Milton Town Forest

Stewardship is the way that we take care of our ecosystems. It can mean everything from marking boundary lines to building trails, controlling invasive plants, planting acorns and cutting trees. At times, being a responsible forest steward requires us to take action. At times it requires us to do very little.

Being a forest steward is challenging and complicated.

Forests are complex. They are diverse, dynamic and interconnected.  They celebrate death and change . They are expansive over space and time. The way that we manage them has implications for our  economy , the culture, character and beauty of our communities, our climate, our air and our water, our wildlife species and biodiversity, our lives and our quality of life.

To protect all of these values and benefits, it is critical that we steward forests in a thoughtful way.

The goal of this FMP is to do just that -- balancing many different goals and objectives to chart a responsible and sustainable path forward for the Milton Town Forest.

The Milton Town Forest, like many of Vermont's forests, is a highly-altered ecosystem, heavily influenced by the way that it has been managed since the 1800's.

Like much of Vermont, all or nearly all of the MTF was cleared in the 1800's. In the mid or late 1800's, some areas were allowed to revert to forest, but as recently as the 1940's, much of the MTF remained in agricultural use.

Historical records and evidence on the ground suggests that portions of the MTF were managed as pasture, cropland, hay meadow and pastured sugarbush.

Since reverting to forest, the MTF has probably been logged several times. The most recent logging occurred in 1985-86, when the Town sold all trees larger than 10" in diameter to a logger for $50,000. By all accounts this logging job was poorly done, a virtual clearcut of a large portion of the MTF.

For a more detailed look at the history of the Milton Town Forest, visit the story map  here .

The strategies and practices outlined in this FMP are intended to satisfy these  main goals  (not in order of importance):

•  To encourage a diverse, resilient forest ;
•  To protect biodiversity , creating and enhancing wildlife habitat for all native species;
• To provide great public recreational opportunities;
•  To demonstrate responsible forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way .

Visit the links on this page for a short video on each of these main goals for the MTF.

Building  diversity and complexity  into our forests is a key tenet of this FMP.

Diverse forests provide habitat for a wide range of different species. They are also more adaptive and  resilient  to our changing climate and the many stressors of the modern world.

Watch a short video about diversity and resilience at the MTF  here .

Across the globe, biodiversity is in massive decline. This is a threat to wildlife but also to ecosystems, which rely on biodiversity to keep themselves healthy, productive and resilient.

By encouraging the diverse, complex forests at the MTF, we hope to provide habitat and refugia for a wide range of native species, making them more resilient to our changing world. 

Watch a short video about managing for biodiversity at the MTF  here .

The stewardship described in this FMP is an integrated approach to managing the MTF as an entire system. While we tend to focus on trees and larger wildlife, the goal is to provide habitat for all native species -- from moose and bear to fungi, bugs and microbes -- and the processes that sustain them. 

A major goal of this FMP is to demonstrate responsible forest stewardship to the public.

Every activity prescribed in this FMP is intended to be part of an open, transparent and inclusive public process that will showcase and build understanding around these practices. In this way, the MTF can contribute to making forests healthier far beyond its borders.

To learn more about a similar outreach project,  check out this story map  about a forest management project at the Hinesburg Town Forest, or story maps about projects at  the Andrews Community Forest in Richmond  and the  Catamount Community Forest in Williston . To follow along with a project currently underway at the Hinesburg Town Forest, check out the links and resources  here .

Watch a short video about demonstration and education at the MTF  here .

Like the Hinesburg Town Forest and the Andrews Community Forest, this Forest Management Plan maps several areas in the MTF as part of a "Reserve Zone." In the case of the MTF, this area covers 170 acres (about 36% of the MTF).

Within the Reserve Zone, no forest management will occur. Forests in the Reserve Zone will be allowed to grow and develop naturally, with the exception of addressing biodiversity threats like non-native invasive plants and deer overpopulations.

While the forest management prescribed in this FMP is progressive and will make forests at the MTF healthier and more resilient, unmanaged and old forests also provide unique benefits to our landscape.

Promoting responsible forest management, and allowing some areas to be unmanaged, are two objectives that are completely compatible and even complimentary.

While the MTF is a truly special and important place, it also faces some real challenges and threats.

Agricultural clearing and irresponsible logging has created forests which are young, simple, and lack the diversity and complexity of older forests. In some cases, these areas are unhealthy, degraded and vulnerable.

Non-native pests are also having an impact on the MTF.

Earthworms

Earthworms, which are not native to the northeastern United States, are a massive problem at the MTF -- degrading soils, causing erosion and making it difficult for certain species of trees and plants to establish.

LDD

As this plan was written in 2021, Lymantria dispar dispar (“LDD,” formerly known as “gypsy moth”), a non-native insect, was in the middle of an outbreak, causing widespread defoliation of trees, especially oaks. Repeated defoliation could cause tree mortality.

Invasive Plants

While invasive exotic plants are not in abundance (yet) at the MTF, common buckthorn, shrub honeysuckle and wall lettuce were noted on the parcel. If left untreated, the infestation of these plants will increase, causing profound negative impacts to wildlife, forest health, and more. 

Over the next 10 years, a number of different activities are recommended at the MTF to support the goals of this FMP, address threats, and capitalize on opportunities.

First, we should take action to address threats to biodiversity and ecosystem health. The first step will be removing invasive plants and attempting to lower the deer population at the MTF.

Smaller invasive plants can be removed by hand by volunteers. Larger plants will need to be treated with  small, targeted doses of herbicide . The MTF should be regularly monitored by volunteers for new patches of invasives, removing them on sight.

Lowering deer populations is a little trickier. Steps should be taken to encourage deer hunting, especially antlerless deer hunting, on the parcel. A few other Town Forests in the area have experimented with different creative ways of doing this.

It's recommended that about 5-acres of Stand 4 be managed this way each year, with 20% of the stand left as an unmanaged "control."

This work can be completed by volunteers or hired-out. If a contractor is needed, proceeds from the commercial forest management work prescribed in Stands 5 and 6 can be used.

This project will be a great opportunity for the public to get used to the idea of forest management -- presenting it in a smaller-scale, less intimidating way and without the need for logging equipment.

This work will also provide an opportunity to demonstrate responsible,  ecological forest management , to produce local, renewable resources, and to provide some income to support other projects at the MTF, such as invasive plant control and the pre-commercial forest management in Stand 4.