MLCT Hosts Annual Meeting,

Forest Forensics Hike

Press release from

Madison Land Conservation Trust

The Madison Land Conservation Trust (MLCT) presents a two-part program with Professor Tom Wessels. Wessels will give the keynote presentation at the MLCT annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 7 at

7 p.m. in Memorial Town Hall on the Town Green and lead a Forest Forensics hike on the Summer Hill trail on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 9 a.m. Hikers should meet at the trailhead on Summer Hill Road, just north of Route 80.

Both programs are based on Wessels's book, Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England. He will introduce approaches to interpreting a forest's history while wandering through it. Using evidence such as the shapes of trees, scars on their trunks, the pattern of decay in stumps, the construction of stone walls, and the lay of the land, it is possible to unravel complex stories etched into our forested landscape. This process could easily be called forest forensics, since it is quite similar to interpreting a crime scene.

According to Wessels, "Reading the landscape is not just about identifying landscape patterns; more importantly, it is an interactive narrative that involves humans and nature. For those interested in enhancing their sense of place, I know of no better way than by becoming intimately acquainted with their local forests and the fascinating stories they tell."

Wessels is an ecologist and founding director of the master's degree program in conservation biology at Antioch University New England. He has conducted landscape ecology and sustainability workshops throughout the United States for more than 30 years. His books include: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, The Myth of Progress, and Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape.

Founded in 1964, the MLCT is one of the oldest land trusts in the United States. Throughout the town of Madison, the land trust protects close to 1,700 acres of woodland and wetlands, fragile and vital habitats that might otherwise have been consumed by development. These properties provide residents with more than 35 miles of trails to enjoy. The Land Trust is a nonprofit organization with an all-volunteer board of directors. The MLCT is proud to celebrate 50 years of conserving land in Madison.

Find trail maps and more at www.madisonlandtrust.org. Email madisonlandtrust@gmail.com with questions.

Tom Wessels Photo courtesy of Julie P. Aisnworth