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.

In February of 2018, the Forest Society began a harvest on the western side of Mount Monadnock.  The goal of this harvest is to cut high-quality red oak trees that have attained maturity and provide an opportunity for new oaks

White Pine, Blue Stain

After a wind storm, how long do fallen white pine logs last?

Two centuries ago, New England forests were in the midst of significant change. European settlement up to that point had already led to widespread deforestation, for heat, timber export, homebuilding and agricultural clearing.

During a March storm, strong winds toppled mature pine trees on our Whittemore Reservation in Lyndeborough.  The forest had recently been the site of a shelterwood harvest, a type of

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” - Henry D. Thoreau from earlier work published in 1993 as Faith in a Seed

The specter of drought is often raised in these early days of summer. And for good reason, though water levels have returned to normal around New Hampshire, state officials are still warning residents to remain cautious after last summer's drought.

First boil of the new maple season perpetuates a sugaring legacy.

Gnarly ancient sugar maples are sentinels. They may grow for 200 years and slowly decline for another half century.

The Forest Society is conducting a timber harvest this winter that is a good example of "adaptive management" on the David Wilson Land, a Forest Society reservation in Sharon.

After shelling-out $50 or even $100 bucks for a fresh, locally raised Christmas tree, ever thought about planting a dozen backyard balsams of your own? Or maybe you already started figuring, calculating what two hundred trees per year will fetch at retail prices. How hard could it be?