Maine Forest Climate Change Webinar Series

NOTE: We are currently developing Year 3 (2022-23) of our webinar Wednesdays/field tour Fridays series, which will be built around case studies in adaptive forest management under the changing climate. Please check back here (or watch your emails) for details about the sessions and to register–first in the series will be Oct 26/28.

Science and Practice: Year 2, Addressing Forest Climate Change in Maine
An Interactive Webinar Series for Stakeholders and the Interested Public

The 2021-2022 Webinar and Field Tour Series has now concluded. Videos of webinars and field tour highlights are available on the meeting webpages.

Check out our Forest Climate Questions and Answers HERE.

Click on the session links below for access to webinar recordings, field tour notes, and related resources.

Building on the success of our 2020 Science and Practice Forum and 2020-2021 Science & Practice Webinar Series, FCCI and FSG developed a followup series for 2021-22 that focused on climate change impacts on the different forest types found in Maine through a combination of 1-hour webinars paired with half day field tours. The webinars provided an overview of the topics and issues faced at each site: including those related to the intersection of climate adaptation and site-specific biodiversity. Webinars allowed time for Q&A and to showcase field tour specifics. The field tours examined climate impacts and management at each site.

The FCCI-FSG webinars and field tours are generously supported by the Munsungan Endowment Fund supporting outreach and education projects that educate the public about forest resources in Maine.

Field Site Information

Site	Hosts	Background
Rangeley	Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, New England Forestry Foundation	Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust has conserved 14,000 acres of land including 50 miles of lake and river frontage, 15 islands and the majestic 2,443 foot Bald Mountain, all in the Rangeley Lakes Region. This diverse yet ecologically distinct region encompasses many different landowners, which have worked directly with Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. More information is available here
PEF	Laura Kenefic (USFS), Keith Kanoti (UMaine), Alessio Mortelliti (UMaine), Kenny Fergusson (MFS)	The Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Bradley, Maine is a site of a long-term silvicultural experiment and additional research jointly managed by the US Forest Service and University of Maine. More information on the PEF is available here.
Holt Research Forest	Jack Witham (UMaine), Kelly French (Maine TREE)	The Holt Research Forest (HRF) in Arrowsic, Maine is the site of long-term ecosystem research on property owned by Maine TREE Foundation. Four decades of data have been collected at this site and ecosystem response following an experimental harvest is now underway. More information on the HRF is available here.
Schoodic	Nicholas Fisichelli (Schoodic), Peter Nelson (Schoodic)	The Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor, Maine is involved with ongoing research in Acadia National Park where changes related to warming temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, habitat fragmentation, and invasive plants, pests, and diseases are being documented. More information about Schoodic is here.

Year 1 Series: Oct 2020-June 2021

Final Webinar of the Series was held June 2, 2021

Click on the Meeting Page links below for full recordings of completed webinars

The Forest Climate Change Initiative and Forest Stewards Guild invited scientists, researchers, and interested public each month as a panel of researchers, scientists, and stakeholders tackled issues of climate change and how it is influencing Maine’s forests and forest economy. Topics have ranged from impacts on forest health, recreational use, forest management, biodiversity and pests, as well as the role of carbon and greenhouse gases. The series began in October 2020, and ran on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm. Each hour-long session includes an informal presentation, followed by panel discussion and Q&A.

Although Maine’s forest is relatively unique, these webinar topics provided open discussions aimed at an audience in or outside of Maine. We believe these issues and challenges that need addressing are similar to other regions. Better understanding and articulating commonality as well as differences will be important for testing effective solutions, particularly when drafting potential policies.

Visit our FAQ page

Click on the MTG PAGE links below for recordings of previously held webinars as well as resources relevant to the topic.

Date (all 12-1pm)	Focus	Panelists
2020-21 Webinar SERIES
June 2, 2021 MTG PAGE	BONUS WEBINAR: Managing Brown Ash for Resiliency Against EAB and Climate Change	John Daigle, Professor of Forest Recreation Management, Tyler Everett, UMaine SFR PhD student, Emily Francis, UMaine SFR PhD student
May 5, 2021 MTG PAGE	Converging Policy and Practice: Carbon/Climate/New Directions	Ivan Fernandez, Distinguished Maine Professor, Climate Change Institute & School of Forest Resources, joined by prior series panelists
April 7, 2021 MTG PAGE	Visualize forest composition and health using hundreds of colors in the electromagnetic spectrum	Nick Fisichelli, President and CEO, Schoodic Institute, Peter Nelson, Schoodic Institute Forestry Ecology Director, Walker Day, Seven Islands Land Co.
March 3, 2021 MTG PAGE	Forest Health: Northern Forests and Pests	Bill Livingston, Associate Professor of Forest Resources and Allison Kanoti, Forest Entomologist, Maine Forest Service
February 3, 2021 MTG PAGE	Forest Vulnerability Assessment	Alyssa Soucy, PhD candidate, Sandra De Urioste-Stone, Associate Professor of Nature-based Tourism, Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran, Assistant Professor of Remote Sensing of Natural Resources
January 6, 2021 MTG PAGE	Forest Biodiversity and Species Shifts	Erin Simons-Legaard, Assistant Research Professor in Forest Landscape Modeling, and Amanda Shearin Cross, Wildlife Resource Supervisor, Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
December 2, 2020 MTG PAGE	Warming/Changing Winters	Sarah Nelson, Conservation Research Director, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Jay Wason, Assistant Professor of Forest Ecosystem Physiology
November 4, 2020 MTG PAGE	Carbon Budget, Management, and Credits	Adam Daigneault, Assistant Professor of Forest, Conservation, & Recreation Policy and Dan Hayes, Associate Professor of Geospatial Analysis and Remote Sensing
October 7, 2020 MTG PAGE	Forest Operations, with Virtual Field Tour (30 min video can be viewed anytime), and Best Management Practices	Keith Kanoti, University Forests Manager, and Amanda Mahaffey, Northeast Region Director, Forest Stewards Guild.

The Science and Practice: Addressing Forest Climate Change in Maine webinar series is sponsored by the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests. FCCI-FSG webinars and field tours are generously supported by the Munsungan Endowment Fund supporting outreach and education projects that educate the public about forest resources in Maine. If you need a reasonable accommodation to attend these webinars, please contact Meg Fergusson at 207.581.3794 or e-mail crsf@maine.edu at least a week prior to scheduled webinar. If requests are received after this date, we may not have sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements.

Center for Research on Sustainable Forests