VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Your Association is run entirely by volunteers and in need of help on the education committee. Please contact President Rob Viani (rviani@charter.net) or Steve Broderick if you would like to help out. A very little time and effort can go a long way!!
ANNUAL MEETING on Thursday, May 26
More info and map under EVENTS
UPCOMING ELECTIONS - MAY 2011
Elections for officers and Directors of the Eastern Connecticut Landowners Association and Wolf Den Land Trust will be held at the May 2011 Annual Meeting
2011 – SUMMER RESEARCH SEMINAR SERIES –
AT YALE MYERS FOREST
As always, 7 pm for Refreshments
7:30 for the Talk
Thursday, June 16th
THE CUTTING EDGE
Join Dr. Roland DeGouvenain, assistant professor of biology at Rhode Island College, as he kicks off the summer with a talk on forest edges. He and students in his forest ecology lab have been studying gap-to-edge-to-forest gradients to explore how trees (seedlings and adults) and other components of the ecosystem (such as soil microbes) respond to experimental gaps.
Thursday, June 30th
A SALTED SALAMANDER: IMPACTS OF ROAD RUNOFF ON AMPHIBIANS
Come hear Steve Brady, doctoral candidate in the School of Forestry and Environmental studies talk about impacts of road-runoff on wetland amphibians. He is particularly interested in the ecological consequences of environmental contamination on different amphibian populations.
Thursday, July 14th
ANTS MAKE THE WOOD GO ROUND
Join Dr. Mark Bradford, assistant professor of terrestrial ecosystem ecology in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, as he breaks down the role of ants in wood decomposition and understory plant performance. Mark’s primary research aim is to understand the impacts of global change on plants, animals and microbes – and how this affects the carbon cycle – using study sites in the southeastern US and New England.
Thursday, July 28th
MOOSE ON THE LOOSE
Edward Faison, researcher with Highstead and Harvard Forest, will talk about his regional study on the effects of moose and deer browsing on forest regeneration. Rebounding deer populations and the return of moose to central and southern New England may have significant impacts on future forest composition.
Directions to Yale Myers Camp: From New Haven, take I91N to I84E to Exit 71, left off the
ramp and straight through 2 stop signs and 2 blinking stop lights, onto a dirt road and then back to pavement for ~1.75 miles, look for orange gate on left. Locally, head west on Centre Pike from the junction of Rte 171, look for orange gate ~1 mile on right. 150 Centre Pike, Eastford, CT 06242 (203) 927-4195
More information at www.environment.yale.edu/forests
VERNAL POOL INVENTORIES IN THE TOWNS OF CANTERBURY, POMFRET AND WOODSTOCK
See more information: Volunteer to Search for Vernal Pools
WHERE TO BUY CONIFER SEEDLINGS
The State Nursery is closed until further notice. The Eastern CT Soil & Water Conservation District has a seedling sale every year and their order forms are out now (02/07). Contact Scott Gravatt at (860) 774-0224 for more info. You can buy conifer seedlings in multiples of 25 or 50, as well a lots of other landscape plants, etc. Proceeds go to further their conservation programs.
CT TREES AND FOREST CORN MAZE
For a truly fun and educational experience this fall, Steve Broderick of UCONN recommends checking out Chris Kueffner’s Connecticut Trees and Forests corn maze on Merrow Road in Mansfield (http://merrowmaze.com/). Folks of all ages will learn and enjoy.
MAPS OF WOLF DEN LAND TRUST PROPERTIES AVAILABLE ONLINE
Maps that you can click on or download are now available online for the Gardner, Sherman and Shoemaker Properties. These three properties and several others have a trail system, and are open to the public for passive recreation such as birding and day hiking. No motorized vehicles are allowed.
INVASIVE PLANT GUIDE AVAILABLE
The U.S. Forest Service State & Private Forestry Division has just published a new, weather-resistant, color illustrated, pocket-sized “Invasive Plants Field and Reference Guide: an ecological perspective of plant invaders of forests and woodlands.” To quote the introduction, “the purpose of this particular field guide is to give a scientific synthesis of what is known about the behavior of such species in managed, disturbed, and pristine forested systems, in addition to key information for accurate identification.” The guide includes an extensive list of citations of peer-reviewed research on each species for those who wish to learn more. The pages are bound in a steel-ring loose leaf format, and the Forest Service anticipates printing additional sheets that can be added to the guide. Single copies can be obtained by contacting Tom Rawinski at the U.S. Forest Service Durham New Hampshire office: (603)868-7642 or trawinski@fs.fed.us
ECFLA DONATES BLUEBIRD BOXES TO TRAIL DEDICATED TO ROBERT V. SMITH
A bluebird trail set up at the closed Woodstock Landfill includes boxes donated by ECFLA/WDLT. The trail is dedicated to Robert Smith, who built thousands of bluebirds boxes for ECFLA. See the article in our next newsletter.
BLUEBIRD BOXES
Steve Laume, a master woodworker in Chaplin, is volunteering
to make bluebird nestboxes for sale at fairs ($8.00, including an educational brochure).
DEER MANAGEMENT GUIDE PUBLISHED
Cornell Cooperative Extension has a new publication to help communities address deer management problems: Community-Based Deer Management: A Practitioner’s Guide <http://cce.cornell.edu/store/customer/home.php>, by Daniel J. Decker, Daniela B. Raik, William F. Siemer. This guide synthesizes a growing body of research and field experience to describe specific key dimensions to consider when engaging in community-based deer management.
You can obtain a copy at the secure online bookstore: www.cce.cornell.edu/store, or call (607-255-2080) or fax (607-255-9946) your order with a valid credit card, or mail a check for $19.95 (includes shipping) to The Resource Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension, P.O. Box 3884, Ithaca, NY 17852-3884. Make your check payable to Cornell University. See list of other publications useful to forest landowners.
SUDDEN
OAK DEATH ADVISORY
Researchers and foresters are concerned that Sudden
Oak Death has the potential to have a catastrophic impact similar
to that of Dutch Elm Disease or Chestnut Blight. Sudden Oak Death
has never been found in the wild in the eastern United States.
To date, it has been found only on nursery stock in nurseries. The CT Agricultural Experiment Station has now confirmed that Sudden Oak Death has been imported into Connecticut on infected nursery stock, which was then sold and planted in the environment. For more information see a DEP Forestry advisory at http://ecfla.org/sod.htm.
LAW HELPS LANDOWNERS WITH ATV AND SNOWMOBILE
PROBLEMS
Public Act 03-276 requires that operators of
snowmobiles or all terrain vehicles, when operating such
a vehicle on any lands, fenced and/or posted or otherwise,
obtain written permission and carry such permission on
their person while operating such vehicles on such properties.
(Effective date: 7/1/03.) "NO ATV" signs will be available for sale at the ECFLA/WDLT booths at the 2004 Brooklyn and Woodstock Fairs, for $4 each, or 3 for $10 while supplies last. For more info, click here. Also see Dennis Hodgin's article: Connecticut's Worst Invasive Species - ATVs.
Photo by Cherie Layton, The BluebirdNut |
