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The Recovery and Future of
the Northeastern Forest
A Symposium presented by the
Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies
Connecticut College
Co-sponsored by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association
Saturday, April 12, 1997
The proceedings of this conference were published
as a special issue of the journal Northeastern
Naturalist (http://maine.maine.edu/~eaglhill) Vol. 5, No. 2. It
is available for purchase from The Goodwin-Niering Center for $10.
The recovery of the forests of the northeastern United
States during the past 150 years is remarkable. Regions that were 80
to 90% farmland in the mid-nineteenth century are 60 to 80% forested.
Forest now covers the stone walls, cellars and roads of an earlier agricultural
society. Species that had disappeared, or almost disappeared, from the
Northeast - moose, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, beaver, and pileated
woodpeckers - are common again, and the maturing forests are regaining
a rich diversity of native plants. The resurgence of the eastern hardwood
forest provides optimists with compelling evidence of the resiliency
and endurance of natural systems.
At the same time, the new forests face severe and unprecedented threats.
Introduced pathogens and insect pests remove one species of tree after
another from entire regions. Acid rain changes the quality of the forest
soil, potentially stunting the growth of plants. Housing developments
and roads break the continuity of the forest, and timber harvesting
intensifies in some of the largest expanses of forest. Only a careful
assessment of the overall impact of these disturbances and of the extent
of forest recovery will permit us to effectively manage the northeastern
forest.
Our speakers had distinctly different perspectives on
the forest and its problems, including its history and a variety of
factors that threaten forest health and continuity. They presented their
views in a series of 30-minute talks. Through these diverse analyses
we gained a perspective that can help to create sustainable management
strategies for this vast forest region. For example, much attention
has been focused on the problems caused by timber harvesting, while
the catastrophic effects of introduced species and the insidious impact
of air pollution have not received enough attention.
These issues are of paramount interest to land managers,
conservationists, students and faculty in environmental science, and
others that will help determine whether the biological diversity and
ecological functioning of the northeastern forest can be restored and
sustained.
Partially funded by the A.W. Mellon program for the study
of the Northern Hardwood Forest at Hubbard Brook.
Welcome and Introduction: Robert Askins, Professor
of Zoology
SESSION 1: The History of the Northeastern Forest
The first speakers set the stage by describing the northeastern forest
and its history during the past 400 years.
Forces that Shaped the Forest - William Niering,
Ecologist, Connecticut College
Looking Back and Seeing Forward: An Historical Perspective
of the Northeastern Forest -
David Foster, Forest Ecologist, Harvard Forest
SESSION 2: Abiotic and Biotic Threats
Presentations by researchers directly involved with the
most serious threats to forest health will assess their potential impact
on the recovering eastern woodland ecosystems.
Effects of Acid Rain on Forest Productivity - Gene
Likens, Limnologist, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Mixed Mesophytic Forest and Forest Decline - Orie
Loucks, Ecologist, Miami University
SESSION 3: The Ecological and Economic Effects of Forestry
The extraction of trees for wood products is one of the
most wide-ranging of forest disturbances. The ecological and the economic
impacts must be both understood and balanced to achieve a sustainable
relationship with forested ecosystems.
The Future of Industrial Forestry and the Implications
to Biodiversity in the Northeast -
John Hagan, Ecologist, Manomet Observatory
Policies for Promoting Economic Efficiency and Sustainability
in the Northeastern Forest -
James Kahn, Economist, University of Tennessee
Forest Sustainability and Maine's Working Forest
- Marsha McKeague, Forest Manager
Great Northern Paper
SESSION 4 - Land Development and Forest Management
Development, whether for vacation homes, expanding suburbs,
commercial projects or transportation arteries, is fragmenting the eastern
forest at an alarming rate. The final speaker addressed the problems
of development within an extensively forested region.
Land Protection and Local Control, The Adirondack
Park - John Banta, Planner and Land Use Attorney, Adirondack Park
Agency
The panal discussion that followed allowed the audience
to ask questions of any and all of the day's speakers.
Reception and Dinner
Keynote Address: Nothing Endures But
Change: A Brief History of Birds and Mammals in Eastern Forests - John
Kricher, Ornithologist, Wheaton College
Research and Demonstration Areas in the Connecticut College
Arboretum were explored on
Sunday April 13, 1997.
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