NEWS
ISSUE 2 - SPRING 2013
It has been an exciting spring here at the QCI, to say the least.
From horse-logging workshops in frigid temperatures, to a packed house at our first Legacy Planning meeting, the Quiet Corner has seemed anything but quiet of late.
And yet, there still remain many neighbors left to meet in our four towns of Eastford, Ashford, Union and Woodstock. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see familiar faces at our events. So now I have a request for you - tell those neighbors that we haven’t yet met about us… or better yet, bring them with you to our next event.
Whether it is a movie under the stars at Yale-Myers from the
Environmental Film Festival at Yale, or one of our Summer
Seminar talks on local research at the forest, we want you and your neighbors to join us. It is through your help that we are able to engage more community members, giving as many folks the chance to learn with our students and alongside our professors as possible.
One of the greatest strengths of the Quiet Corner Initiative is that it is constantly adapting and improving. To that end, please be in touch with your comments on how we can better serve you, our neighbor. Whether it is an informal talk, a workshop, or one of our student-driven consulting projects, we want to match our skills with your needs and interests.
We look forward to hearing from you, as well as seeing you soon!
Cheers,
Shane Hetzler,
QCI Coordinator
The QCI creates partnerships that expand the educational and research opportunities for students and faculty at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, while supporting the work of private landowners, natural resource managers, and forest industry professionals in and around the Yale-Myers Forest. The QCI supports strengthened local livelihoods, increased forest health, and rural economic development for the long-term benefit of the land and those that live on it by providing knowledge, energy, and expertise to our partnering landowners and organizations.
Julius Pasay, Master of Forestry ‘14
Sam Rich, horse logger, introduces his team to a group of local forest owners (picture by Alex Barrett).
It was a frozen and snowy Saturday morning when 15 Quiet Corner partners and a handful of forestry students gathered at the Yale-Myers Camp. The reason for the gathering was a portable bandsaw mill workshop featuring Will Conklin, a sawyer from Western Massachusetts, his assistant Joe Burkhart, and his portable bandsaw, as well as Erika Marczak and
Sam Rich, horse loggers and farmers from Abington, CT, and their two draft horses. With hot coffee, fresh donuts and a blazing bonfire to keep the cold at bay, participants learned the details of on-site milling, horse logging, and their applicability to private owners for smallscale forest management on their land.
The day started with introductions and a discussion of appropriate situations and cost-effectiveness of portable bandsaws and draft-powered logging. For small forest owners, contracting an on-site sawyer or draft-powered logger can be a financially and ecologically attractive option. This is particularly true for those interested in low-impact woodlot management or in the production of lumber for home projects, or sale to local builders and craftsmen. continued on page 2

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Across the road, in a stand of old-field white pines, several trees had been selected for the demonstration that day.
Here, Sam described his home-made, custom logging arch, explained the nuances of using animals to haul logs, and enumerated the ecological benefits of using draft-power in logging. Then it was time to get to work. After cutting the trees to length, Sam winched them up and took the reins. The surefooted Percheron horses started forth with steaming breath to haul the logs to the bandsaw mill.
Peaveys in hand, Will and Joe quickly rolled the logs onto hydraulic arms to lift onto the mill. After explaining the workings of the bandsaw, how to optimize board production from a log, and the efficiency and appropriate scale of a portable mill, the sawyers started cutting lumber. Will and Joe skillfully milled each log leaving very little waste wood behind. Pretty soon, a sizeable stack of pine boards in a range of dimensions sat drying alongside the mill to be used for future construction projects. As for some of the waste wood, forestry student Mik
McKee led volunteers in the construction of traditional pine crates for participants to take home.
By the end of the day, a substantial amount of lumber was created without anything leaving or coming onto the property. No transport costs, middle-men or big box stores. Talk about local! As for the woodlot, the site was in excellent condition; the only sign of soil disturbance being some scattered hoof prints and a few piles of manure. Peter Barrett, our very own Forest Manager’s dad, marks boxes with his homemade Yale-Myers
Forest brand (picture by Claire Nowak).
To see more pictures of the logging workshop and download useful materials, try visiting our new website! You can find us at:
If you have ideas about how we can make it better, please tell us what you think at claire.nowak@yale.us
.
Left: the Woodmizer bandsaw mill in action as Will and Joe process white pine logs on site
(picture by Claire Nowak).
Kendall Barbery, Master of
Environmental Science ‘13
The student-run Environmental Film
Festival at Yale (EFFY) has been sparking discussion and action in the greater New
Haven community since 2010 with award-winning movies exploring how people interact with each other and the environment. But what better place to discuss nature and community than our
Quiet Corner? This summer for the first time, EFFY is coming the Yale-Myers
Forest Camp: join us to enjoy these two great documentaries (dates p.3).
THE CITY DARK (84 min): Filmmaker
Ian Cheney grew up in New England and is a graduate of the Yale School of
Forestry & Environmental Studies. When he moves to New York City and discovers skies devoid of stars, a simple question – what do we lose, when we lose the night?
– spawns a journey to America’s brightest and darkest (dare we say, quietest?) corners.
Astronomers, ecologists, philosophers and cancer researchers provide glimpses of what is lost in the glare of city lights.
Blending a humorous tone with poetic footage of the night sky, The City Dark is an exploration of our relationship to the stars.
KING CORN (90 min) : Ian Cheney and fellow Yale graduate Curtis Ellis move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from after finding out through laboratory hair analysis that their bodies are primarily “made out of corn”. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow one acre of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain.
But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat and how we farm… King Corn is a funny and thought provoking essay about why food matters.

The QCI may rely on student work, but it never goes on break. Come enjoy the summer weather at the
Yale-Myers Forest with our series of seminars, movies and other events!
• Ticks and Tickborne Diseases*
Thursday, June 13
Dr. Durland Fish from the Yale School of Public Health works on Lyme disease by combining epidemiology and environmental science.
• EFFY - The City Dark
Tuesday, June 18
Our first film screening (see p. 2)!
• The Old Connecticut Path *
Thursday, June 27
Local historian Jason Newton invites us to rediscover the trail that pioneers followed through the wilderness to build a new life in 1636.
• Fourth of July Party
Thursday, July 4
Join students, neighbors and their families as they gather at the Yale Camp for this day of food, music and fun!
• Amphibians and Vernal Pools*
Thursday, July 11
Jonathan Richardson (UConn and
Yale FES) studies the wood frogs and spotted salamanders that thrive in the ephemeral pools of our forests.
• EFFY - King Corn
Tuesday, July 16
Our second film screening (see p. 2)!
• Emerald Ash Borer*
Thursday, July 25
This beetle made its official arrival in Connecticut last summer and has been killing tens of millions of trees over the nation. Learn how you can prevent it with forester Thomas
Worthley of UConn Extension.
• Agroforestry Workshop
September, TBD
This Shiitake mushroom workshop will be a hands-on introduction to
Non-Timber Forest Products!

* All Seminars start at 7.30 pm, but please join us for refreshments starting at 7 pm. Each Seminar is good for 1.0
CEU, films are not!
Klaus Geiger, Master of Forestry ‘14
Students Klaus Geiger and Tommie Herbert discussing logging trails with instructor Mike Ferrucci next to an old stone wall. One of the goals of a harvest plan is to protect such features (picture by Claire Nowak).
As spring springs, trees blossom and so do Yale Masters of Forestry students in the midst of their studies! With each season, landowners participating in the
Quiet Corner Initiative have the option of engaging students to accomplish their land management objectives. A range of classes link landowners and students to provide a tangible product for the landowner as well as hands on learning experience for the student.
This spring, John and Daryl Basch and
Bob Schone are three members of our
Woodlands Partnership that have agreed to work with students enrolled in “Forest
Management Operations for Professional
Foresters”. The course, taught by consulting forester and forest certification auditor Mike Ferrucci, exposes students to the operational and economic aspects of timber harvesting, best management practices, and regulatory considerations.
The final project is a Harvest Plan: a nonbinding set of guidelines that implement the Management Plan that was written for the landowners by our classmates. To successfully complete the project, we use our newfound operational knowledge to plan a harvest that minimizes environmental impact on the property.
In April, we met with the owners and discussed their goals for the land. A few of their objectives were to create a sugar bush, clear land for a garden, harvest timber and create a farm pond. We walked the property with Mike Ferrucci, following old logging trails, crossing streams among flowering Skunk Cabbage, and measuring slopes to decide where to locate roads and landings or what equipment should be used.
New England timber is typically harvested when soil conditions are appropriate to minimize compaction, rutting, and erosion. Roads and landings must be sited to efficiently harvest the timber while reducing runoff to protect soil quality and avoid stream degradation. Depending on future uses, such as repeated harvests, logging roads may become permanent landscape features through the use of gravel and installation of culverts.
Cultural legacies, such as old stone walls, are also protected in the planning process.
In short, many considerations factor in to a well-designed harvest plan. But the overarching theme is always to meet landowner objectives, and maintain the land’s ecological and cultural integrity.
You can learn more about Management Plans in the Fall 2012 issue of the Newsletter available online. If you think you want a Management Plan or a Harvest Plan but are not sure what it entails, don’t hesitate to contact Alex Barrett at alex.barrett@yale.edu
!

Claire Nowak, Master of Forestry ‘14
On a quiet spring evening, the Yale-Myers
Camp filled with the sound of voices as more than 40 participants gathered to have a discussion about how they could permanently protect their land. The
Legacy Planning Workshop was a first time cooperative event organized with the
Eastern Connecticut Forest Landowners
Association and the Connecticut Forest
& Park Association.
As the smells of fresh-baked pies from
Eastford’s famous Buell’s Orchard wafted through the air, QCI Coordinator Shane
Hetzler opened the floor by introducing the mission of the Quiet Corner Initiative and the evening’s topic. The first speaker was Steve Broderick from the Goodwin
Forest Center in Hampton, CT. Before this, Steve worked for 30 years as an extension forester at the University of Connecticut and took part in the creation of the Eastern Connecticut
Forest Landowners Association in 1978
– that’s what you call speaking from experience! He encouraged attendees to ask themselves what they really wanted to see happen: who do they want to be using their property in the future? What part, if any, do they want to protect? “Talk to the family”, he urged, pointing out that this is often the main obstacle.
In our area, local land trusts include
Joshua’s Trust, the Wyndham Land
Trust, the Wolf Den Trust and the
Northern Connecticut Land Trust.
Then Bill Dakin, attorney at Kahan,
Kerensky & Caposella LLP, got into the nitty-gritty of tax and legal implications.
He gave us a step-by-step walkthrough of different options, such as donating part of the land to a conservation organization or letting a trust manage it for you. He explained how a conservation easement works, detailing how an easement on a property valued at $2 million could potentially generate income and estate tax savings of $900,000.
Local landowner and Woodland Partner
Rich Dezso asked what the options were for people who did not have heirs to manage their land – a situation in which many find themselves. Sue Sibiga, another longtime Woodland Partner, shared her experience about trying to preserve her property: finding the right land trust can prove a challenge when you own both farmland and forestland and use it for many things, from raising cattle to tapping maple trees for syrup and harvesting firewood.
After the presentations, everyone had a chance to talk to the speakers about their specific situation over pie and coffee, as well as chat with familiar faces and new friends. We parted in the April night, reminded that while there is no cookbook approach to protecting the land we love, it’s up to each of us to build a long term vision for it.
Issue 2 / Spring 2013
The QCI Newsletter is brought to you by the Yale School Forests / 360 Prospect Street, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511
Words by Klaus Geiger, Julius Pasay, Claire Nowak, Kendall Barbery and Shane Hetzler / Pictures by Claire Nowak and Alex Barrett / Layout by Claire Nowak