Because I’ve lately been considering intentionality and taking the long view in the context of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education’s work, it feels appropriate to have Kiley Vincent Briggs’s photo of a wood turtle on this issue’s cover. Turtles are, of course, icons of slowness, but this one still seems to have the dynamism of a Jeep Wrangler maneuvering over an uneven, rocky landscape in a television commercial, and one gets the feeling that the turtle will at some point catch up to that slug in the foreground and have it for lunch. Further in line with the theme of deliberateness, this issue also includes an excerpt from Brian Donahue’s Slow Wood: Greener Building from Local Forests (page 46). The slow wood stewardship outlined in the book entails balance, care, and an eye toward the future of the forest, and so does the kind of “slow journalism” that Northern Woodlands embodies.
The pace of producing a quarterly magazine follows seasonal change – and allows us to supply accurate, practical, and actionable information relevant to the organization’s mission of fostering an understanding of and appreciation for our forests. In the first issue of what was then Vermont Woodlands, co-founder Stephen Long wrote, “We live in an age in which impatience is the cultural norm. As a society, we Americans seek – if not demand – instant gratification in almost every aspect of our lives. Against this background, where time is measured in nanoseconds, forestland managers must think in terms of generations.” With more demands on attention than ever, reading a substantive magazine and tending to or even just appreciating a forest remain vital acts worthy of our patience.
All this is not to say that the forest and this organization are not dynamic. With climate change, invasive species, shifts in landscape use, and other disturbances, the forest never stops changing. Reversion to some pre-Columbian or pre-Merino sheep forest is neither possible nor desirable, and with postglacial succession and historic Indigenous management, such a forest was not so static in the first place. What matters, as always, is keeping the forest as forest, rather than as the same forest.
Similarly, over the course of 30-plus years, Northern Woodlands has maintained its essence, even as it has taken on new initiatives and undergone changes in geography and personnel. Most recently, this past winter, we welcomed a new assistant editor, Catherine Wessel. A graduate of University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program and an accomplished writer, Catherine will manage The Outside Story syndicated ecology series, participate in magazine production and editorial development, and edit a significant portion of our online content. Additionally, Celia Evans has reached the end of her tenure on the nonprofit’s board of directors after years of encouragement and perspective, especially in the areas of education, strategic planning, and conference organization. Last, Robert Cowden, who will remain on the board, has passed on the role of board president to Jessica Leahy. Bob has played an essential role in overseeing the executive director transition and the management of a major gift to the organization, and his mentorship to me in my first months in this position has proven invaluable. Jess, who has already been a guiding force, will continue to bring vital forestry expertise and insight to our operations, and I look forward to our time working together in this new capacity.