Yankee Division

Understanding Southern New England Forests
How to promote long-term health and resilience through stewardship
Click photos for more information!
This website offers resources to learn about stewarding
southern New England woodlands
To find out more about us and our goals: check out the "About Us" and "Our Region" pages
To find out more about forests, foresters, and reasons for forest management: check out the "Forestry Explained" pages which focus on the many benefits our forests provide.
For a collection of informative materials: check out the "Resources" page
Please join us in learning more about forests in this era of climate change!


What's going on lately?
SAF addresses a political movement
known as 'proforestation'
Generally speaking, 'proforestation' advocates seek to ban active forest management on public lands, and is founded on the belief that, in the face of climate change, we can maximize carbon sequestration and storage through a halt on all forest management activities which may remove carbon, such as logging, thinning, controlled burning, or even wildfire prevention.
Problematically, this idea does not factor in the loss of benefits fostered by forest management including biodiversity, a clean and stable water supply, adaptation to a changing climate, rural economic activity, etc. The IPCC recognizes sustainable forest management as critical to mitigating climate change through not only carbon storage, but minimizing emissions-emitting disturbances like wildfire, and providing a renewable alternative to emissions-intensive materials such as steel and concrete.
The 'proforestation' concept has appeared before local legislatures, has been prominently featured by major environmental organizations, and has been adopted as a climate solution by some environmental scientists. Recently, its advocates provided testimony before Congress, claiming wildfire management techniques like restoration and fuel-management are false fronts for profit-driven timber harvesting.
While SAF has always educated diverse audiences about the benefits of forest management and the critical work of forestry professionals, this is the first time they directly call out 'proforestation', and they have published this handout to educate the public and policymakers on the issue. SAF is dedicated to supporting forestry and natural resource professionals, which involves educating the public on science-based forest management and the essential services it provides to a growing population, both in the US and abroad.
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Find more information on SAF’s advocacy and outreach page
Recommended Reading
from the Yale School of the Environment:
Healthy Forests: 'It's never about Cutting an Individual Tree'
The Forest School’s Mark Bradford, professor of soils and ecosystem ecology and Joseph Orefice, lecturer and director of forest and agriculture operations at Yale Forests, weigh in on what constitutes a healthy forest in this region; what role healthy forests play in climate change mitigation; and how to protect and maintain Northeastern forests in the face of climate change, pests, pathogens, and forest degradation.

Yankee SAF Annual Meeting
Friday Feb. 10, 9:30 am - 2 pm
Timber-framed Paige Hall
The Publick House (thepublickhouse.com)
277 Main st (rt. 131) Sturbridge, MA 01566
$60 members / $80 non-members
3.0 MA/SAF CFE credits
& 1.0 CT CEU anticipated

Urban Forest Connections
Webinar Series from the USDA Forest Service
and National Urban Forest Technology and Science Delivery Team
Wed. Feb 8th, 1-2:15 pm
Assessing Climate Risks to Urban Forests
Visit the Urban Forest Connections website
and click the link for this months webinar.
Join the Yale Forest Forum For Two Exciting Speaker Series in 2023!
Register for webinars at yff.yale.edu. You can also catch up on past webinars on the website.
Smallholder Planted Forests and Trees for Climate, Restored Landscapes, and Livelihoods
every Tues. Jan. 17 - April 25, 12:00-1:00pm US ET (except Mar. 14 & 21)
A series focused on harnessing the potential of smallholder planted forests and trees to contribute to the provision of environmental services. This Series is hosted in collaboration with the FAO of the United Nations.
How Can the Voluntary Carbon Market Make a Meaningful Contribution to Protecting Tropical Forests?
every Thurs. Jan. 19 - April 27, 11:30am-12:10pm US ET (except Mar. 16 & 23)
Why are tropical forest carbon credits different? Why is a distinction made between “project” and “jurisdictional” credits? How do the different parties see risks and opportunities? How does experience in the voluntary carbon market relate to international or domestic compliance markets?
YSAF members have found variety of reasons recently to reach out to their legislators including, but not limited to...
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Forest-related legislation has been put forward on the state level, but was found by foresters to be lacking in sufficient background knowledge underpinning the recommendations.
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Some foresters have shown their work to legislators and other drivers of policy to better inform them of what is going on in the woods and how a forester impacts the ecosystem. Sometimes a walk in the woods is worth a thousand words!
If you feel the need to reach out to your legislator, but you don't know where to begin, you might start with this template for a letter from a forester to their legislator:

To find your state representative in the House of Representatives, start here.
To find a representative in Congress, start here.
If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach our to us. We've reached out a few times, and taken a few folks on walks.

Webinar Series by SAF
Learn the latest in the science of forest carbon, climate-friendly management, & forest carbon markets. Sign up for one or more of the upcoming series of forest carbon training webinars. Designed for professional foresters, these webinars will also be useful for any forest landowner interested in the topic. Charles Levesque, Executive Director of the North East State Foresters Association and Coordinator of the Securing Northeast Forest Carbon Program, will moderate the webinars.
Webinars are recorded and available on the Website:
Securing Northeast Forest Carbon Project
4 Webinars include:
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The Science of Forest Carbon
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The Science of Forest Carbon Management
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Forest Carbon Markets Overview and NRCS Forest Carbon Opportunities
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A Forum of Forest Carbon Project Developers



