Understanding
Institutional Relationships provides a source book of information to
assist community groups in developing the relationships necessary to
achieve their goals in relation to the forest resource. Topics covered
include local, state, and federal regulatory frameworks and planning
processes; legal framework in relation to forests and forest
landownership; state, local, and federal tax law in relation to forest
land; and sources of technical and financial assistance. The field
session for this module focuses on forest management and the way
different forest management decisions and strategies play out in the
woods.
Identifying Opportunities for Forest Stewardship and Economic
Development provides participants with a wide range of case studies
of community-based stewardship and development efforts. Activities and
field sessions for the last two modules are designed in collaboration
with participants to provide information and resources tailored to goals
and issues identified during the first three sessions. Participants
integrate community values and goals developed and honed over the first
three sessions and begin developing action plans.
Integrating Forest Resource Use and Protection Into Community and
Economic Development Planning is designed in collaboration with
participants to provide them with the skills and information they need
to develop and maintain connections with other community and economic
development initiatives in order to integrate the forest sector into
local planning and development strategies on a long-term basis.
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What Participants Said About
See
the Forest
"So often we make decisions on very little information. The
field experience is very important: It makes things REAL."
"I like these workshops because they make me think; and I don’t
often get a chance to stop and think about the forest."
"I like the discussion about public and private goods from the
forest. Keep this in our faces!"
"My view of my own woodland has been expanded. I’ve never
looked at the woods as a potential source of profit before."
"It was fun!"
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Offering
See the
Forest
To Communities
Research and materials
development for
See the
Forest
were funded, in
part, by a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Small Business
Innovation Research
(SBIR) Program. With our Phase II
SBIR grant, we were able to customize the program materials for use in 5-6 additional
states and for additional Vermont communities. We are now offering
See
the Forest
to
any interested communities.
The target audience for
See
the Forest
is communities interested in
exploring forests as social, environmental and economic assets in a
multigenerational setting. The program is designed to be offered to
participants from up to three communities at once. This reduces cost per
community and provides opportunities for communities to work together
and learn from each other.
Other organizations would make ideal
See
the Forest
partners. A partner handles the
administration and logistical arrangements for the program at the
community level through a contractual agreement with Yellow Wood
Associates. One partner could handle the administration and logistics
for a cluster of 2-3 communities. Partners should have ongoing
relationships with participating communities and the organizational
capacity to handle administration and logistics. We estimate the time commitment
needed from partners at a total of six days a year per community
cluster.
If your community is interested in participating in
See
the Forest,
we may be able to assist you in identifying
potential sponsors and partners. If your organization is interested in
sponsoring
See the Forest
in communities, or in partnering with others to do so, we are willing to
provide guidelines for identifying communities and/or additional
partners.
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