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The mission of Great Mountain Forest is to be a leader in forest stewardship. We practice sustainable forest management, promote biodiversity and resilience to climate change, support education and research, and welcome all who love the woods. |
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In the Intern Takeover issue:
Sustainable Forest Management
Meet GMF Interns Rissa and Joe
Working at the Sawmill by Joe
Single Tree Selection at GMF by Rissa
Insect Under the Microscope: The Pine Sawyer
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Interns Joe and Rissa learning about single tree selection from Forest Manager Jody Bronson.
Photo: Russell Russ
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Sustainable Forest Management: Integral to GMF's Mission |
An important part of Great Mountain Forest's mission is to practice sustainable forest management. Through careful stewardship, GMF increases the diversity of tree species and ages, enhances and restores wildlife habitat, promotes clean air and water, and supports research and education. We also produce forest products to meet local needs.
The summer intern program focuses on many aspects of sustainable forest management and teaches the next generation of foresters how to respect the forest and ensure its health. Read on to find out how....
GMF is grateful to our donors for supporting our well-regarded summer internship program.
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Forest Intern Rissa Currie:
Open to All GMF has to Offer
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Hi, I am Rissa Currie. I currently attend the University of Maine as a Forestry student and will be graduating in 2023. I first met Jody (Bronson) when I participated in CFPA’s Coverts, a land stewardship seminar held here at Great Mountain Forest. At this event, I also discovered that GMF offered an internship program and made up my mind that I would work incredibly hard to pursue that opportunity. Now that I am here, I could not be any more thankful.
Jody has a way of making concepts easy to understand and constantly pushes us to think in new ways to better tackle situations or problems. In this internship, I can apply the concepts and teachings I learned while at school to a wide range of different projects in the Forest. It has also has provided me with new information that I had not previously known. Hands-on experience in this field of work will always be of the highest value, and Jody is always ready to help and provide the means to do so.
Photo: Rissa wearing forest bling--a dragonfly!
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GMF is a beautiful place with so much to explore and understand. Seeing all the wildlife is just an added bonus. I am excited about what else is to come from this internship because it is only just starting.
I hope to find what forestry means to me and the direction I want to take with it. I am ready to work hard and keep pushing the boundaries of my capabilities.
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Forest Intern Joe Rupe:
Exploring a Career in Forestry
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My name is Joe Rupe. I am from Bethlehem, Connecticut. I first became interested in forestry from my father’s best friend, who is a professional forester. I attended Nonnewaug High School and was enrolled in the Vo-Ag Program. I took Natural Resources, and that is where I thought seriously about making forestry my career.
I first learned about Great Mountain Forest from my professor up at school. He told me, “I know a forester, Jody at Great Mountain Forest down in Connecticut. I think this would be a good fit for you”. He was right! He got us in touch, I sent in my application, and here I am!
I am currently going into my Junior year at Paul Smith's College in New York State. I am studying Ecological Forest Management. I am also pursuing a minor in Wildland Firefighting.
I am very interested in being part of the small, professional, and social circle we call forestry. My goal is to become a licensed forester for the state of Connecticut. I am still unsure where I want to go with my forestry degree, I like the New England area, but I am very interested in going out west. I have never been out that way, and I am eager to experience it.
Photo: Joe on top of the world at the Matterhorn
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Working at the Sawmill
by Joe Rupe
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We began our summer in the sawmill. We needed to saw up some big pine logs before the bugs got to them (aka, the pine sawyer). I was very fascinated with this experience because my father has a carpentry business, and it was very cool to see actual lumber being made.
The Mill we have at GMF is a band mill, so instead of having a big circular metal blade like the one at school, this one has a large metal band with a cutting blade on one side. They are made for sawing smaller diameter logs (20” or less). This has been very cool to see this side of the wood products industry from start to finish, between carpentry and the basics of turning logs into lumber!
I love having new experiences. I feel that it is essential to try new things and to stay open-minded. There is so much this world has to offer, and it is worthwhile to explore as much as you can. I try to soak up as much knowledge and information I can, and I’m very excited for new things to come this summer!
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Photos: Joe maintaining the sawmill (top left); pine boards freshly sawed with assistance from the interns (right)
Photo credits: Jody Bronson
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The whitespotted pine sawyer can be clearly identified by the white spot at the top center of its wing covers. |
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Under the Microscope:
The Pine Sawyer
The whitespotted pine sawyer (Monochamus scutellatus) is a native beetle that attacks diseased and damaged pine trees.
The larvae develop successfully in weakened or recently dead conifers, freshly cut pulpwood, and saw logs.
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Finding Just the Right Tree: Single Tree Selection
by Rissa Currie
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A person can learn many topics through academic study. My classes at The University of Maine provide me with a wonderful start on my forestry journey. There is still much to learn before I graduate. However, some concepts and practices are best absorbed through hands-on experience. I’m a month into this internship, and my education has grown exponentially beyond the classroom.
Forest Manager Jody, my fellow intern Joe, and I are working on a current project that provides a great example of this--a single tree selection timber harvest. This sustainable forest management operation allows me to experience from start to finish all that is required to make such an operation happen.
It all starts with a woodland reconnaissance of the possible site. This survey is our chance to get the lay of the land and determine how it could be changed to benefit our goal, in other words practicing silviculture. I have not yet taken my course on the subject, so Jody has been patient in helping me look at an area not by individual trees but by how they function together.
Maine forests have many softwoods such as white pine, hemlock, and balsam fir. However, in the area of GMF that we’re working on, there is a hemlock and mixed hardwood stand. It’s interesting being able to compare the two landscapes to each other.
The next step is creating the plots that will help us determine our basal area and trees per acre in the stand. This work will call on techniques I have learned from school, such as using ArcMap to create a map of our stand area which will allow us to find our unbiased plots and then being able to measure them as variable radius plots.
I’m excited about the learning and experience opportunities this project will provide to me.
Photo: Rissa marking a hemlock tree for removal after measuring the tree diameter and merchantable height (above) Photo credit: Jody Bronson
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Yoga at the Forest is Back! |
Join GMF for an all-levels Yoga class on the lawn! The dates are July 10 and 31 at 11:00 a.m. next to our Mountain Office at 200 Canaan Mountain Road, Falls Village.
More information to follow, but for now--mark you calendar!
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Forest Notices
Welcome to the forest!
GMF is a place of peaceful co-existence for everyone
- Keep your dog on a leash and if you pack it in--pack it out.
- Sign in at kiosks at the East and West Gates.
- Watch for inclement weather notices on social media.
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Stand with the Trees!
Donate to Great Mountain Forest.
Your generosity makes our work possible!
GMF is critical to the environmental and economic sustainability of the region as well as an important contributor to research and education about climate change and environmental health. Help us support the forest as a vital natural resource and a place for those who love the woods.
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