Woodland stewardship tours to be held in Knox, Lincoln counties

ROCKPORT — Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District is joining the Maine Forest Service to co-sponsor a series of field tours highlighting woodland stewardship and conservation practices of private landowners.
The free tours will be led by Midcoast District Forester Morten Moesswilde and are open to landowners, loggers, foresters and others interested in the stewardship of small woodlands.

* Jan. 18, 2 to 4 p.m. — The first tour in the series, Winter Tree ID and Woodland Ecology, will be held at Erickson Fields Preserve, 164 West St (Routet 90) in Rockport. In addition to being the home of sustainable agriculture programs for youth and families, Erickson Fields, a program of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, has built approximately 2.5 miles of year-round, public access walking trails looping through a mixed stand of softwoods and hardwoods. The tour will begin in the parking lot at 2 p.m. Please dress for field conditions.

* Feb. 15, 2 to 4 p.m — View the results of a recent careful timber harvest at Pemaquid Watershed Association’s Bearce-Allen Preserve and Demonstration Forest in Bristol.

* March 15, 3 to 5 p.m. — Tree selection for the future forest at the Koubek property in Bremen.

* April 19, 3 to 5 p.m. — NRCS Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program, sponsored project at Medomak Valley Land Trust’s Burkett Mill Preserve in Waldoboro.

For more information, contact Hildy Ellis at 207-596-2040 or hildy@knox-lincoln.org or Moesswilde at 207-441-2895. Participants are asked to register with Ellis if they plan to attend so they may be contacted in the event of stormy weather affecting the schedule.