm in which the Woodburn Farm Trust allows Gould Farm to hay the fields and is given back some of that hay for it’s own small cattle herds. Twentyfive to fifty large round bales are bought each winter because Gould Farm does not produce enough of its own hay. Some community members have stated that it might be good to produce more of this on site.

Other animals on the farm include around fifteen pigs which are raised for slaughter, and a small herd of goats.

There are also a few bee hives kept to the north of the vegetable garden. There is a plan in concert with the Forest Stewardship Plan to graze pigs on three five-acre rotations in the oak stands just south of the Upper Campus orchard in a type of agricultural system known as silvopasture. Farm managers have also identified about seventeen acres of potential silvopasture immediately to the west of the gravel pit. Until February of 2016 Gould Farm had a large flock of egg laying hens.

The flock was sadly lost when the coop caught on fire

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and burned to the ground. It is unclear what the future for egg production will be at Gould Farm, but it will likely be dealt with by the food systems plan. Pigs are, and chickens were, fed largely from recycled kitchen scraps and compost.

Produce In addition to livestock, Gould Farm also grows various leaf and root vegetables on the farm. Together with the meat, eggs and dairy products from the dairy herd, Gould Farm produces some of its food on site.

The lower campus also has four greenhouses, one permanent and three hoop houses. Some vegetables and products have been grown in the permanent structure over winter. Some members of the community are interested in expanding this practice.

There is a scheduled evaluation of the feasibility of aquaculture at Gould Farm which could address the possibility of expanding off-season vegetables. Despite their diversified farm products, Gould Farm does not produce all of the food that the community consumes.

Due to fear of negatively altering the work and wellness program, the community has not set goals to produce all of its own food. As pointed out in the People section, any addition of a new project or endeavor will likely need a new staff person and will also have an effect on the work and wellness programs. Gould Farm should consider carefully the pros and cons of modifying farming programs or adding new ones, but should also remember that it may be possible to increase productivity in both food systems and therapy programs through careful planning and implementation.

Lush greens from Gould Farm are full of color and nutrition.

FARMING

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Nutrient Cycling The use of compost as pig and chicken feed is a small component of a large and comprehensive composting plan which is in progress. The Gould Farm community is taking steps towards closing nutrient loops on the farm. These steps include feeding food scraps to livestock, recycling kitchen scraps and using animal manure instead of chemical fertilizer. Steps like these are important parts of whole-systems thinking. There is some interest in Gould Farm and the Town of Monterey integrating their composting together when the new transfer station is built.

Another example of closing these gaps would be the recent practice of allowing pigs in fields to till the soil instead of using carbon fuels and tractors. Using the composting and the Farm Plan as models, Gould farm can continue to integrate other activities for nutrient cycling on the property.

Going Organic Gould Farm’s practices are largely organic and the production of food products is done without any chemical fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide. Antibiotics are sometimes administered to animals in need, but products such as meat or dairy from treated animals are not made for a three-month period following treatment. Due to the costs of the certification process through the United States Department of Agriculture Gould Farm is not certified organic at this time.

Cows on pasture.

The red sides of the Sheep Barn are visible in the background while community members tend the southeastern garden patches.

The farm in winter.

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Historical photo of community members haying.

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Landscape Experience Milieu therapy is a treatment in which meaningful work and deep immersion in a particular landscape or place achieves healing.

At Gould Farm the working of the landscape is a very important part of milieu therapy, but the other aspect is the way in which the landscape itself affects the emotions people experience.

The pastoral quality of the farm, the natural beauty of the hills of the Berkshires, and the setting, deep within the forests, rivers and ponds of the property all create opportunities for community members to engage with the landscape in a way which can be separate from the work program or wellness programs.

Some of the Special Places at Gould Farm

Trails bring people out into the woods of Gould Farm, offering an alternative scenery to the farm fields and vegetable patches.

Trails make it easy for people to get out into nature and enjoy this aspect of the landscape pattern at Gould Farm. Trails are pointed to by many as a place of high sentimental value.

The pastoral beauty of Gould Farm is highly valued by the Gould Farm community. The farm is where much of the healing occurs through both work and wellness programs. In many ways the landscape experience at Gould Farm is the balance between forest and farming scenery, which together make a larger whole.

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Diane’s Bridge overlooks Rawson Brook, offering views of the beaver activity and the red twigs of dogwood, a vibrant color against the ice. The sights and the burbling of the brook are enjoyed by many members of the community. Even visitors from outside the farm come to Diane’s bridge for the natural scenery.

Productive woodland activities are key to the therapeutic work program and enjoyed by many. Sugaring is a fun, seasonal, use of the woodlands and provides tasty treats.

Diane’s Trail in the northern portion of the property goes through beautiful woods and across Rawson Brook. Diane’s Trail also has a pamphlet guided walk that describes the various sights and animals which one might encounter.

The old Curtis Foundations give a sense of continuity with the landscape history for Gould Farm community members. The ability to come to a place and know that there were others before engaging in similar work and enjoying the same land is culturally valuable to Gould Farm’s community.

LANSCAPE EXPERIENCE

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Protected Land Gould Farm’s land use is steeped in tradition and history of working the land and the spiritual healing that can be derived from that. Despite a history of agriculture and the following trend of reforestation in New England over the past 150 years, both forests and farms are now in decline throughout New England and Massachusetts (Foster et al., 2010). Gould Farm has both of these land types in plenty and early on recognized the multiple benefits of protecting the land. Preserving forests and wetlands helps maintain ecosystem services such as

water quality protection. Forests also protect and build soil which is critical for agriculture and helps to cycle nutrients and remove air pollutants from the atmosphere. Furthermore, this land helps provide the foundation for therapy at Gould Farm. Gould Farm recognizes the need for protection of these various types of land and in some instances has already taken steps to ensure the continuity and sustainability of their land.

The farm in autumn.

This map shows parcels that are protected into perpetuity, both privately and publicly owned. Areas shown in grey may be developed in the future.

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Trails in winter.

PROTECTED LAND

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Regulated and Protected Land In 2005, Gould Farm placed an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) on their deed for 200.39 acres of land in the northern portion of the property. This restriction is held by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources for the purposes of protecting Gould Farm’s agricultural interests in perpetuity. Only farming or forestry practices are allowed under this APR. This document is attached to the deed of Gould Farm and the restrictions about what can be done on the land will last through any successive owners, protecting the land into perpetuity. The APR covers wetlands and forests in addition to agricultural fields.

The Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) helps protect wetlands at Gould Farm and throughout Massachusetts from alteration and development. Within a twohundred-foot buffer, otherwise known as the River Front Area, development is regulated under the WPA. The beaver pond in the south and the vernal pools and wooded marsh also have similar protection but with a smaller, one-hundred-foot buffer. Where wetlands are under APR, normal wetland regulations, like buffers and the need for permiting, still apply unless the modification or change is to areas that are actively farmed and the modification, such as filling, needs to be normal maintainence or normal improvement. Land may

be inactive for five consecutive years before being considered not in active use, but it is important to remember that the exemption from WPA is not on the land itself but on the activity for the normal maintenance or improvement of agriculture. Even under the APR the expansion of farm lands into wetland areas is regulated and needs to be permitted by the local Conservation Commission. As a result of the APR and the WPA restrictions, a significant amount of land at Gould Farm is regulated from development or alteration.

Protected Land

Regulatory protection is not the only important aspect to conserving land. Gould Farm also has a strong stewardship ethic and an understanding of the importance of the landscape to a healing environment.

Protection from development or alteration at Gould Farm includes wetlands and farmland but upland forest habitat is neglected. While the forest stewardship plan and the culture of care at the Farm does help maintain uplands as managed and conserved places, a conservation restriction on these lands would offer a permanent restriction prohibiting the conversion of the forest to development. This would protect some upland sites from the loss of ecological integrity and scenic characteristics of the landscape.

Out in the sugarbush by Rawson Brook, this sign hangs on the door to the nature center. In the center are many educational posters and pamphlets where community members can come to learn about the natural world.

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PROTECTED LAND

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Hydrology Water resources are an important part of land use at Gould Farm. Located in southern Berkshire County within the Housatonic River watershed, water at Gould Farm flows into Rawson Brook and the Konkapot River.

Wetlands provide an important ecosystem service of maintaining water quality as well as habitat for wildlife.

Wetlands also provide flood storage and ground water recharge. Good water quality is an indicator of ecological land stewardship with care for healthy ecosystem function. It is important for land use practices at Gould Farm to continue protecting and enhancing water resources.

The Housatonic River Watershed in Berkshire County

The purple line with arrows indicates the ridgeline of the uplands in the western portion of the Gould Farm property. Water falling on the west side of the line flows into the Kokapot River. Water on the east side of the line flows into Rawson Brook then into the Konkapot River and the Housatonic River further downstream. The effects of land use patterns have implications for downstream water quality. There is potential for damaging impacts to habitat quality and public health.

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HYDROLOGY

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Water Treatment Overview

New Facility

The town of Monterey municipal water company does not serve Gould Farm, so all of Gould Farm’s buildings and operations rely upon wells. Apart from a couple buildings with septic systems, the most of Gould Farm’s waste water is piped to settling ponds (also called sewage or septage lagoons). Gould Farm is responsible for monitoring water quality and ensuring proper function of their waste water treatment facility under state and federal regulations. Historically, treated water from the lagoons has been discharged into Rawson Brook under a Federal Surface Water Discharge Permit.

Gould Farm is now in the process of transitioning to a groundwater discharge from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection with the construction of a new leach field.

An area of forest was recently cleared to allow construction of sand beds at the top of the hill. Treated water from the sewage lagoons will be pumped uphill to the sand beds where it will percolate into the ground. A hydrogeo report published in preparation for permitting and construction notes that ”groundwater beneath the proposed Sand Beds flows in a north and westerly direction toward the Konkapot River” (GeoHydroCycle, 2014). This new system was put in place because Gould Farm’s surface water discharge was within a slim margin of the maximum allowable phosphorous level.

Anticipating increasingly strict regulation and evaluating the cost of further water treatment to reduce phosphorous levels in the surface water discharge system, Gould Farm decided to construct a new ground water discharge system. The total allowable phosphorous limit is much higher for ground water discharge. This allows Gould Farm a greater margin for continuing their current practices with room to expand in the future without harming water quality. The new system is scheduled to begin operation in spring of 2016.

Gould Farm will continue to monitor water quality and account for total nutrient loading between the centralized water treatment facility, dispersed septic systems, and agricultural fields.

It has been noted that, though Gould Farm has never run out of water, any increase in water use may trigger a need to drill another well. Topside and Edgewood wells on Lower Campus have been discontinued as sources of potable water due to their proximity to the future leach field. These wells will remain in use for farm water needs that do not require potable water.

This map is copied directly from the Hydrogeologic Evaluation and Groundwater Mounding Analyses completed by GeoHydroCycle, Inc. in 2014. An application containing these analyses was submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in support of a Nutrient Loading Groundwater Discharge Permit Application. A copy of the report summary is included in the Appendix.

View of recent clearing, looking uphill toward the sandbeds.

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Looking at the recently cleared leach field from the sandbeds at the top of the hill.

WATER TREATMENT

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Surficial Geology and Soils Geology is the foundation for landscape features and soil, indicating why and how large features, such as the eastern ridge and gravel pit, formed. The last glacier, the Woodfordian, left the area approximately 13,000 years ago. It left behind deposits on the bedrock after sweeping away previous vegetation, soils and materials.

Those deposits collectively comprise the surficial geology of the region, the grit, dirt and stones which lay on top of the bedrock. They are critical to soil development and quality as they are the basic mineral components of the soils that Gould Farm relies on. For this reason, these features are important to understand for planning purposes.

Surficial Geology The surficial geology of Monterey results from glacial ice sheets melting in place, exposing mountain tops and south-facing slopes first. This means that sediments caught in the ice were largely deposited in place slowly as the ice melted leaving many particle sizes mixed together (Flory and Neel, 1975). This poorly sorted mix of evenly-distributed-multiple-size-particles is commonly called ‘glacial till’ and makes up most of the surficial geology at Gould Farm. Just to the west of Gould Farm are masses of alluvial and gravel deposits. These stratified fine-grained alluvial deposits are likely from the Konkapot River flooding and depositing sediment on the banks over many years compared to its glacial history (Flory and Neel, 1975). The stratified gravel deposits on the property and to the west are the result of an ice channel, where melting ice flowed through the area, resulting in the sorting and deposition of multiple particle sizes. Those particle sizes in different places have ramifications for Gould Farm’s activities. The gravel pit and new leach field location are both influenced by the surficial geology.

Leigh Tryon, the contractor in charge of the gravel pit noted that different parts of the gravel pit contain different sediment types. He explained that these different types have different values as gravel and are salable at varying rates depending on their quality. Much of the sediment of sufficient quality for use in leach fields is thought to have been extracted for the new waste water treatment facility south of the gravel pit, but little formal test boring has been done in the gravel pit area to determine the extent of deposits.

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Geology and Hydrology Fine-grained sands and mineral sediment deposits are extremely useful in purifying waste water and maintaining ground water. That is why sediments like this are used in leach fields. They are also able to hold a large amount of water. The Hydrogeologic Evaluation Report identified sands to a depth of fifty-five feet in Lower Campus. In contrast, glacial till has lower water holding capacity and higher surface water run-off risk than sand deposits. The fact that much of Gould Farm is over glacial till means that much of the valuable water holding surficial geology is probably along the ridge where the test wells were dug. Gould Farm does conduct well water quality and ground water level analyses and is aware of how much water can be taken from the ground for use by the community.

Surficial Geology

This stone wall is so thick that it looks like a mound seen from the end. Larger stones are placed on the outside to support the smaller stones inside for strength. The stone walls throughout New England are built with the largest particle sizes of the glacial till found throughout much of the region and Gould Farm’s property.

SURFICIAL GEOLOGY AND SOILS

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Agricultural Soils Agricultural Soils Gould Farm’s soils are incredibly important to the land use pattern at Gould Farm. The farming component of the work program benefits from the high quality agricultural soils on the site. While the data that this map is based on is not of sufficient for fine resolution delineations for specific siting of new agricultural ventures, it is useful from a planning perspective. Many of the highest quality soils do occur in the lower campus, and many are protected under the APR. Some of the prime agricultural soils are under farm buildings and cattle pasture in the lower campus. While the prime soils are considered by the national Natural Resource Conservation Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the highest value, soils of statewide

importance are also good. Very little of these soils are used for growing crops at present and represent areas where the soil could be lightly amended for farmland if the Gould Farm community ever wished to expand the farming operation.

Since these broad observations are useful only from a planning perspective, appropriate soil analysis and management is needed for siting agricultural practices.

Gould Farm’s farm plan is integral to this process. Soil testing has been done through the University of Massachusetts for many of the existing farm fields with favorable results. Those tests in the farm plan should be used in conjunction with broad level spatial analysis if agricultural practices are to be expanded at the farm.

The area in green represents prime agricultural soils and soils of statewide and unique importance.

Agricultural soils in Berkshire County are predominantly limited to the lowlands in the west. Gould Farm is located in an eastern extreme of prime farmland.

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SURFICIAL GEOLOGY AND SOILS

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Ecological Analysis Introduction Throughout New England the history of farming and landscape change has drastically altered the forests and natural communities of the region. Much of Massachusetts was historically cleared for agriculture leaving as little as 30% statewide forest cover in the 1850’s (Foster et al., 2010). From then to the 1950’s forest cover increased to around 70% due to the abandonment of many farms in the state. Despite the increase in forest cover into the 1950’s, deforestation and the loss of natural landscapes has increased in recent years due to pressure from development. In the context of this pressure and the increasing loss of natural

landscapes in New England, Gould Farm is fortunate to have the balance of farmland and natural landscape and forest that it does. Within Gould Farm’s boundaries and without many forests are important to regional biodiversity. Now that they are under threat, assessing them for their ecological value and to determine appropriate steps for conservation planning is important.

Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape in Berkshire County

The forest at Gould Farm encompasses many habitat types, including wooded marshes, streams, low wetlands and isolated vernal pools. These habitat types and the forest itself can be assessed in ways which are useful in conservation planning. One of the ways to assess forest types’ ecological quality is through BioMap2. BioMap2 was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) and the Massachusetts program of the Nature Conservancy to protect the state’s biodiversity.

BioMap2 draws on many sources of spatial data for ecosystems and rare species. Its outputs are useful for determining where blocks of high value habitat are.

These blocks are, for the purposes of this report, of two types, Critical Natural Landscape and Core Habitat. In the broadest terms Critical Natural Landscape outlines areas which have minimal fragmentation, low negative influence from people, or large unbroken areas which surround sensitive ecosystems such as wetlands. Core habitats in contrast are more specific and indicate where species of conservation concern are likely to occur based on their documented presence or on many environmental variables, such as habitat type, indicating its suitability for that species.

Habitat Fragmentation Fragmentation is the process by which natural areas are broken up by human activity. Fragmentation causes decreased ecological value both in terms of the quality of habitat and the success of organisms living in fragmented areas. Causes of this fragmentation are generally barriers to ecological function such as roads or developments.

Fragmentation and human caused disturbance at Gould Farm is minimal. While the southern portion of the property was largely cleared for agriculture, as evidenced by the presence of stone walls throughout the lower area, the forests have largely grown up around these areas. The only major road at Gould Farm is Gould Road and this road is fairly narrow and has fairly little traffic at low speed which indicates that it may not greatly impede the movement of organisms, seeds, or water across it. Trails which crisscross the property are not major fragmentation mechanisms because their surface is natural ground cover or earth, meaning greater infiltration by water and greater ease of crossing for small organisms, and their traffic is pedestrian which is unlikely to cause damage to local ecology.

Andy Reagan and Chrissy McLaren, 2014 American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus. An endangered species found at Gould Farm.

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ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

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High value core habitats, as delineated by BioMap2 for species of concern, are present within critical natural landscape in the southern portion of Gould Farm’s property. The wooded marsh and riparian area around Rawson Brook are important wetland habitats shown in the large core habitat that harbors the Wood Turtle, Ocellated Darner, and American Bittern. By the western border of the property, a complex of isolated vernal pool and mixed deciduous and hemlock forest harbors Jefferson Salamander.

These species are all dependent on various types of wetland sites either for breeding or for overwintering as evidenced by the orientation of their core habitats around wetland areas. While those wetland sites are very important, that importance doesn’t preclude upland habitats from the range of these organisms. In fact, many of these organisms also depend on varied upland habitats for their survival due to their various life cycle traits. While the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act protects some of these wetland habitats, through two-hundred-foot riparian buffers, complex habitat requirements mean that protection of these habitats alone is insufficient for protecting these species.

Jefferson Salamander requires wetland, specifically spatially isolated vernal pools, for breeding in the early spring. While there are vernal pools in the vicinity of Rawson brook, they are not situated within suitable upland habitat for Jefferson Salamander. Jefferson Salamander, a species of special concern within Massachusetts, spends much of its life cycle on land, under logs, amidst leaf litter, and in rodent burrows foraging for small invertebrates. Its required habitat for this activity is upland forest with mixed deciduous and hemlock forests due to the quality of leaf litter. Also more mature and later successional habitat patches are important due their abundance of fallen logs and depth of leaf litter.

Other Species which are present in core habitats on Gould Farms property are the Ocellated Darner dragonfly, Wood Turtle, and American Bittern. Only the American Bittern is listed at the state level as an endangered species while the other two are considered species of special concern. However other organizations, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature consider the Wood Turtle endangered as well.

The Wood Turtle is listed due to it’s long generation time

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and exacting requirements for suitable habitat, which is rapidly disappearing in many areas due to anthropogenic effects such as deforestation and modification of deeply cut stream banks, which means the loss of their overwintering sites (van Dijk, P.P. & Harding, J. 2013).

While riparian areas for overwintering are important, it is also critical that these species have upland areas in which to forage during the summer.

Ocellated Darner dragonfly’s habitat requirements are similar to that of the Wood Turtle. The Ocellated Darner’s nymphs require swift-cold-rocky-bottom streams for its aquatic development and life cycle phase.

However when it emerges from the water the darner hunts in mixed forests and seem to prefer shaded woods specifically (NHESP, 2015).

The upland habitat types that these species require are varied; many organism benefit from having multiple land types available such as fields and forest as well as stages of succession in between. Succession is the process by which disturbed land is converted to older or mature habitat. Recent ecological research has suggested that the notion of a terminal end state to an ecosystem is untrue; all things change. Even in a large, mature forest full of ancient trees, wind storms, fires or other natural occurences will convert forest back to field or scrub by removing canopy or clearing areas. Those areas generally will go through the process of succession and slowly, without intervention, transform into mature forest again. The time scale humans are comfortable with often means that we only get to see snapshots of the landscape. A person sees a clearing and thinks it is a dead forest when in fact it is the temporal transformation of the landscape. Throughout the landscape all the different stages and patches together make a healthy landscape full of organisms which have their own specific needs and wants. What suits one organism may not suit another. While cardinals enjoy early successional farm fields and scrub, wood peckers require later successional forests where trees have had time to be colonized by insects or rot internally, providing nesting places. In this way, an array of habitat types at Gould Farm means that there is a wide range of supported species on the property.

Core Habitats and Rare Species

ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

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Ltshears, 2007 The Wood Turtle, Glyptemys insculpta, is found throughout much of the northeastern United States and Canada. While not considered an endangered species in Massachusetts populations throughout its range are in decline. G. insculpta spends its winters in refuge underwater in undercut river banks, it’s metabolic rates low enough that it can get it’s oxygen requirements from the dissolved gas in the water. In summer this omnivore forages in forests, fields, and agricultural areas for food.

Jefferson Salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is medium to large terrestrial and subterranean salamander. They migrate to vernal pools in early spring to mate. Males can occasionally be found on partially frozen portions of ponds as they migrate before females of the species.

Unmanaged Forest Stands The southwestern portion of the property is unmanaged woods, which the Gould Farm community recently realized was part of the property. It’s slopes are steep and rocky down to the fish hatchery and its trees are old.

Even surrounding areas around the boundary trail have characteristics of relatively mature New England forest.

Even in winter the differences between a mature forest patch and managed successional habitat are clear.

Mature hemlocks with rounded tops in the shade of aged white pines, oak, hickory, beech, and maple comprise the largest structural class in the mature forest.

However in the middle zone musclewood, hophornbeam poke up through stands of mountain laurel, and blueberry. On the ground there are lots of logs and leaf litter providing terrestrial habitat. All of these structures makes the forest complex and complexity often supports life. This scene is rather unusual for New England or at the very least is far less common than the one depicted in the bottom picture on the facing page. This is old farm field which has been managed for timber after being reforested. Its understory is low growing barberry where there are shrubs and it has much less dead wood on the ground. The trees are largely similar in diameter and straight. In general, there is much less complexity here.

However even this has habitat value. The responsible forest management which is happening at Gould Farm

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leaves some dead trees standing to provide habitat and forage. These trees are much appreciated by woodpeckers, and a host of other species.

Bob (red hat) explains how to identify an American chestnut log (bottom left) by the longitudinal cracks and its persistence as dead wood due to rot resistance. The mature forest in the southwestern portion of the property along Boundary Trail shows multiple age classes and types of vegetation. Those qualities make the habitat structure more complex and therefore capable of supporting a wider suite of species with different foraging habits. Dead wood, both standing in the form of snags and on the ground as logs provides habitat for different organisms.

Standing Dead Wood One of the primary differences between managed forests and unmanaged ones is the amount of standing or fallen dead wood which is present in the system.

Foresters general select weak or sick trees to take out thus improving the overall health of more trees to get a more lucrative cut later in time as competition is reduced. In an unmanaged forest many of these trees may die, piling up in snags and dead wood on the ground. This material provides critical ecosystem niches and nutrient cycling in the forest ecosystem and contributes to the overall habitat and ecosystem value of a forest.

A managed forest stand in the northern portion of the property looks very different from unmmanaged forests. Tree spacing is selectively thinned by extracting either high value timber or by extracting the lowest value timber to allow the remaining trees to grow better as they mature, ultimately becoming more valuable. In some areas this management is for sugar maples. Some dead wood is left for habitat but the structural complexity of this stand is much lower than the unmanaged areas.

ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

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Section III Forever Wild

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Forever Wild Overview What is ‘Forever Wild’

A great deal of Gould Farm’s beauty comes from the forested areas. Much of the woods at Gould Farm were previously cleared for agriculture, but a great deal of this has regenerated to a significant degree over the last century. More recently, responsible forest management as a Forest-Stewardship-Guild-designated Model Forest has helped accelerate the regeneration and managed conservation of forest stands on the property. After spending time with the Gould Farm community, it is clear how important the natural resources on the property are to the people who depend on them both physically and spiritually.

‘Forever wild’ is a style of conservation restriction. A conservation restriction (CR) is legally binding and lasts into perpetuity. A CR can apply to only a portion of a property designated by the land owner and does not need to be an entire parcel. These restrictions limit land use by selling the rights to certain land uses, such as development, to a third-party government agency or non-profit organization. Land trusts often buy development rights on a piece of a property from the land owner in the form of conservation restrictions on the land. Those entities which hold or buy these rights are also responsible for enforcing land use restrictions.

The lack of right to subdivide or build on CR land can also have tax break implications . CRs, being a transfer of property rights, are recorded against the deed at the registry of deeds. All future owners of a property that has a CR on it will be bound by the deeded restriction.

In 1994 the Conway School team recommended an Agricultural Preservation Restriction to preserve the traditional character of the farm in response to development pressure and a fear of losing the spirit of Gould Farm. An APR now protects most of the lower campus for present or future agricultural use in the form of fields, wetland or forest as discussed in the Protected Land section. The fear of losing the spirit of Gould Farm is no longer present in the community. The 1994 report also recommended where to site a forever wild conservation restriction. This recommendation was not implemented for a number of reasons but ultimately much of the land which was suggested is now under APR. While there is no longer a concern in the Gould Farm community about losing their traditional agricultural character, there is a continuing desire to protect the land stewarded by the community.

The absence of legal protection for natural upland wild areas on the property is discussed in the Protected Land section. One method of filling this gap would be a forever wild conservation restriction. This section deals with siting a ‘forever wild’ conservation restriction and also outlines alternative methods for creating a more complete suite of protected land at Gould Farm. APR and wetland restrictions protect farmland, rural character, ecosystem services, and habitat. Forever wild would expand on already existing conservation efforts at Gould Farm, specifically protecting larger habitat areas, and contribute to the conservation and preservation of ecosystem services. Forever wild would also contribute to the connection between the human community and the natural communities by guaranteeing opportunities for humans to see and interact with minimally managed wild lands into the future at Gould Farm.

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Fungi help break down standing dead wood at the edge of a vernal pool in spring. Holes in the wood provide habitat for many creatures and vegetation in the pond. This is a great place to find salamander eggs when the ice melts in early spring.

Mature Forests Much of Massachusetts’ forests are historically altered due to Massachusetts’ long agricultural heritage. Because of that many of the forests are young, the soil they occupy having once been cleared and tilled for farmland. Less than 1% of MA forests are considered old growth/mature forest (de la Crétaz, 2010). Allowing reasonably mature forest to persist without human intervention can help create more of this rare and valuable forest type which provides habitat and ecosystem services.

‘Forever wild’ is a particularly restrictive type of conservation restriction. As stated in the 1994 land use plan, in a forever wild area the only allowed activities would be the construction and maintenance of natural surface trails and the removal or management of nonnative-invasive organisms if absolutely necessary. This policy would allow forest succession to run its course without human intervention, allowing trees to grow to maturity and die, form canopy gaps, provide dead wood on the ground, and ultimately create patches of mature forest. These untouched areas could, in the words of the 1994 land use plan, “provide protection for delicate resources such as water quality and wildlife habitat, provide a model of natural processes to measure [forest] management practices against, and provide opportunity for the therapeutic benefit of contact with the nonhuman” (Conway, 1994; pg. 9-10). A forever wild conservation restriction at Gould Farm would round out the types of protected land on the property, be an expression of Gould Farm’s culture of care, providing lasting protection and stewardship of the natural landscape.

Tax Implications Since taxes are generally based on the “highest and best” use (most profitable use) of land taxes on subdividable or buildable land can be very high.

When the ability to build or subdivide land is taken away it modifies what “highest and best” use means for that land. Therefore CRs often have the beneficial impact of lowering taxation on the property or parcel.

However, since Gould Farm is a non-profit, it does not pay taxes and this particular benefit is not likely to be of great importance.

Working Woodland vs. Forest Preserve Forever wild designation would affect Gould Farm’s ability to choose how to manage its lands. Under forever wild, many current land use practices such as sugaring of maples and sustainable and responsible timber harvest would not be permissible. Before implementing a forever wild plan Gould Farm should seriously consider which rights it would need to retain to allow flexibility into the future. For example it could be written into the CR that Gould Farm retains the right to someday timber the area. One reason for doing this may be the stated need at Gould Farm to retain many options for revenue generation against an unforeseeable crisis. However, in this case it is likely that the term ‘forever wild’ would not be applicable and instead it would be a different style of conservation restriction.

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Establishing Criteria for Forever Wild Before an area suitable for forever wild conservation restriction can be found, criteria for suitability need to be established. It is important to bear in mind what forever wild is intended to do. It is intended to preserve land in a way that it will be largely free of human interference. A forever wild CR also is designed to protect habitat, unusual successional ecosystems (and therefore rare species and ecosystem services). At Gould Farm forever wild also needs to be practical and feasible in order to be successfully planned and implemented.

The following criteria were developed through examination of the legal implication of forever wild designation, the ecological context of Gould Farm, and with the involvement of the Gould Farm community.

Criteria #1: Avoid Disturbance to the Existing Working Landscape

An area to be designated for forever wild should avoid changing the land use pattern on the property. Human services come first at Gould Farm. That fact implies two main reasons for avoiding changing land use patterns.

The first is that altering land use patterns would likely affect the human services mission. If sugaring is not allowed under forever wild then it may mean that the therapeutic work program might lose this portion of its regiment. Rather than risking that type of change to the work program it is easier to avoid areas where altering the landscape would drastically alter the therapeutic work program in either farming or forestry practices.

The second reason for avoiding change to the land use pattern at Gould Farm is financially based. In the past Gould Farm has been faced with financial difficulties sufficient to cause fear about the continued operations.

Thankfully this is uncommon. However, the land and its uses as productive farm and forest have financial value, such as timber harvest or farm output, in addition to their cultural and therapeutic value. The farm community and leadership feels the need to maintain its access to these resources in order to ensure financial stability in the face of the unpredictable. The need for that access is based in the responsibility that the community has to future generations of care seekers and the recognition that while much of the care that is provided is through human and landscape interaction, there is a reality of financial input into the therapeutic system.

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Criterion #2: Protect Important Ecology Areas for forever wild should protect ecologically important areas in order to be considered suitable. This means that areas should be home to locally rare species, critical landscape in the context of western Massachusetts, and/or unusual or uncommon ecosystems.

Criterion #3: Protect Areas With No Formal Protection Locations for forever wild should not be already protected. Areas which are already under protection are unlikely to benefit further from designation as forever wild.

Criterion #4: Create Ecological Connectivity Forever wild designation should create ecological connectivity. Areas of high habitat value gain even greater value when they are connected to one another.

In particular connectivity benefits organisms, such as salamanders, that require multiple habitat types, including vernal pools for breeding and upland leaf litter habitat for foraging and overwintering.

Criterion #5: Provide Opportunities for Connecting Humans to Nature Gould Farm is a human habitat. Connecting the human community to the natural one is extremely important especially when considered within the therapeutic mission of Gould Farm. Trails are an excellent means of accomplishing this. They induce humans to walk, beneficial in its own right for health, and can bring people into the natural landscape in a structured, safe, and low impact way. Many trails already do this very well at Gould Farm. Furthermore, trails are allowed under forever wild CR and are already widely used at Gould Farm. Places which are suitable for forever wild designation at Gould Farm should be near trails or already have trails in them so that this connectivity can be achieved. Forever wild designation in particular can help human to nature connection be meaningful by providing a ‘whole’ natural landscape which is not normally accessible. Those individuals who come to Gould Farm feeling damaged or unwell can experience a landscape which helps them feel whole again.

A hemlock has the rounded top of a tree distinguished with age.

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Suitable Locations for a Forever Wild Conservation Restriction The map to the right shows suitability for forever wild in shades of grey. Those areas which meet the most criteria for siting forever wild have the darkest grey tones. Areas which are already protected are shown under purple hatching, which covers much of the northern portion of the property and around Rawson brook along the eastern property boundary.

The most suitable location for immediate forever wild designation is an unbroken, thirty-acre section of dark grey in the steep southwestern corner of the property. It is close to habitat for Jefferson salamander, which is known to need both upland and vernal pool habitats.

This forest patch also has old growth characteristics and an absence of notable human disturbance, historical or otherwise, possibly due to its slopes and inaccessibility by machine. It is fairly near trails which could be extended to allow the area to be accessed by community members. Since old growth is regionally rare and other valuable habitats on the site are already protected this place affords Gould Farm the greatest opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to regional ecosystem diversity.

profiles. Since a goal of forever wild is to give examples of untouched wilderness in a landscape that is largely altered by New England’s history it makes sense to avoid these areas when a more suitable, older growth and later successional habitat is available. Stone walls also indicate that these areas are of cultural significance to Gould Farm. They represent where farmland once was and possibly other historically important areas which the community may someday wish to investigate, revive or restore. In this sense, putting forever wild designation on these locations would make it impossible to ever restore these areas to field or repurpose them. In addition to areas which are ecologically or historically unsuited to forever wild designation, areas which are under legal protection are excluded from the possible sites for forever wild. Purple hatching overlays areas already under protection and therefore would not benefit from additional conservation restriction. The APR covers some areas of swamp in the lower campus and the twohundred foot buffer around perennial streams which is regulated in Massachusetts from cutting, filling or development.

Other areas which have a low grey tone or are white are unsuitable for a variety of reasons including their historical use, value in the existing land use pattern, or existing level of protection. One of the criteria for siting forever wild is that the location should allow for future flexibility in land use for financial revenue generation or therapeutic work. Therefore, the presence of good agricultural soils make a place unsuitable for forever wild designation because Gould Farm may wish to farm them in the future. Similarly, areas which are heavily used for sugaring with the use of machinery to carry vats of sap out of the woods are unsuitable. Furthermore, these areas have been actively managed for sugar production and thus the ecological structure of the land has been altered by active human management, not exhibiting the natural, successional structure of the forest.

At a wider scale that southwestern corner is appropriate because it abuts the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, shown in a light purple tone. This hatchery is protected land owned by the Department of the Interior. It has as part of its mission the aim to educate the public about natural ecosystems and resources through outreach and nature trails. It also raises native fish species for restoration efforts. Land protected from development connects vernal pool habitat, upland forests and riparian areas when the proposed forever wild zone is seen in the immediate context of Gould Farms neighbors. Gould Farm already has trails which bridge the Fish Hatchery’s trail network with Gould Farm’s and adding the forever wild designation to the area of this trail network could benefit both Gould Farm and the fish hatchery by adding to their visitors landscape experience.

Forever Wild Suitability

APR and wetland buffers

Fish Hatchery Fish Hatchery

Stone walls, shown as light grey paths, are an indicator of active human management of the landscape as well.

The agricultural history indicated by stone walls means that surrounding areas may have been tilled. In this case the forests which grow on these areas are unlikely to be of the highest ecological value for conservation because of possibly altered species composition or altered soil

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Options for Conservation Restrictions

Forever Wild Recommendations 1: Site a forever wild style conservation restriction in the

We propose that the additional protected area could be done as a working landscape conservation restriction.

This restriction would protect the land from development but could be tailored to suit the activity requirements of the Gould Farm community such as allowing timbering and sugaring. It also would make any future decision to use carbon credits more lucrative due to the larger area. It should be noted that forever wild designation makes an area ineligible for enrollment in a carbon credit program. Furthermore selling the development rights to areas with road frontage, as this recommended working landscape CR would, generally results in a larger financial gain. Finally, this would protect a large block of habitat of multiple ecosystem types.

unmanaged forest stands in the southwestern portion of the property which is suitable for immediate designation.

2: Establish additional protected areas over the

southern portion of the property to legally protect the area from development with exclusions for existing structures or planned expansion of buildings or agriculture.

Forever Wild Recommendations

Recommendation 2 Recommendation 1

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The area shown as “Recommendation 1” is suitable for immediate designation as a forever wild style CR. Putting a CR on the property could be done in different ways which have different implications for Gould Farm’s land use pattern and flexibility of use in the future.

The most elegant solution would be to use one CR to accomplish both Recommendations 1 and 2 simultaneously. By establishing what are known as zones of use, different areas can have different designations under one CR. That would mean different rights would be retained for each piece of land or zone of use. For instance the forever wild area would be one zone of use where only the rights to build and maintain trails or remove invasive species would be retained by Gould Farm while the rights to use the woodlands for timber or sugaring could be retained in the rest of the land under the CR. The deed could be written in any number of ways but it is important to make sure that the rights which Gould Farm wishes to keep be explicitly stated in the writing. Building or sites for future buildings could be planned for and allowed under an “exclusion” of parcels from the CR. Areas which have good agricultural soils and are already in the vicinity of the Main House complex are not under the area being recommended for CR, so the proposed land use pattern mostly retains the flexibility for future expansion of agriculture or buildings.

A different strategy is the discretionary designation of protected land in the extended area only by Gould Farm on an at-will basis. This would not protect the land legally but in many ways could protect it with the same methods and treatments getting similar results. It would require minimal change to land use practices and would have relatively low cost as no formal surveying, delineation, or legality would be involved. The downside is the southern portion of the property would lack the long term protection associated with the legal designation as a conservation restriction. Only the legally binding CR could provide the monetary benefit of selling the rights to development while a discretionary designation would only provide intermitent forest product revenue. Timber harvest could provide ongoing or intermittent monetary gain under both the legal protection scenario and the discretionary protection scenario.

While putting both areas under protection at the same time under one CR could save money due to legal fees, in any CR the land will need to be appraised for it’s market value for development in order to determine how much the rights to development are worth. Rather than doing this twice for two different types of CRs this could be done only once in this scenario. Also those areas with higher road frontage along Gould Road in the southeast may prove more lucrative to the farm financially. By protecting the southern portion of the property with multiple zones of use under one CR, Gould Farm could protect both its forestry, silvoculture and sugaring resources and it’s unique habitats and with fairly little change to their current practices.

Summary

The area in the southwestern portion of the property is suitable for immediate forever wild designation. The forever wild land would not be managed except for the building of pedestrian trails or to remove invasive species if absolutely necessary. The forever wild CR contributes to the regional context of protected land by protecting land abutting the fish hatchery to the west.

This area would provide the largest protected land gain with the least cost of resources and land use change to Gould Farm. That limited area could be supplemented by protecting additional land to the east up to the boundary of the property by Rawson Brook. Conservation efforts are generally more effective when more land is included.

More land often means a wider suite of species are protected if the land covers multiple habitat types. Even protecting larger areas of one habitat type minimizes negative processes such as edge effect while increasing space for chance events such as blowdowns and lightning strikes to open up canopy gaps and create a natural mosaic of various successional stages. In short, a conservation restriction with a forever wild zone of use ensures the conditions which are foundational to healthy and varied wildland habitat are protected into perpetuity at Gould Farm. This in turn would preserve this type of landscape experience for future generations.

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Section IV Gravel Pit Alternatives

Gravel Pit Overview The gravel pit at Gould Farm is an actively mined alluvial sediment deposit. The gravel was deposited during the recession of the glaciers that covered this landscape 14,000 years ago. Gould Farm earns about $40,000 annually in revenue from gravel which has been reported to account for about 1% of the organization’s total budget. The same local family has operated the gravel pit for about 80 years. Leigh Tryon, current gravel pit operator, is a trusted friend of the Farm. He knows the gravel pit intimately and is known in the community to be a dedicated steward of the land. He reports that the mining operation is expanding uphill to the south by about fifty feet per year. Restoration to hayfield has followed expansion. According to the farm managers, this restoration has been going well . The fields provide a valuable source of food for livestock, yielding some of the highest quality alfalfa grown on the farm.

There are potential negative impacts on groundwater quality if the integrity of the adjacent newly-constructed leach field is compromised due to changes in hydrology.

The $800,000 leach field project was engineered to meet standards for a federal groundwater discharge permit. Gould Farm is responsible for monitoring and maintaining water quality on site. Should water from the leach field start moving toward the gravel pit rather than away as it does now, there may be impacts on both the function of the leach field and the suitability of the gravel pit for desired future uses.

From a social perspective, another drawback to the gravel pit is the emotional response of many community members who perceive it as harmful to the landscape.

The mining operation causes steady disturbance when trees and soil are stripped to expose the gravel deposit.

This may affect surrounding ecology by changing habitat patterns, light, and nutrient dynamics along the edge.

Guests are not involved with gravel extraction nor is the therapeutic work program, Gould Farm’s primary mission, served directly by the gravel pit.

Panoramic view west from the top of the gravel pit.

The gravel pit is a landmark in the Gould Farm landscape and community members go there to enjoy views from the top.

Recent Leach Field Clearing Gravel PIt

View of the gravel pit from the ground.

Reclaimed haiyfields, as seen from the top of the gravel pit.

Recently cut edge of the gravel pit.

The gravel pit access road and the forest edge.

Lower Campus

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Gravel Pit Decommissioning Given that gravel mining has to cease eventually, the question is when, where, and how to stop. This decision must consider the impact of continued operations on adjacent areas as well as the final form and reuse of the retired gravel pit. In 2007 Gould Farm delineated a boundary for the southern extent of gravel extraction.

Since that time the gravel pit has nearly doubled in size to eleven-and-a-half acres and the leading edge is rapidly approaching the proposed boundary. The top of the gravel pit rises about one-hundred-fifty feet from the base. At the current rate of expansion, approximately two to four years of gravel extraction remain.

The 2007 Boundary Proposal was made prior to Gould Farm’s decision to construct a new leach field adjacent to the gravel pit and the recent construction and renovation of some Lower Campus buildings. Continuing gravel extraction may impact both areas negatively. A forest buffer of approximately four-hundred feet remains in place between the gravel pit and the Lower Campus buildings. The existing gravel pit boundary does not protect this area of forest that serves to screen the campus.

Another concern about continuing extraction is leaving enough material in place for gravel pit reclamation. Such a project will require gravel and a volume of earth large enough to grade the slope to a stable, attractive, and functional level. Requirements for the volume of material will depend on Gould Farm’s desired function for the area following decommissioning of the gravel pit. A more conservative gravel pit boundary with only one-hundred feet further expansion to the southwest and east would save more material for gravel pit reclamation and minimize further impacts to adjacent places. This proposed boundary would allow for a maximum of two years of active gravel mining at the current rate. It is understood that the boundary line will follow natural contours and may have some variability.

The gravel pit should not expand any closer to the leach field and the forest buffer between the gravel pit and lower campus should be maintained. This buffer provides habitat that is continuous with the larger area of forest to the west as well as screening between farm buildings and the gravel pit. Unless a gravel pit reclamation design calls for clearing part of this forested area, it should remain in place. Two options will arise once Gould Farm halts mining operations: abandonment or reclamation.

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Abandonment Abandonment, the typical approach used in New England over the last several decades, entails grading the gravel pit back down to a stable 3:1 slope and walking away. This hands-off approach leaves the area open and relies on natural forest succession, a process that takes decades to achieve stability. This is not an acceptable option because it conflicts with Gould Farm’s stewardship ethic, culture of care, and land use goals for a working landscape that supports healing. Gould Farm would be neglecting an asset and, in the eyes of many, leaving a scar on the landscape. An abandoned gravel pit may eventually grow into forest, but it will be an open invitation to invasive species and prone to erosion, potentially diminishing ecological integrity in an important area that is immediately adjacent to active zones of use and the water treatment facility.

engineering of new soil. Topsoil from the stripped mine area has been stored in a pile on site. As it is an impoverished growing medium that will require amendment for growing most plants, this topsoil alone will probably not be sufficient for a reclamation project (Sauer, 1998). Moving the native topsoil more than

necessary to meet objectives of the reclamation plan should be avoided because of potential for loss, increased vulnerability to erosion, and the expense of time and energy (Arbogast et al., 2000). In general, we recommend conserving on-site materials to meet the needs of any reclamation project.

Reclamation The preferred alternative is to actively reclaim the gravel pit following one or a combination of proposed alternatives. These design approaches can be broadly categorized as restoration; development for construction of new buildings; renewable energy; and an intensive agroforestry system. The alternatives are presented separately, but they are not mutually exclusive. A final plan may include elements from any of them.

For all reclamation alternatives, thorough planning will be important to ensure quality outcomes and minimize damage or excessive cost. Gould Farm should conduct feasibility studies and evaluate how well gravel pit reclamation alternatives fit within the whole land use pattern, vision, and goals. An important part of the site design and implementation process is to develop a preliminary site preparation plan with an end-state goal.

This will involve surveying the existing conditions and then creating a grading plan for slope stability, access, and drainage. An access road to the sand beds at the top of the adjacent leach field must be maintained.

Vegetation for slope stabilization will require inputs of organic matter and other amendments to rebuild stripped soil.

Thorough analysis of the physical and chemical properties of remaining material should guide

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Gravel Pit Alternatives

Restoration Restoration of the gravel pit back to its exact original ecological condition is not possible because of the dramatic disturbance to the site. Gould Farm has an opportunity to restore ecological function and species diversity to the gravel pit and support one or more future land uses that support the operation and development of the whole land use program. Within the restoration approach, there are several alternatives.

These include pasture, meadow, shrubland, and forest.

The restoration approach chosen should target needs for specific land use with considerations for habitat value and feasibility.

A restoration project can be a part of the work program in its implementation phase as well as in its occasional maintenance as needed over time. Each of the restoration alternatives presented will require a high level of initial input with appropriate grading, increase of soil organic matter, and planting. Regular maintenance is necessary during the establishment phase to promote vitality of desired species and prevent growth of undesirable invasive species. Invasive species are a concern in the gravel pit area because they are adapted to compete on disturbed sites.

Pasture Gould Farm has been working with gravel pit contractor Leigh Tryon to restore the edge of the gravel pit to hayfields. The edge is graded to a gentle slope. Compost is incorporated and it is seeded with grass in either spring or fall. A mix of small grain and hay crops has been used, harvesting the grain in year two and leaving the hay crop to establish more fully. The grain harvest leaves four to twelve inches of grasses growing, plenty of photosynthetic material for continued growth.

It should be noted that growing biomass in the form of cover crops for three to five years prior to planting pasture can be advantageous for growing good quality crops sustainably. These cover crops are not harvested from the field but rather cut back or plowed into the soil to increase organic matter and improve fertility.

This approach is consistent with the management of farm fields that lie immediately to the north of the gravel pit. These fields are under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction, but the gravel pit is not. Continued restoration of the gravel pit to pasture and hayfields

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would require extensive grading down to less than 10% to make the slope suitable for tractor work. Following grading, compost can be spread and planted with grass.

Newly seeded pasture will take a minimum of three years to establish. It may be necessary to use physical erosion control methods such as erosion control mats or coir logs depending on the slope. Following establishment, pastures are maintained by regular grazing and cutting for hay.

(Lattrell, personal communication). Shrubland on a site such as the gravel pit can be allowed to grow into more mature forest or it can be cut back on a ten-year rotation to maintain its shrub character. The primary challenge with shrubland establishment is the management of undesired invasive species such as honeysuckle. Annual weeding of invasive species would be necessary during establishment.

Bird Habitat

A sign by the road to the gravel pit reads “Please don’t drive on our cows’ food.”

Meadow and Shrubland Meadow and shrubland are rare habitats throughout New England because they require frequent disturbance such as mowing, grazing, or fire. People prevent natural disturbance such as fire and have little economic incentive to maintain these habitats with occasional intervention. Meadows can provide valuable habitat for grassland birds and insects. Both meadow and pasture are dominated by grasses, but pasture is managed more specifically for nutritious forage crops while meadow is managed for a more diverse array of herbaceous perennials. Meadows are mowed much less frequently than pastures. Frequency of intervention necessary to maintain a meadow is influenced by species composition. Some perennials, such as goldenrod, persist long enough to maintain an open meadow for multiple decades. A meadow with species composition lacking such a persistent dominant species is more likely to grow into shrubland and forest.

Shrubland may be a good option for diversifying habitat during successional restoration because it complements shrubby wetlands to the east and provides habitat for a more diverse array of species than meadows do

Managing for grassland bird habitat may conflict with pasture management because it may require more than 11.5 acres (Motzkin, personal communication).

There may be a conflict with the APR requirements for active agricultural management of the parcel to the north of the gravel pit unless Gould Farm can include pasture rotation in meadow management or demonstrate support for pollinators. Pasturing a variety of livestock in A “pulse grazing” rotation can help manage a diversity of plants that are eaten by different animals. The main benefit of meadow management would be improving ecological integrity by supporting habitat diversity for native flora and fauna such as native warm season grasses and grassland nesting birds like Savannah Sparrows and Bobolinks.

Cephas, 2009

Savannah Sparrow

Forest Forest is the dominant landscape character of the region. Left alone, most open fields grow into forest in as few as thirty years. A small field to the west of the gravel pit is currently growing in with early successional saplings. Restoration of the gravel pit to forest would expand the surrounding forest cover into the gravel pit area and reduce fragmentation of forest habitat. There has been recent clearing for the leach field adjacent to the gravel pit and much of the forest edge is impacted by heavy use of nearby roads, buildings, and lawns.

Replanting the gravel pit with trees would not expand hayfields for livestock nutrition, but the restored forest may be usable for silvopasture, grazing livestock under trees, in the future. The former gravel pit forest stand may also be managed to yield timber resources or other non-timber forest products as it matures.

An advantage to forest restoration compared to open field restoration is the higher level of carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services such as erosion control and wildlife habitat that an intensively managed grassland does not offer (Toensmeier, 2016).

Much of the forest at Gould Farm is less than a hundred years old, but very little of it is currently in a young early successional stage. Establishing early successional habitat on a disturbed site is an opportunity to increase the acreage of a forest age class and a species composition that are underrepresented at Gould Farm and in the surrounding area.

Andrea Westmoreland, 2010

Bobolink

Pulpit Rock

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Gravel Pit Alternatives

Alternative Energies The gravel pit decommissioning could be an opportunity for development of alternative energies. Gould Farm has a well-established culture of care and land stewardship ethic. Producing clean energy and offsetting some of Gould Farm’s carbon emissions is in keeping with this ethic, but on a larger scale. Gould Farm would need an energy inventory and analysis in order to determine if solar, wind or possibly geothermal power would be useful. Understanding how much energy is used, where it is used, and when it is used, would influence the type and scale of the installation and help determine if produced power should be put into the local electrical grid or kept on site. Gould Farm should evaluate the potential for alternative energy development on the gravel pit with the following considerations: Alternative energies such as wind and solar have highly variable outputs of power because wind speed and sunlight availability fluctuate. Producers of alternative energy can either level these fluctuations themselves, through a process known as firming, or put the energy into the grid. Firming generally requires capacitors and a place to store energy for times when the availability is low. Installing these components in addition to the actual solar arrays or turbines can be expensive but putting the power directly into the grid would make firming unnecessary since the grid will firm the power itself.

Solar Power

Wind Power

Solar power is dependent on the availability of sunlight and the angle at which sun light hits the photo-voltaic surface of a solar panel and the duration of that power input. In the northern hemisphere solar panels face south to take advantage of longer duration sunlight. New research indicates that western facing solar panels in the northern hemisphere may be more efficient and effective in helping reduce mid-afternoon energy spikes which occur in south facing panels. The gravel pit’s current orientation and slopes face roughly north by northwest. It may be possible to grade the gravel pit or angle the panels in such a way that they face an optimal direction but this would also require a survey of the gravel pit and engineered plans for grading it correctly for solar. It would also be important to understand how much land would be used by the solar panels and if other land uses, such as farming or meadow habitat, would be possible around them.

Wind power generation at Gould Farm could also be evaluated. Farms are often good places to attempt localized wind power generation because they use a lot of power and tend to have open areas to place wind turbines. Most commercial wind energy production occurs at high altitudes (fifty meters off the ground or more) because the strongest and steadiest winds occur there, where surface features do not obstruct the flow of air. Preliminary data from MassGIS indicates that the wind power density at fifty meters in the vicinity of the gravel pit or on Gould Farms property is fairly low. It is unclear if large turbines of the kind commercially used would be appropriate.

Wind power is sometimes loud and some people find it visually objectionable. It would need to be discussed in the community if one wind power technology or another might be visually acceptable and in keeping with the pastoral aesthetic.

While wind energy at ffity meters of elevation at Gould Farm is not very dense as shown in the map below. The layout of the fields, forest, and gravel pit itself may create a microclimate of higher wind speed closer to the ground. Prevailing winds in the northeastern united states are from the northwest for most of the year.

Because air acts like a fluid, wind may be concentrated in the fields when it blows over the forest and into the field, sinking and collecting over the field. As air moves towards the gravel pit and hill it will accelerate because air moving close to the ground is going father than air moving higher up. Localized wind effects such as this often occur in cities or in open areas and may represent a near ground wind energy resource at Gould Farm. A study of the wind potential in the gravel pit would need to be conducted to confirm this, but some community members and members of the Conway School team have already noted strong winds in the gravel pit.

There are a few benefits to using alternative energies at Gould Farm. One would be the possible long term pay back in cost from either selling energy to the power companies or by not having to buy electricity. Another would be the offsetting of carbon emissions from Gould Farm, thereby extending the farms culture of care to the wider world by contributing to the cleansing of our air and healing from the global addiction to fossil fuels.

Any technology which is investigated should be evaluated based on its overall impact to the Gould Farm mission of human services, the work program, farming activities, and emotional impact. Some technologies may be found unsuitable by the community due to their visibility or implications for land use.

SayCheeeeeese 2012 Solar arrays in a field in Canterbury, New Hampshire

Wind is drawn down and into the fields from over the forests. As it moves over the hill it accelerates because wind traveling low over the ground has to move faster to cover the same linear distance as higher altitude wind.

Wind energy density surrounding Gould Farm.

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GRAVEL PIT: ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES

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Buildings Wind Technologies Vertical access wind turbines (VAWTS) are a new type of wind technology that integrate into the landscape better than large, industrial wind turbines. They are often around eight meters high and three meters across. They are mounted with their axis of rotation perpendicular to the ground and their generator at ground level. Standing alone they are lower in efficiency than single horizontal axis turbines but have two benefits. They are able to capture wind from multiple directions and when a number of them are placed together they are able to generate much more energy than clustered horizontal wind turbines because they do not interrupt one another’s air supply (CleanTechnica, 2011). Most VAWTs operate at peak efficiency in a range of ten to twentyfive mile per hour wind speeds and are quiet with sound levels as low as thiry decibles which is about the volume of a whispered conversation (Vandyck, 2012). Because of their size and low volume VAWTS can be installed in farm fields as long as nothing obstructs the wind. This might make them suitable for meadow habitats. They may also have lower sight and auditory impact on Gould Farm’s landscape than large wind turbines and may be better suited to the microclimate of Gould Farm.

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VAWTs Make Money Slowly Clarendon Hills Middle School in Illinois installed a single VAWT at the school in 2010 as part of an educational, student-driven project. The $40,000 project is expected to take about twenty-five years to pay for itself at a rate of around $500-$1000 annual energy savings. One reason for this long payoff is that the VAWTs’ access to prevailing winds is blocked by the school building it is installed in front of.

Furthermore it is in a city where buildings block much of the room without long open areas for wind speed to build up. Despite that, critics of the technology admit that while the project was mostly intended to be educational, there are applications where the technology is economically viable such as farms or city buildings located on long streets parallel with the wind direction. (Vandyck, 2012)

While the Gould Farm community has stated that they do not wish to prioritize revenue generation of the farm enterprise or host additional guests at the risk of the work program, using the gravel pit for commercial development or housing is still an option to bear in mind. Someday the addition of more buildings which house a fusion of economic and work program activities such as the Harvest Barn Bakery or the Roadside Café might be desirable. Maintaining the option for the creation of new buildings for commercial enterprises or housing may be something that the community should consider if it does not negatively impact the therapeutic benefits of the farm.

Additional staff or guest housing is a more likely future desire than greater financial gain. The community has not stated a need for new buildings or staff housing but has frequently stated a need to maintain long term flexibility in land use practices and the aging condition of some of the residential buildings has been noted. For the sake of maintaining flexibility, the possibility of using the gravel pit area for development is raised in this report rather than a specific recommendation.

If housing were to be expanded into the gravel pit, the steps to put in additional staff housing in the gravel pit area would be similar to those steps which have been outlined as basic requirements for any reclamation of the gravel pit. Other proposals to build housing on reclaimed gravel pits in Massachusetts have also cited the need for sewage (Gould Farm may be able to connect new buildings to its existing sewage system), soil tests, wetland delineations, environmental assessment, and traffic/parking consultation before even feasibility studies could be pursued (Dodson Associates, 2006).

Housing Precedents Many gravel pits and mines in the northeast are being slated for conversion into residential housing or for food services. In 2006, the board of selectmen for Sudbury, Massachusetts voted that the forty-six-acre gravel pit in town be utilized as housing to help reach the Town’s 10% affordable housing goal. (Sudbury Planning and Community Development, 2015) Harvard, Massachusetts in 2004 had a situation where a thirteen-and-a-half-acre gravel pit (similar in size to Gould Farm’s) abutted conservation land. A western Massachusetts company, Dodson Associates, provided design alternatives for a high-density, affordable housing development. Some community members at Gould Farm have stated a desire for co-housing options, and many of the high density designs for Harvard’s gravel pit were co-housing options. (Dodson Associates, 2006) Another example of development on mining sites is the River Valley CO-OP in Northampton, Massachusetts which was built on an old stone quarry. Building on disturbed sites means that forests, fields and undisturbed soils are not torn up for development. The precedent for building on mines like Gould Farm’s gravel pit shows that it is possible and often beneficial for communities.

(Capra, personal communication)

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Gravel Pit Alternatives

Intensive Agroforestry Gould Farm has rich forest resources that may be beneficially integrated with agricultural practices.

Agroforestry is defined by the USDA as “intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits.” Gould Farm already practices agroforestry in the form of silvopasture when they graze livestock in forested areas. Trees play an additional important role in the agricultural landscape by providing protection from wind and buffers for wetlands. A gravel pit reclamation project is an opportunity to expand agroforestry practices without altering any of the areas currently dedicated to open fields, forest, or wetland.

An agroforestry system can open new opportunities to: •Grow staple food, fuel, and fodder crops with efficient resource partitioning. In a multistrata agroforestry system, plants of various sizes occupy a wider range of niches both above ground and below than a uniform crop of herbaceous plants, shrubs, or trees can.

•Further goals for improving soil health and increasing carbon efficiency by supplementing reduced consumption with active sequestration.

Gould Farm may be able to grow its own wood chips (rather than purchasing them from elsewhere) for its new biomass burner while simultaneously building soil. Multistrata agroforests have the highest soil carbon sequestration rates of any agricultural system (Toensmeier, 2016).

•Protect water quality and prevent erosion on the gravel pit site.

•Support biodiversity in a perennial polyculture.

•Create a new tree-farming work program in which guests can experience the psychological benefits of long-term perennial agriculture.

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Biomass Fuel Gould Farm has already conducted an assessment estimating fuel needs for the new biomass burner for Lower Campus, but will not have records of actual input until the system is up and running. A feasibility study is necessary to evaluate whether or not Gould Farm can sustainably grow biomass to meet its fuel needs, whether harvesting from existing forest or growing it intensively in a coppice system. Coppiced biomass is a tree-farming system of hardwood species that sprout vigorously after being cut on a short rotation every two to seven years. Wood from coppiced trees can be chipped to fuel Gould Farm’s biomass burner. Impacts on existing forest soils from biomass harvest could be avoided with a newly planted coppiced system on the gravel pit site that limits vehicle impact to soils that are already recently disturbed.

A feasibility study should include quantitative estimates of how much biomass Gould Farm needs and how much is possible to grow on the gravel pit site. It should be noted that very short rotations (less than three years) are possible without diminishing fuel resources in the short term. However, such short rotations reduce the trees’ ability to stabilize the slope and sequester carbon in living biomass (Toensmeier, 2016). Trees harvested on such short rotations often require frequent replanting which may require greater input of labor and materials than Gould Farm can manage. With an intensive agroforestry system Gould Farm can make use of resources it already has. It may be possible to integrate perennial horticulture for a multistrata agroforestry system into existing greenhouse management and use many of the resources already in place for annual horticulture. Gould Farm has an excess of manure, compost, and coarse woody debris—all of which are valuable materials for such a project.

Growing biomass in a simplified monoculture is inadvisable on the gravel pit site. Coppiced trees alone are not enough to stabilize the slope and prevent erosion. Grasses and other herbaceous perennials are recommended not only for soil stabilization but also for additional carbon sequestration and harvestable yields such as crops for people and forage or fodder for livestock. It may also be possible to incorporate multifunctional non-coppiced trees that contribute to

www.canisfamiliaris.co.uk This image illustrates coppiced trees grown alonside a road.

nutrient cycling, yield food crops and building materials, and provide windbreaks and shade. One possibility to explore is planting sugar maple to be incorporated with the sugaring work program. Such a system of multistrata perennial polyculture has diverse yields and supports biodiversity of both flora and fauna (Jacke, 2005).

Biomass harvest can be conducted in such a way as to create conditions for healthy new growth. Once biomass is harvested from coppiced trees it has to be chipped.

The biomass system requires chips of a certain size class.

These chips must be processed and stored in a dry place.

In the short term Gould Farm is planning to buy in chips or hire a contractor to process available wood into chips on site. A coppiced biomass tree farm will take time to establish. It is unlikely that Gould Farm will be able to harvest sufficient biomass to meet all of its needs within the first five years while the trees establish. One benefit to this delay is that Gould Farm can develop a good system for harvesting and processing chips as they progressively replace chips purchased from elsewhere.

A multistrata perennial polyculture includes many different species and size classes of herbaceous and woody perennial plants. Trees, shrubs, and low-growing perennials are all represented here in a schematic of the gravel pit slope with forest at the top of the hill and a tree farm planted on the slope.

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Integrating Agroforestry into the Work Program

Preliminary Planning and Site Preparation An intensive agroforestry system on the gravel pit site will require thorough planning and high initial input during site preparation and initial establishment of plants. Preliminary site preparation will involve engineering access and water management infrastructure for the tree farm. An access road to the new leach ponds must be maintained along with appropriate access for vehicles and people moving around the tree farm. A grading plan must ensure appropriate drainage with water diversion and catchment designed to prevent erosion and take advantage of available water for plant growth. An irrigation system will be necessary during establishment and likely into the future to prevent dessication of crops during times of low rainfall.

Establishment of a multistrata perennial polyculture with coppiced biomass production on the gravel pit site will require spreading the topsoil that has been stored in a nearby pile on site followed by addition of organic

matter. Analysis of the gravel pit substrate and topsoil should be conducted to assess the soils’ physical and chemical properties that may affect plant growth. Plant choices should consider requirements for amending soil or availability of plants that are tolerant of existing soil conditions.

Applying massive quantities of compost all at once at the beginning is not an appropriate strategy because many of the available nutrients are likely to leach out of the system before they can be taken up by plants. There is a risk of damaging surface water quality and wasting nutrient resources if any kind of fertilizer is applied excessively. Compost should be applied periodically along with other sources of organic matter such as wood chips or even coarse woody debris that will decompose and release nutrients more slowly. This diversity of texture and level of decomposition will benefit the developing soil both structurally and biologically.

Gould Farm is in an active process of farm design and food systems planning in response to existing conditions, recent changes (such as the implementation of the new heating system and a fire that destroyed the chicken coop), and anticipated flux. An overarching goal of those planning efforts is to blend modern rural industry with traditional practices that have been effective at Gould Farm for many years.

Integrating an intensive agroforestry system with biomass production in the work program is a way to connect many different processes in the “art of living” (see Benton MacKaye Appendix) and ecologically responsible land use. Nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, on-site energy generation, and caring for perennial crops are all aspects of responsible land use that can be beneficial to guests recovering from mental illness. Once established, perennials in an intensive agroforestry system require relatively low maintenance compared to annual crop production. Inputs mainly

consist of providing sufficient nutrients and soil amendments to replace those that have been removed from the system. Removal of problematic weedy species and pruning are the other regular interventions requiring labor.

Members of the community have expressed concerns about expanding farm activities within the manageable capacity of the work program. Farm manager Wayne Burkhardt cautions that “we have to know that we can take care of it and endow a project with a staff position before it starts.”

Land stewardship was and remains an integral part of founder William Gould’s vision for a treatment model.

An intensive agroforestry system gravel pit reclamation project is an opportunity to further integrate forestry and farming practices on the land and improve the efficiency of nutrient, energy, carbon, and water cycles at Gould Farm within a meaningful work program.

Town Land

Gravel Pit

Leach Field

An important consideration in preliminary planning will be the potential for integration of the recently cleared leach field area in the agroforestry system. It is necessary to evaluate how trees and tree farm activities affect the function of and access to the leach field infrastructure.

Multistrata agroforestry

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GRAVEL PIT: INTENSIVE AGROFORESTRY

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Next Steps This land use plan documents existing and desired land use patterns at Gould Farm. Future land use will be impacted by how Gould Farm chooses to proceed with recommendations made for a new forever wild conservation restriction (CR) and the decommissioning and reclamation of the gravel pit. The next steps for each of these initiatives are outlined below.

Forever Wild

1. Reach consensus about proposed conservation zones and type of CR. 2. Identify a conservation partner to hold the CR. 3. Decide whether to sell or donate the CR and negotiate with the CR holder.

4. Close the deal and record the CR with the Registry of Deeds.

5. Implement and monitor the CR.

Gravel Pit

1. Enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with contractor Leigh Tryon about the boundary for ceasing gravel extraction.

2. Facilitate a community visioning process to develop reclamation goals and objectives and identify a preferred objective.

3 Initiate feasibility studies and planning for the preferred alternative.

4. Implement the preferred alternative.

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NEXT STEPS

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Section V Resources and References

Appendix A Letters from Benton MacKaye March 10. 1932 Mrs. John Sherman Hoyt, 3 East 77th Street, New York City My dear Mrs. Hoyt: Mrs. Gould has asked me to write you my impressions of Gould Farm, in Monterey, Massachusetts, with which I understand you are already familiar. My sister (Miss Hazel MacKaye) went to the Farm in November 1927 suffering from a nervous breakdown, and I have since then made repeated and extended visits there. During my stays I have made the close acquaintance of most of the Farm people, especially Mrs. Gould and others on her staff; and I have watched closely the life going on. So it pleases me to have the chance of presenting what are to my mind some of the possibilities of that institution.

Is Gould Farm an “institution”? That is the first question which presents itself. It will take a whole letter to answer this question; and to do it justice it will be a long letter. I might be brief and say merely that I consider the Farm a unique place—with able leadership, that it seems guided by a rare spirit of helpfulness and buoyant cheer, that it is “going back home” to visit there, and that I personally feel deeply beholden to its leaders for returning my sister to health. All this is true. But the farm seems to vital to public life to be thus privately disposed of. So I should like to present not an encomium of actual accomplishments (the record gives that) but an analysis of possibilities.

I see things from the background of a regional planner and a forester (I was for twelve years in the United States Forest Service). So I can best tell what (to my mind) Gould Farm is by stating what I see it to be potentially. It is not a sanitorium nor a hospital nor a boarding house, though people are cured and well fed there. I see Gould Farm as a school in the art of living.

To explain let me define: Living consists of work and play, industry and culture.

Industry in essence consists in converting natural resources into food, clothing, and shelter (“shelter” including warmth and equipment as well as roofing). In our modern mechanistic world we lose sight of the essential process, and thereby lose our sense of the means of livelihood. One of our greatest public needs is to restore that sense, especially in periods like the present. The old time New England farm was an industrial microcosm: its garden, its hand loom, its woodlot, its shop pointed to the roots for obtaining, out of the soil and forest, our food and clothing and warmth and household equipment.

Gould Farm is, or could be, such a microcosm: its summer garden and springtime maple orchard, its hand loom in the upper studio, its shop, these represent in their entirety the four corners of the Nation’s industry. By applying to these simple beginnings a little conscious educative effort the great total process could itself, I think, be in a sense unfolded.

Culture in essence comes down to art and science. Music (especially singing) is part of the Gould Farm life, a part which is being furthered and extended through the recently established music studio. Dramatic art and reading aloud (around the open fire)—these form another important farm activity. The scientific study of outdoor nature might be more vigorously furthered, and a world of opportunity lies at the door. The blazing and cutting of wood paths and the establishment of “nature trails” make the readiest approach to this line of outdoor culture.

Here then in these activities appear to be the ingredients for moulding a real art of balanced living—the value of which as a restorative measure cannot I think be overestimated. But “ingredients” alone are not enough. They must be integrated—even as the flour and the yeast. In no place that I know of has this been done; certainly in no

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conventional school of learning. To do this would seem to be Gould Farm’s special function—possibly its biggest service in a bewildered world and country suffering from confusion as to the means and ends of life. Indeed to purge this confusion, in the mind of any individual, makes a mental treatment in itself.

How to achieve this synthesis of simple purposeful activity (in contrast to the aimless chaos of complex mechanistic life)? This makes too long a story to enter here (some informal but systematic study might be the thread to bring the parts together). But I believe that Gould Farm, through its tradition and its present tendencies, through the keeping alive of ideas of its great founder, blended with increasing scrutiny of the present forces working in the outside world, it capable of doing this big thing. A school of living such as I can see would make an institution in itself—one which apparently has not quite come to pass within this country.

And now I am prepared to give my own answer to the question put at the beginning of this letter—Is Gould Farm an “institution”? The answer is no; but it seems to be the seed of the thing which I have attempted to describe.

Severe handicaps may prevent this consummation. I am impressed by the heavy load of daily household routine.

Whether this could be lightened with the present plant I am not prepared to say. Without question a new building is needed urgently—not alone to lighten daily burdens but for downright safety. The danger from one source alone— that of the use of kerosene stoves—is enough to condemn the present equipment.

I have written thus at length not merely from a sense of personal obligation but for a profound service rendered but because as a planner, and a would-be revealer of the possible, I see this modest effort as something of very deep importance. Gould Farm has gone far in the direction of the goal herein set up—so far indeed that I think it should go farther. Gould Farm is no mere “charity”: it is a potent social force.

I am very happy, as stated at the start, to be given this opportunity of writing to you on a matter so much within my thoughts.

Very sincerely yours, Benton MacKaye

Gould Farm May 29, 1945 Memorandum for Mrs. Gould Concerning the Gould Farm Woodland Having in mind a letter from you written some months ago about your fuel and woodland problems, I have, since arriving here the other day, been giving the matter some attention. Yesterday I made two trips into the woods - one with Raymond Olds and the other with William Gilchrist. I am now recording for your information some ideas drawn from my conversations with these two men.

The Farm property, as I understand, covers some 500 acres, of which at least half may properly be classed as permanent woodland. This is a typical mixture of white pine and hardwood (largely paper birch) in various stages of growth. What I have seen is in fairly good condition except for the need of thinning, of cutting out dead and damaged trees, and of brush clearing here and there.

Your immediate and constant need is fuel wood - from 100 to 125 cords a year, I’m told. This should be forthcoming from the damaged trees just noted and (under suitable management) from the normal growth of thinnings throughout the total woodland areas. Hence there is no necessity apparently for clearing off (or cutting clean) any

APPENDIX A

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Appendix B substantial patch or patches of land. Thus you can, if you wish,preserve your forest intact, in short - have it and use it too.

This brings us to the basic question before yourself (or any other proprietor) - just what is it that you wish.

Two quite definite and opposing policies may be set up. Between these a definite choice should be made and held to, unless there is to be incessant confusion and misunderstanding between proprietor and woods’ boss. Such has been my own observation covering forty years of forestry experience. The policies aforesaid seek the following objectives.

1) Maximum yield of lumber This requires letting the best trees grow to financial maturity (when annual growth begins to lag) and then cutting them all down. This means (usually but not always) cutting an area absolutely clean and preparing it for a second crop. It means cutting holes in the forest rather than keeping it intact.

2) Optimum psychological influence This may sound like a fancy term. But it has in forestry a definite technical meaning. There are two opposing outward influences at work on the human mind. One is that of the city street - of subway, electric sign, and radio. The other is that of the forest path - or of unmolested nature. Each has its use. For purposes of psychological rehabilitation, the forest influence is uppermost. It is the environment of calm as against that of confusion. To obtain this fully on any given acreage of woodland requires keeping the forest canopy intact and letting the best trees grow to their climax in old age.

In each case, (1) and (2), thinnings and improvement cuttings can and should be made. Theoretically the time would come when no more thinnings could be had. On Gould Farm this would not be for many years. Meanwhile you could reasonably depend on getting your needed yearly fuel supply.

For the purpose of Gould Farm I should suppose that policy (2) -- not policy (1) - would be most appropriate. Properly developed it could be made the basis of a therapy all its own. Methods of woodcraft and kindred pursuits, to fit the temperament of art or science, have been well worked out and tested. For such activity of body and mind I am unacquainted with any better opportunity than the one afforded by the natural setup of Gould Farm.

On these matters you appear to have good counsel near at hand. I am impressed with the keen sense and high appreciation exhibited by our friends Olds and Gilchrist. They tell me that you have available also the good advice of the State District Forester, Harold Green, with headquarters in Swan Forest.

With these various advantages I should think that an interesting forest program could be developed and made a valuable asset. Operations should be planned in advance and laid out on an accurate map of the Farm property.

Careful records should be kept.

All woods’ work should be under thorough supervision. Where possible, trees should be marked for cutting by a competent woodsman. Brush should be disposed of so as to preclude all fire hazard. No brush burning should be started except under special care and under a permit, as required by law, from the Town Fire Warden. A system of fire protection trails should be established. For psychological as well as practical ends the Farm might well promote an extended “Forest Mindedness.”

I am newly impressed with the vital possibilities herein sketched. Such assistance on my part as may be possible awaits, of course, your call.

With high esteem.

Benton MacKaye

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Forest Statement by Bob Rausch for Forest Stewards Guild Gould Farm, the oldest psychiatric rehabilitation center in the country, was established in 1913 by Will and Agnes Gould. Located in Monterey, Massachusetts, the farm presently consists of about 630 acres, of which over 500 is forested. Old photos from the turn of the century depict an open landscape of pasture, hayfield and tillage. The steepsided hills were wooded coppice cuts that provided firewood and fence posts. As the many charcoal “pits” remaining today attest, the owners once leased out these woods for the production of charcoal to feed hungry local iron-making furnaces.

Much of the cultural and natural history of the Gould Farm woodlands is revealed in the stone walls, spreading pasture trees, chestnut stumps and old homestead foundations. Also reminiscent are the wells, old roads, ancient sugar bushes concealing arches where sap was once boiled, test diggings for iron deposits, and old barbed wire and chestnut fence posts.

Benton MacKaye, forester under Gifford Pinchot, regional planner, author of The New Exploration, and founding father of the Appalachian Trail, was a friend of Gould Farm. In a letter to Mrs. Gould dated May 29, 1945, MacKaye gave the following advice to her regarding the Gould Farm forest: Two quite definite and opposing policies may be set up. Between these a definite choice should be made and held to, unless there is to be incessant confusion and misunderstanding between proprietor and woods’ boss. Such has been my own observation covering forty years of forestry experience. The policies aforesaid seek the following objectives: 1) Maximum yield of lumber. This requires letting the best trees grow to financial maturity (when annual growth begins to lag) and then cutting them all down. This means (usually but not always) cutting an area absolutely clean and preparing for a second crop. It means cutting holes in the forest rather than keeping it intact.

2) Optimum psychological influence. This may sound like a fancy term, but it has in forestry a definite technical meaning. There are two opposing outward influences at work on the human mind. One is that of the city street?of subway, electric sign, and radio. The other is that of the forest path?or of unmolested nature. Each has its use. For purposes of psychological rehabilitation, the forest influence is uppermost. It is the environment of calm as against that of confusion. To obtain this fully on any given acreage of woodland requires keeping the forest canopy intact and letting the best trees grow to their climax in old age. … For the purpose of the Gould Farm, I should suppose that policy (2), not policy (1), would be most appropriate.

Properly developed it could be made the basis of a therapy all its own. Methods of woodcraft and kindred pursuits, to fit the temperament of art or science, have been worked out and tested. For such activity of body and mind I am unacquainted with any better opportunity than the one afforded by the natural setup of Gould Farm…For psychological as well as practical ends the Farm might well promote an extended “Forest Mindedness.”

Today, Gould Farm’s woodlands are crisscrossed by a network of hiking trails and wood roads that are also used for collecting maple sap and firewood. “Diane’s Trail,” named in memory of my wife Diane Rausch who died of cancer in 1992, is open to the broader public. Largely a wetland trail, it has allowed many individuals and groups to learn about this unique habitat. In fact, our Model Forest woodlands have nurtured the lives of many in need. Gould Farm is a community of about 100 individuals of all ages who hike, ski, explore, and find solace in these forests.

In the last 30 years there have been three forest management plans and several linked commercial harvests.

Moldering stumps reveal even earlier harvesting. The harvests have always been done with care and concern for this valuable resource and the community it serves. Consequently, we have protected our trails and saved specimen trees and majestic pines with a sensitivity that has fostered a respect for the forest. This has ultimately led to Gould Farm’s Model Forest designation. There have been several forestry-related events at the farm over the years, and we hope to have more in order to further the forest program and continue to develop MacKaye’s “Forest Mindedness.”

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References (continued from previous page) Gould Farm’s status as a Forest Stewards Guild Model Forest has, I believe, added social meaning – touching the lives of all that stay and pass through our family of helping friends. Benton MacKaye wrote years ago, “Gould Farm is no mere ‘charity’; it is a potent social force.” Joe Zorzin, author of Gould Farm’s 2006 Forest Stewardship Plan, agrees that “the primary land-management objective is for the property to be a healing environment for its guests.”

Recommended Resources “Landscape Conservation: Forever Wild in Northfield.” Landscape Conservation: Forever Wild in Northfrield. Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. Web. Feb. 2016 “DEEP: Wildlife.” DEEP: Wildlife. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. web. Mar. 2016.

“Thompson Family ‘Forever Wild’ Preserve.” Opacum Land Trust. Opacum Land Trust. Web. Feb. 2016.

Saumure, Raymond A., Dr. “WoodTurtle.com-Biology of the NA Wood Turtle.” WoodTurtle. n.p. Web. Mar. 2016 Thompson, Jonathan. Changes to the Land: Four Scenarios for the Future of the Massachusetts Landscape. Petersham, MA: Harvard Forest, 2014. Print.

“Farming the Wind: Wind Power and Agriculture.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. Feb. 2016.

“Forest Legacy Program.” USDA Forest Service - forest legacy program. USDA. Web. Mar. 2016.

“WOCAT: Home.” WOCAT: Home. World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies Web. Mar. 2016.

Image Credits Images of Gould Farm were generously given to the 2016 Conway Team by the Gould Farm community or taken, with permission, from the Official Gould Farm website between January and March of 2016. Other images not otherwise cited were taken by the 2016 Conway School team or are part of the creative commons with no restrictions on reuse.

Images requiring authors are all from creative commons on wikimedia and are labeled with image author and date of original publication.

Coppiced Biomass Image.

Altered by: 2016 Conway School team using Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe Illustrator CC. Original Image: www. canisfamiliaris.co.uk.

Found on “Permaculture Projects: Coppicing.” Temperate Climate Permaculture. John Kitsteiner. 11 Jun. 2011. Web. Feb. 2016.

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REFERENCES

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Works Cited Andrew. “CalTech Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Boost Wind Farm Power Efficiency 10x.” CleanTechnica. CleanTechnica., 14 July 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Arbogast, Belinda F, Daniel H Knepper Jr. and William H Langer. The Human Factor in Mining Reclamation. Denver, CO: Us Geological Survey, 2000.

GOULD FARM GROUP HONORED AT A TEA. (1935, Feb 14). New York Times (1923-Current File) Web. Mar. 2016.

“Planning & Community Development.” Sudbury, MA Planning Community and Development. Planning Community and Development, 8 June 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Toensmeier, Eric. The Carbon Farming Solution. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2016..

de La Cretaz, Avril, et al. An Assessment of the Forest Resources of Massachusetts. USDA Forest Service, Jun. 2010.

Web. Feb. 2016.

Anne Capra (planner) in personal communication with the author Grant Kokernak, Feb. 2016.

“Agroforestry.” Agroforestry. United States Department of Agriculture. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

Vandyck, Tom. “With Long Paybacks, Vertical Turbines Still a Tough Sell.”Midwest Energy News. Midwest Energy News., 1 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Dodson Associates, Ltd. Housing Alternatives for the Whitney Gravel Pit. Ashfield, MA. January 2006. Web. Mar. 2016.

Flory, Janet, and Randy Neel. Monterey, Massachusetts Natural Resource Inventory and Land Use Plan. Monterey: Monterey Planning Board, 1975. Print.

“Working Landscapes - Sustaining Our Rural Economy.” Working Landscapes. Working Landscapes, 2016. Web. Mar. 2016.

Zorzin, Joseph. Gould Farm Forest Stewardship Plan. n.p. 2006. Print.

Foster, David R., et al. Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the New England Landscape. Petersham, MA: Harvard Forest, 2010. Print.

Glen Motzkin (ecologist) and Bill Lattrell (wetland ecologist) in personal discussion with the author, Faren Worthington, 2016.

GeoHydroCycle, Inc. “Hydrogeological Ecaluation Report Transmittal# X259730.” 2014. February 2016. electronic.

Jacke, Dave and Eric Toensmeier. Edible Forest Gardens. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2005.

William J. Mckee. Gould Farm: A Life of Sharing. William J. Gould Associates. Monterey, MA. 1994. Print.

“Forest Stewardship Program.” Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs. continual update. March 2016. Web. Keith Ross (Conway Board Chair) in personal communication with author Faren Worthinton. Feb. 2016.

Sauer, Leslie J. The Once and Future Forest. Washington DC: Island Press, 1998.

Smith, Steven K, and Terry Beitzel. One Hundred Years of Service Through Community: A Gould Farm Reader. , 2014.

Internet resource.

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WORKS CITED

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Map References LOCATION OF GOULD FARM

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PROTECTED LAND

ACCESS AND CIRCULATION

MASS GIS Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16

2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm location. created 3/16

BERKSHIRE COUNTY LAND USE PAT TERN PAGE 16

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary Gould Farm Trails Gould Farm Stonewalls Gould Farm A.P.R. Town Land Gould Farm buildings

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary Gould Farm buildings Agricultural Preservation Restriction polygon MASS GIS Jan. 2009, MA DEP Wetlands (1:12,000). accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed 2/16

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MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 NRCS GEOSPATIAL DATA GATEWAY 2011 National Land Cover Dataset. accessed: 2/16

Gravel pit polygon. created: 2/16 New clearing polygon. created: 2/16 New leach field polygon. created: 2/16

UPPER CAMPUS BUILDINGS

HOUSATONIC RIVER WATERSHED IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY

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MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2010, Major Watersheds. accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010 MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL DATA GATEWAYY National Hydrography Dataset (1:25,000). accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm location. created: 3/16

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2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gravel pit polygon. created: 2/16 New clearing polygon. created: 2/16 New leach field polygon. created: 2/16

GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary Gould Farm buildings Gould Farm forestry stands Town Land MASS GIS Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16

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MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2015, Protected and Regional Openspace. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm location. created 3/16

GOULD FARM HYDROLOGY

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary Gould Farm Buildings

PAGE, 47

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary MASS GIS continual update, NHESP certified vernal pools. accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 Jan. 2009, MA DEP 1:12,000 Wetlands. accessed: 2/16 Feb. 2011, MA BioMap2. accessed: 2/16

FOREVER WILD SUITABILITY

PAGES 57 & 58

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary Gould Farm Trails Gould Farm Stonewalls Gould Farm A.P.R. MASSACHUSET TS GIS Mar. 2015, Protected and Regional Openspace. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 Feb. 2011, MA BioMap2, accessed: 2/16

MA GIS Jun. 2003, Elevation Contours. accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 Jan. 2009, MA DEP 1:12,000 Wetlands. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Water Flow Direction. created: 3/16

SURFICIAL GEOLOGY

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary MASS GIS Oct. 1999, 1:250,000 Surficial Geology. accessed: 3/16

AGRICULTURAL SOILS IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY

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PROTECTED LAND IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY

2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm location. created 3/16

2016 GRAVEL PIT BOUNDARY PROPOSAL

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MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2012, SSURGO certified soils. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm location. created 3/16

AGRICULTURAL SOILS

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Boundary MASS GIS Ortho Imagery. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY TEAM Curtis Foundation Point More Conservative Boundary Proposal 2007 Proposed Boundary Gravel pit area

WIND POWER DENSITY

2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould Farm sugaring areas

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary Gould Farm Trails Gould Farm Stonewalls Gould Farm A.P.R. Town Land Gould Farm buildings MASS GIS Jun. 2003, Elevation Contours (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2010, MA DOT roads. accessed 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM

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2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM Gould farm gravel pit boundary. created: 2/16

FOREST TYPES AT GOULD FARM

MASS GIS Jun. 2003, Elevation Contours (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2010, MA DOT roads. accessed 2/16

Gravel pit polygon. created: 2/16 New clearing polygon. created: 2/16 New leach field polygon. created: 2/16

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary Gould Farm forestry stands MASS GIS Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 Jan. 2009, MA DEP Wetlands (1:12,000). accessed: 2/16

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary Gould Farm Trails Gould Farm Stonewalls Gould Farm A.P.R. Town Land Gould Farm buildings

LOWER CAMPUS BUILDINGS

GOULD FARM LAND USE PAT TERN

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MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 Feb. 2011, MA BioMap2. accessed: 2/16

CORE HABITATS & RARE SPECIES

MASS GIS Jun. 2003, Elevation Contours (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Mar. 2010, MA DEP 1:25,000 hydrography. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2010, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY SCHOOL TEAM

ECOLOGY CONTEXT

2016 CONWAY TEAM Riparian Area buffer. created: 3/16 Open Land and Forest. created: 3/16

MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Buildings Town Land Gould Farm property boundary

MASS GIS Feb 2005, Shaded Relief (1:5,000). accessed: 2/16 Nov. 2014, County Boundaries. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2010, Major Watersheds. accessed: 2/16

SITE OVERVIEW

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm property boundary MASS GIS Aug. 2007, Wind Power Density at 50m. accessed: 2/16 2016 CONWAY TEAM Gravel Pit polygon. created: 2/16

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MARK LIT TLE Gould Farm Property Boundary APR polygon Gould Farm buildings MASS GIS Nov. 2012, SSURGO certified soils. accessed: 2/16 Jun. 2014, MA DOT roads. accessed: 2/16

MAP REFERENCES

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Acknowledgements Our thanks to: The Gould Farm Community With special thanks to Lisanne Finston, Mark Little, William Barnes, and Bob Rausch

The authors of the 1994 Land-use Master Plan for Conservation and Continuation at Gould Farm Katherine Anderson, Grey Angell, and Daniel Schell

The Conway School Faculty and Visiting Instructors Members of The Conway School’s Class of 2016

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GOULD FARM LAND USE PLAN