Working Forests

The Forest Society's mission includes perpetuating New Hampshire's forests through their 'wise use', or sustainable forestry. Working forests--those managed to provide a renewable wood resource--are more likely to remain as forests rather than being lost to development. Visit this page to explore stories and projects related to working forests.

Winter's Sweet Farewell

Dave Anderson
February 28, 2005

Charley Hosmer shuffles out of his sugarhouse as I approach. He squints in curiosity and then relaxes in recognition. He ducks inside to check the boiling maple sap and I follow him. "How's it running?" I ask.

…

Working Forests

Forestry & Land Use

The Forest Society owns and manages more than 55,000 acres of land in more than 100 New Hampshire municipalities (see our Reservations Guide).  We advocate for the “wise use” of forestry resources, and work with state and federal leaders and private landowners to assure that laws governing forestry and land use also promote wise use of forest resources.   

Early Wood Manufacturing Powered By Water

Dave Anderson
August 14, 2014

In August, NH towns celebrate "Old Home Days." Forest Society founders, Frank Rollins and Nahum Batchelder conceived "Old Home Week” in 1899. It was designed to lure wealth back to NH to revitalize depressed rural economies and bring abandoned farms back onto tax rolls.

Forest Society History
Clean Water
Working Forests

Mistletoe -- More Than A Kiss

Dave Anderson
December 19, 2013

Ancient tree-worshipers – Druids - believed mistletoe possessed magical powers because it grows high in bare oaks, shedding lush green leaves even in midwinter. Druids harvested mistletoe to hang in households to promote fertility.

Natural Resources
Working Forests

The Sugaring Life

Dave Anderson
March 27, 2014

Maple time in New England brings out the essence of the trees and the character in the people. For those who love trees, a tongue-tip taste of fresh maple syrup is a sacrament, maple communion at the end of a long winter.

Working Forests
Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee

Sap to Syrup: Maple Harvest Leads to Sweet Learning Opportunities

Dave Anderson
April 12, 2014

On the first warm April afternoon, Colby-Sawyer College students gathered maple sap from buckets and fed wood into the fire roaring beneath boiling sap pans in the college’s maple sugarhouse.

Working Forests
Jars of maple syrup in a diversity of color sit on a shelf to be used for grading.

Making the Grade in the Maple Syrup Biz

Jack Savage
March 15, 2014

Maple syrup—the making and the marketing of it—is at once as simple as can be and surprisingly complicated.

Working Forests

Confessions of a Reluctant 'Lawnist'

Jack Savage
June 7, 2014

WHEN Europeans began colonizing New England centuries ago, no sooner had they set foot on shore than they began re-creating the villages they knew from home across the sea.

Working Forests

Sawdust in Their Veins: Tree Farmers Have Their Day

Dave Anderson
September 28, 2014

In New Hampshire, forests cover 4.8 million acres. That's 84 percent of the state, as anyone who has flown over it can attest. Northern hardwoods - beech, birch and maple - make up more than 53 percent of statewide forest cover.

Working Forests
Timber Harvesting