Project Area
Jockey Hill Farm consists of 173 acres in the middle of the Green Mountains of Vermont. It is surrounded by 20,000 acres of the Calvin Coolidge State Forest and another 1,000 acres of forest preserved by other landowners. The Stout family has owned the land for 82 years and has actively managed it for the last 47 years, with the goal of preserving it for future generations. The family placed a conservation easement on the land in 1993 and enrolled it in the State’s Use Value Appraisal Program in 1980. Under this program, they maintain a detailed land use plan which includes specific actions they are taking to preserve the land over a ten-year period and has chapters dedicated to climate change and carbon. While once mostly pasture for dairy farming, the land reverted to forest in the late 1960s and 1970s except for ten fields. Roughly 85% of the farm is forested with the remaining 15% consisting of ten small to mid-sized fields and wetlands. The forest is predominantly spruce-fir on the eastern half which once was all pasture, and northern hardwoods (maple, beech, birch, ash) on the western half. Four streams run through the property, including two seasonal streams. The fields are essential to biodiversity at the farm and quickly transition to forest unless they are mowed every few years. Nutrient-rich soils on site provide ideal conditions for tree regeneration. Since dairy farming concluded in the mid-1960s, regeneration resulted in mostly even-aged stands of hardwood and softwood species.
Nine patch cuts completed over the last 30 years are at different stages of healthy regeneration, except for two completed eight years ago. Regeneration in these cuts is impacted by pressure from invasive plant species and deer/moose browse. While the property currently is impacted by beech bark disease, they have not seen signs of the emerald ash borer, hemlock wooly-adelgid, beech leaf disease or other insects known to other parts of Vermont as of 2024. The potential impact of emerald ash borer is of high concern especially for an ash-dominated stand on the property. Also, recent frequent and severe rain bursts have caused flooding and erosion across the property, exacerbated by the hilly terrain.
Management Goals
Goal 1: Maintain healthy forest conditions by reducing the potential impact of invasive plants and insect infestation.
- Develop a plan to respond to invasive plant and insect species that are forthcoming (i.e., monitoring and rapid response/treatment methods).
- Harvest infected ash trees in response to emerald ash borer.
- Closely monitor Vermont's Forest Health Program Invasive Pest Status Map to track the spread of invasive insects in the region.
Goal 2: Increase the ability of the forest to sequester and store more carbon.
- Utilize practices from American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP – Enhance Your Woodlands option) through thinning and adhering to planned harvests required by the Current Use Plan.
- Create a plan to continue forest management treatments from FFCP long-term to maximize carbon benefits.
Goal 3: Enhance tree species and forest age diversity.
- Conduct tree species inventory based on 2020 Land Use Plan prepared by Calfee Woodland Management.
- Increase tree species diversity, including planting new climate-adapted tree seedlings.
- Enhance structural diversity across the property.
Goal 4: Increase wildlife biodiversity on the property.
- Establish an inventory of all birds on the property and monitor over time with local expert birders (currently 76 species).
- Implement bird habitat enhancements as recommended by the Bird Habitat Assessment completed in 2023 by Audubon Vermont.
- Install four bluebird boxes on the property.
Climate Change Impacts
For this project, the most important anticipated climate change impacts include:
The winter season will be shorter and milder across New England and northern New York, with less precipitation falling as snow and reduced snow cover and depth.
Intense precipitation events will continue to become more frequent in the region.
Warmer temperatures and altered precipitation in the region will interact to change soil moisture patterns throughout the year, with the potential for both wetter and drier conditions depending on the location and season.
Many invasive plants will increase in extent or abundance in the region.
Certain insect pests and pathogens (e.g., emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, beech leaf disease) will increase in occurrence or become more damaging in the region.
Higher elevation areas of the property may temporarily buffer the current forest from some impacts of temperature increases and pest invasions (i.e., emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid).
Conditions affecting tree regeneration and recruitment, including herbivory pressure, will change in the region.
The growing season in the region is generally expected to increase by 20 days or more by the end of the century, due to fewer days with a minimum temperatures below 32°F.
Because of the elevation and hilly terrain, the property is subject to unique weather from colder temperatures and intense rain bursts that cause flash floods.
Challenges and Opportunities
Climate change will present challenges and opportunities for accomplishing the management objectives of this project, including:
Challenges
Heavy precipitation makes it increasingly difficult to conduct forestry operations throughout the year, including tree plantings and thinning treatments.
Higher temperatures and increased drought risk cause stress, damage, and mortality to trees on the property making it more difficult to maintain forest health.
More frequent/severe windstorms and impending EAB infestations in ash-dominated stands may cause tree damage (e.g., trees snapping 15-20 feet off the ground) and create hazardous working conditions for forestry operations.
Opportunities
More frequent and severe windstorms may naturally create more canopy gaps where climate-resilient tree species can be planted.
More frequent storm events may also help to enhance tree age diversity and species diversity and create new habitat for early successional bird species.
Longer growing seasons may enable enhanced growth of desired tree and plant species on site.
Adaptation Actions
Project participants used the Adaptation Workbook to develop several adaptation actions for this project, including:
Area/Topic
Approach
Tactics
Forest ecosystems
Place water bars on all trails and roads to avoid erosion. Inspect water bars after major storms and make adjustments as needed.
Closely monitor all culverts around the property to ensure they are clear of debris. Install new culverts as necessary.
Conduct a detailed inventory of invasive species with the help of a consulting forester. (7 invasive species were identified in fall 2023)
Eradicate invasive species across the property with support from NRCS grant funding. (Begin July 2024)
Foster healthy, diverse regeneration in 9 patch cuts which were completed in the past 30 years and in two additional cuts which will be made over the next three years.
Plant tree seedlings in patches lacking natural regeneration.
9.4. Protect future-adapted seedlings and saplings.
9.7. Introduce species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
9.7. Introduce species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
Plant 400+ climate adapted tree seedlings on 25 acres in partnership with the University of Vermont (10 species including oak and fifty hybrid American chestnuts).
Use 6-foot fencing to protect tree seedlings from browsing (i.e., deer, moose).
Forest carbon
Conduct a crop tree release on 19 acres to allow for enhanced carbon sequestration and storage as part of the Family Forest Carbon Program. (Completed 2022)
Closely monitor area with crop tree release for regeneration, crown size, and other criteria.
Continue to manage 90 acres of hardwood forest under the Family Forest Carbon Program and consider expanding to other forest types on property when possible.
Riparian areas
Establish a 15 to 20-foot riparian zone around 3 of the 4 streams on the property by letting vegetation grow along the sides of the streams.
Plant new vegetation along vulnerable parts of the streams (e.g., willows).
Explore new options for reestablishing riparian zones that saw serious erosion as a result of heavy flooding in July and December 2023.
Monitoring
Project participants identified several monitoring items that could help inform future management, including:
Install game cameras in patch cuts to monitor herbivory.
Use photo monitoring with a DSLR and an advanced drone to track the progress of tree planting, riparian zone establishment, and reforestation and to continually monitor the health of the forest.
Visually monitor while walking project treatment locations.
Take forest inventory measurements including tree height and diameter, and canopy size.
Monitor invasive plant species, especially in new canopy gaps.
Visually inspect water bars after large storm events.
Establish several vegetation monitoring plots in collaboration with the University of Vermont.
Use Vermont's Forest Health Program Invasive Pest Status Map to track movement of invasive insects toward the property.
Project Documents
JHA Map 2021_.pdf
(17.35 MB)
Use Value Appraisal.pdf
(1.42 MB)