Friday's CF Committee/Steward Meeting

[Elisabeth Albert]

Hi Folks!

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday at 4pm. Please let me know if you'll be attending in person or via ZOOM. Should we plan on pizza and salad again?

I've attached a ZOOM link and the proposed agenda. Let me know if there are other agenda items you'd like to have added. We'll send around final version end week.

thanks!

Bets

Topic: Taghkanic Community Forest February 27
Time: Feb 27, 2026 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://clctrust-org.zoom.us/j/82650746242?pwd=CKslrRgjLbhLLtdCXjXXLQzroJfIad.1

Meeting ID: 826 5074 6242
Passcode: 765577

[Gretchen Stevens]

Thanks, Betsy. I will be there in person.

-G.

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Gretchen Stevens
Director Emerita, Biodiversity Resources Center
Hudsonia Ltd.
PO Box 5000
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[Eve Kaplan]

I’ll be there 

Eve Kaplan Studio
740 County Route 11
Craryville, NY 12521
(917) 363-2812
Instagram: @kaplaneve

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/taghkanic-community-forest/de58344b-d54e-4636-8c29-eaaa60a00ab1%40bard.edu.

[Gretchen Stevens]

Dear everyone,

I know that our Community Forest work this spring will be focused on preparing for the June public opening. Many of the decisions about eventual management of the forest can be postponed until after June, but here are some ideas to think about in the meantime.

Should parts of the forest be managed for a future timber harvest? I am not advocating for or against a harvest, but can think of three reasons to do so:

§  To bring in income to support the management and public uses of the site.
§  To provide lumber for onsite uses such as kiosks, bridges, benches, and shelters.
§  To create a demonstration project as part of an educational program for forest owners.

If the advisory committee decides that we want to pursue a harvest for these or other purposes, Cory can identify the areas best suited for a future harvest, and explain how to manage those areas for the best outcomes.

Ecological Forestry. I recommend that all other parts of the property be managed instead for ecological values, and this, too, can be part of an educational program for forest owners. The purpose of ecological forestry is to promote the development, restoration, and maintenance of the full complement of species, structures, and processes that comprise an intact native forest community. It requires a different kind of management than forestry for an eventual timber harvest. Ecological forestry promotes native species diversity at all levels (e.g., soil microbes, fungi, plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, ...), structural diversity, reproductive diversity, and ecological integration with the surrounding landscape. Some parts of the Community Forest may need little or no management at all, but will need ongoing monitoring for and management of incursions of invasive species; some areas may need additional interventions; and reducing the deer population would benefit every part of the site.

These ideas are not for discussion at our Friday meeting. Preparing for the June opening needs to be our immediate focus, and discussion about forest management can happen later. 

I look forward to seeing everyone on Friday.

-Gretchen

On 2/23/2026 6:19 PM, Elisabeth Albert wrote:

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[Joshua Kaplan]

Hey Betsy, I won’t be able to attend the entire meeting but will join on Zoom for at least the beginning. 

Joshua

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<AGENDA TCF Committee Meeting.docx>

[Tatiana Choulika]

Hi Betsy,

I will attend via Zoom.

Looking forward to the updates.

Best,

Tatiana

On Feb 23, 2026, at 6:19 PM, Elisabeth Albert <elisabet...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Folks!

[Tatiana Choulika]

Thank you Gretchen!

In the same vein, it might be interesting to spend some time framing how we will define a “Community Forest” as different from other CLC or public properties:

• how are we going to build community around this forest?  How do we reach out to people around it and tell them about it?

• how will this forest be integrated into community life?

• who is considered to be “the community”?

• what are the community’s common values and goals for this forest and how do we formulate them?

• How do we create connections and make the community feel included?

• Leadership through the forest

• What are like minded organizations we could reach out to to find synergies 

• what activities would build community beyond the committee and the stewards: forest journaling, forest photography, forest painting or other art forms, forest book club, etc…

• lots more…

Thanks,

Tatiana

On Feb 25, 2026, at 11:33 AM, 'Gretchen Stevens' via Taghkanic Community Forest <taghkanic-com...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Gretchen Stevens]

Great questions and ideas, Tatiana!

Thx.

-G.

[amblemartin]

I’ll be at the meeting

Martin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/taghkanic-community-forest/D839C03B-6AC5-45B7-BC0F-28C0BD13323C%40verizon.net.

[Helen Forgione]

I’ll be there too!

On Feb 24, 2026, at 11:54 AM, Eve Kaplan <kapl...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/taghkanic-community-forest/CAKCPGKEBVV9KwSgQPxC6bYcqW%3DoyE1Vcr9ociyJDSsUL3X5ZZA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Patrick Knapp]

Hey all, looking forward to seeing you all on Friday and continuing the great conversations happening in the google group! I have added the agenda to the drive, with links to all of the supporting files:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dPt_HNvv9A2w5SalJ9DP4G47RRG0Nn2_Lj_nPXuJorY/edit?usp=sharing

I also have some fun homework for you all to start the task of naming trails:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fz_gI1lT_Nu901JoWFDz_jBFi9B0fQVaXnZ3-qZsw8Q/edit?usp=sharing

Instructions: TCF committee members can find their names below the map image and add trail name suggestions in the column below. Stewards, CLC staff, and anyone else seeing this message are welcome to add their own names as a new column. I got the ball rolling with some trail names off the top of my head. This is meant to be fun, don't work too hard on it! If you run out of names, leave blanks! My thought is if we can get a good crop of names we can put it out to vote by a wider audience.

Let me know if you cannot access any link, or if the legend/ colors of the trail map are hard to follow.

Cheers!

Patrick Knapp

Director of Public Lands

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From: taghkanic-com...@googlegroups.com <taghkanic-com...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Elisabeth Albert <elisabet...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026 6:19 PM
To: Taghkanic Community Forest <taghkanic-com...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Friday's CF Committee/Steward Meeting

 

[patric...@columbialand.org]

Oops, I'm sorry if you tried and were not able to edit that document! I just updated it so that anyone with the link may edit. Looking forward to seeing your ideas!