Oxford Land Trust Annual Members Meeting

INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT FOREST MANAGEMENT ?

OXFORD LAND TRUST PRESENTS            
FOREST MANAGEMENT 101:  “Managing Our Forest”
SPEAKERS:  JEFFREY WARD, PH.D  and  CLAIRE RUTLEDGE, PH.D, CT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

A large portion of the land in our local area is forested and plays an important role in maintaining the rural character of our towns. While not contiguous in the manner of a state or national park, there is sufficient forested land that many of the environmental problems that occur in large, heavily forested areas will also be found to have an impact here. To introduce homeowners to the concept (and methods) of managing their own piece of “forest” and to introduce high-school students to a potential career in forest management, the Oxford Land Trust will inaugurate what may become a series of annual seminars under the heading, “Forest Management 101.”  Jeffrey Ward, Ph.D. will introduce the field of forest management and give an overview of the challenges presented by exotic/invasive plant and insect species. Claire Rutledge, Ph.D. will discuss this year’s selected focus: meeting the current threat from the Emerald Ash Borer. An exotic woodborer that kills ash trees, this beetle was first detected in Connecticut in 2012 and in Beacon Falls, Cheshire, Middlebury, Oxford, Southbury, and Waterbury in 2013. Claire will speak about the threat that the beetle poses to our forest, how its spread is tracked, and the different approaches available to small- or large-forest owners that can be used to minimize its impact on private- and Town-owned land. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, located in New Haven, has many scientific experts in agriculture- and forestry-related fields. Over the last 25 years, the Land Trust has invited several scientists from the “Ag Station” to speak at our annual Members’ Meeting. In addition to being a past speaker, Jeffrey Ward has also served, on multiple occasions, as an advisor to the Land Trust in our land-management role related to Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary. This is the first visit to the Land Trust’s annual Members’ Meeting by Claire Rutledge; she has been giving numerous seminars in the towns neighboring Oxford, towns which are also currently under quarantine due to infestation by the Emerald Ash Borer.

Jeffrey S. Ward, Ph.D. received his BS (forest biology) and MS (silviculture) at The Ohio State University and, after time in the Peace Corps (Guatemala), his Ph.D. (forest ecology) at Purdue University. He has been in the Department of Forestry & Horticulture at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station since 1987 and is currently a Chief Scientist. His early research focused on long-term population dynamics in unmanaged forests. His more recent work has included control and impact of invasive species such as Japanese barberry, alternative forest-management practices, forest-health indicators at watershed scales, and examining the impact of deer damage in unmanaged forests. 

Claire Rutledge, Ph.D. received her MS and PhD in entomology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She joined The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station as a scientist in 2004. Her major focus is wood-boring beetles that attack living trees. Dr. Rutledge’s program has concentrations in beetle-mating biology, their chemical communication, and the detection of jewel beetles using bio-surveillance.

PLEASE JOIN US                                                       

Light Refreshments Will Be Served