[…] past year adds large meadows and forests to our diverse oak woodland, swamp, pond and stream landscape. Second, as this newsletter displays, Highstead has a clear direction for advancing the mission statement that appears at the head of this page. Ours is a three-pronged approach of ecology, conservation and stewardship of plants and landscapes. […]
[…] by natural and human processes. 127 Lonetown Road P.O. Box 1097 Redding, CT 06875 203.938.8809 www.highstead.net Regional Conservationist Bill Labich Joins the Highstead Staff Following a national search, Highstead has selected Bill Labich from Shutesbury, Mas- sachusetts to fill a new position advancing regional and landscape-scale conservation ef- forts across Southern New England and […]
[…] processes. Looking Forward 2007 Highstead ThisspringwewelcomedEdFaisonasForestEcologist,apositionestablishedto broadenourresearchandconservationeffortsonnaturallandscapes.Edandhis wifeBrookearefromnorthwesternConnecticutandhehasazoologydegreefrom ConnecticutCollegeandgraduatedegreesinnaturalhistoryandecologyfromthe UniversityofVermontandHarvardUniversity.ThissummerEdextendedourforest ecologystudytoincludethelandofourconservationneighbors–the Townof Redding,ReddingLand Trust,andTheNatureConservancy.Ashereportshere,this projectexpandsHighstead’smissionaswecollaboratewithotherorganizationsto addresstopicswithdirectrelevancetoconservationandlandmanagement. Whilelaunchingneweffortswehavemaintainedourstrongcommitmenttothe HighsteadArboretum.ThisSpringKathleenKitkabeganlong-termmanagement plansforallofournaturalandmanagedlandscapesandcollections.Kathleenhas completeddraftdocumentsfortheKalmia,Azalea,andClethracollectionsaswell astheNative TreeandShrub Walk.Bynextspringwehopetohaveacomprehensive draftoutliningthelong-termdirectionsforourentirelandscape. Lookingahead,wehavemuchtodoaswecontinuetoexpandinpersonnel, programsandcapacity.Ourfirststepistohireanewdirectorwhowillbring strengthsinconservation,education,andecologytohelp guideourgrowing activities.Oursuccesswiththeinternshipprogramhasconvincedustodevelop apermanentprogramofresearchandtrainingforundergraduates.Thiscoming summerweanticipatesupportingthreeormorestudentsinecology,conservation andcollections-basedactivities.Meanwhile,tobroadenourscopeandcomplement excitingdevelopmentsinforestconservationacrosssouthernNewEngland,weare developinganewstaffpositioninregionalconservation.Finally,weareframing planstoexpandourinfrastructure,webpage,andoutreachprogramstosupportthis newlevelofactivity.Ourstaffandnewdirectorwillhavemanyengagingprojectsto pursueasHighsteadlookstothefuture. IwouldliketoendwithawordofthankstoMargaretforguidingHighsteadthrough aprosperousperiodofexpandingprograms,outreachandresearch. Wewishherwell inhernewendeavors. Withmybestwishes, DavidR.Foster Chairman,HighsteadBoard To the Members and Friends of Highstead continued from […]
[…] Land Trust; and the town of Cheshire, CT. The Mill River, Cheshire, CT This joint effort among three very different entities aimed to buy a 45-acre property for open space, recreation, and watershed conservation. While an unusual arrangement, there is a growing awareness that having a water utility join forces with a conservation group […]
[…] how to make it financially viable. Fortunately, there are many NGOs, government agencies, consulting foresters, and other technical assistance providers throughout the northeast ready and able to guide landowners along their forest stewardship journey. In this webinar, we will hear from representatives of these various groups about the services and learning opportunities they provide: […]
[…] the RCP Network New England roots As the birthplace of the original U.S. land trust movement, New England has a robust history of protecting and stewarding land for its ecological, social, and economic value. Land trusts began as an effective strategy to help local landowners conserve individual parcels of land but by the 1990s, […]
[…] by Spencer Meyer Other site images RCP Network Gathering Illustration by Rick Powell from, Lambert, K. F., M. F. McBride, M. Weiss, J. R. Thompson, K. A. Theoharides, and P. Field. 2018. Voices from the Land: Listening to New Englanders’ Views of the Future. Harvard Forest, Harvard University and the Science Policy Exchange. 24 pp.
[…] dynamics that occur in the woodlands and wildlands at Highstead and across the region. Learn more Conservation & Land Use We conduct and curate research to help guide stakeholders across sectors and disciplines about how land is protected, managed, and developed. Learn more A deeper understanding We dedicate our resources to finding answers to […]
[…] Club and Ron Carlton, Andrew duMoulin, and Jennifer Plowden at the Trust for Public Land, as well as input from the Wildlands and Woodlands team members, to guide us in selecting programs and funds for further research. Records for each program were obtained from annual government reports where available and from personal correspondence with […]
[…] gathered to adopt the network’s first organizational framework and a set of goals. The three priority goals are: Fostering cross-sector collaboration Developing a prism/set of principles to guide shared messaging Training members and engaging local, state, and federal government officials Since identifying its priority goals, the network has focused its efforts on the Stand […]