Town Forest Management Presentation 10-18-21

Dave Wood, Grantham Conservation Commission Chair

The presentation below is a discussion of the plan to manage, and hopefully enhance, the Grantham Town Forest. The plan will have a substantial visual impact on the Town Forest and will be especially noticeable to those using the Croydon Turnpike.  For that reason, the Commission thought is important to give the users of the park a chance to learn about and discuss the various issues that have led to the current plan.  

Our two presenters are Matthias Nevins, the forester from Meadowsend Consulting Company, who has been hands-on selecting the trees to be cut and those to be left and working with the loggers to devise the optimal way to remove the trees from the forest.  Matthias hold a Masters in Forest Science from the Univ of Vermont.  He will be followed by Dode Gladders, the Sullivan County Forester and Field Specialist for the UNH Cooperative Extension.  Dode holds a Masters in Forest Resource Science from the Univ of Georgia.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Grantham Town Forest, it is located in the northwestern corner of Grantham and is accessible by car from Miller Pond Road.  The Forest consists of a contiguous 434 acres at the end of Miller Pond Road.  An additional 29 acres to the south of the road known variously known as the Smith or Fisher Lot is shown here outlined in yellow.  The presentation below discusses the logging operations planned for this winter in both properties and the issues that were considered in creating the plans.