FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Bill Tucker, Goffstown VICE CHAIR

Drew Kellner, Brookline SECRETARY

Karen Moran, Webster TREASURER

Andrew Smith, Twin Mountain PRESIDENT

Jack Savage, Middleton BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Charlie Bridges, New Durham Deb Buxton, Greenfield Bill Crangle, Plymouth George Epstein, Silver Lake Elizabeth Salas Evans, Weare Peter Fauver, North Conway Don Floyd, Concord Allyson Hicks, Concord Jason Hicks, Meredith Deanna Howard, Etna Patricia Losik, Rye Nancy Martland, Sugar Hill Michael Morison, Peterborough Tom Wagner, Campton Janet Zeller, Concord STAFF

Will Abbott, Project Manager, The Rocks Frank Allen, Building and Grounds Assistant Dave Anderson, Senior Director of Education Anna Berry, Digital Outreach Manager Nik Berube, Maintenance Assistant Naomi Brattlof, Director of Easement Stewardship Rita Carroll, Tree Farm Administrator Tony Cheek, Vice President for Finance Connie Colton, Land Protection and Stewardship Coordinator Andy Crowley, Stewardship Projects Manager Linda Dammann, Development Assistant Carrie Deegan, Reservation Stewardship and Engagement Director Maria Finnegan, Manager of Individual Giving Leah Hart, Land Protection Specialist Stacie Hernandez, Land Protection Specialist and

Regional Stewardship Manager Laura Holske, Finance Specialist Brian Hotz, Vice President for Land Conservation Steve Junkin, Field Forester Sarah Kern, Creek Farm Education Program Coordinator Susanne Kibler-Hacker, Senior Philanthropy Advisor Allan Krygeris, Senior Technology Specialist Sara Krzyzaniak, Data Processor Rebecca Lapitino, Policy & Reservation Stewardship Coordinator Matt Leahy, Public Policy Director Cameron Larnerd, Land Steward & Volunteer Coordinator Margaret Liszka, Membership Director Nigel Manley, Director, North Country Properties Ann McCoy, Development Manager Jack Minich, Regional Stewardship Manager Michelle Morse, Human Resource Director Carl Murphy, Facilities Manager Meredith Reed O’Donnell, Foundation Relations Manager Tina Ripley, Administrative Assistant John Plummer, Regional Stewardship Manager Gabe Roxby, Field Forester Jack Savage, President Matt Scaccia, Recreation and Community Relations Manager Ryan Smith, Communications Manager Maria Stewart, Senior Executive Assistant Anne Truslow, Vice President for Development Wendy Weisiger, Managing Forester Harriette Yazzie-Whitcomb, Receptionist

Our Durable Mission

As I write “From the President’s Desk,” I am sitting at the Presidents’ Desk. It was manufactured primarily from oak and was used by Jane Difley before me, by Paul Bofinger before her, and likely by Larry Rathbun prior to that. Based on its vintage, it may have been used by Philip Ayres a century ago.

Our desk rests on the hardwood floor in the Weeks Wing, added to the Conservation Center headquarters in 1990. The walls of the President’s office feature pine paneling. Visitors enter the office through the wooden door and are offered a seat on wood-framed chairs around a wood table, where we can look through wood-framed windows across the Merrimack River valley.

Stored carbon was not likely on the minds of any of the craftspeople making these products decades ago. But nonetheless, as I sit at this desk, I am literally surrounded by carbon stored in durable wood products. And if the forests from which the surrounding wood was harvested have managed to remain as forests, then they have already regenerated more trees, sequestering more carbon, while continuing to provide multiple benefits in clean air, water, wildlife habitat, and perhaps recreation.

We care about carbon taken up by trees today because of climate change. As we learn more about the carbon cycle and foresters include carbon sequestration and storage among our forest management goals, the value of durable wood products is often overlooked. When long-lasting wood replaces energy-hungry products like concrete or steel, it offers a measurable climate benefit. A vibrant wood market allows private landowners, who control 73 percent of New Hampshire’s forestland, to keep their forests as forests.

On page 24, Matt Leahy articulates our case for sustainable forest management in the face of those who would have forestland owners manage exclusively for carbon. Good forestry can foster multiple benefits, including carbon. The real threat we face is forest conversion, which continues at a steady pace.

The Forest Society’s 1904 mission to “perpetuate forests through their wise use and complete reservation in places of special scenic beauty” is as relevant today as ever. Born of the effort to convince society—and Congress in particular—that the White Mountain National Forest (among others east of the Mississippi) were a worthy and necessary goal, it seeks to bring resource managers and preservationists together in a common purpose. Yes, there are some places we leave untouched. And, yes, we can make sustainable (wise) use of an abundant renewable resource in our region.

To keep forests as forests, we must be willing to strike the same balance. It’s a mission as durable as the desk at which I sit.

Jack Savage is the president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. He can be reached by email at jsavage @forestsociety.org.

Bretzfelder Series A virtual series for virtually everyone forestsociety.org/bretzfelder-series

Tree Farmers of the Year Owners of Woods Without Gile honored forestsociety.org/2022-tree-farm

A Major Earth Day Mount Major gets some much-needed TLC forestsociety.org/mountmajorearthday

We kicked off our season today by joining the Forest Society’s DIY clean-up day at Mount Major! Trash pickup is a passion of ours and our team did an awesome job finding micro trash and hidden drink containers. With tens of thousands of visitors every year, Mount Major is one of the most visited mountains in the state. That means the trails and parking lot need lots of extra love to keep them usable and clean. Thanks to the Forest Society for maintaining beautiful spaces like this and thanks to all the volunteers who did their part! Earth Day is not the only day to be a good outdoor steward and you don’t need to attend an event to be a volunteer trash pickerupper! Show your love for our Earth by doing your part to keep it clean! @pinelineoutdoors Tag #forestsociety on Instagram for a chance to be featured in a future issue of Forest Notes.

CONNECT WITH US!

facebook.com/ForestSociety

@ForestSociety

@Forest_Society

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

A nonprofit membership organization founded in 1901 to protect the state’s most important landscapes and promote wise use of its renewable natural resources. Basic annual membership fee is $40 and includes a subscription to Forest Notes. Editor: Ryan Smith Design & Production: The Secret Agency Printing: R.C. Brayshaw & Company, Inc. Forest Notes is printed on elemental chlorine-free Sappi Flo paper with 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. Sappi Flo is made from pulp purchased from suppliers who document sound environmental practices and sustainable forest management. Permission is required for reproduction of any part of this magazine. Copyright 2022 SPNHF. US ISSN: 0015 7457 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, N.H. 03301 | Phone: 603-224-9945 | Fax: 603-228-0423 info@forestsociety.org | forestsociety.org The Forest Society proudly supports the following organizations: