Habitat Biologist, Pat Conlin, will present a natural history of Massachusetts and discuss how this influences habitat management practices of today. Funding opportunities available to landowners for habitat management will be discussed.
To register for this webinar please click HERE.
For any questions, comments, or assistance please contact us at info@northcountylandtrust.org or contact Lisa at 207-631-1891.
Session Description:
Natural processes and human activity have shaped our forests in Massachusetts and continue to do so. This presentation will look at the natural history of our state beginning at the end of our most recent Ice Age. We will see how bare ground was repopulated with plants that survived in refugia to the south and how those plant communities shifted with changes to temperature and soil. We will also look at evidence that suggests what those plant communities were comprised of and make inferences based on species abundance. Then we will see how pre- and post-Columbian human influence modified the state’s forests along with the negative and positive outcomes of that influence. Finally, we will examine how these influences affect our wildlife through population trends and forest composition and look at opportunities that exist to land owners and managers to address declining wildlife through habitat management programs.
Speaker Bio:
Pat Conlin is a private lands habitat biologist at the Massachusetts Division of FIsheries and Wildlife. He offers technical assistance to landowners across the state who wish to manage their lands for the benefit of wildlife and biodiversity. Previous to his state position, he practiced as a consulting forester for Bay State Forestry where he planned and administered forest management throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, and southern Vermont. In addition he worked as an arborist for various private tree care companies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Pat holds degrees in Forest Technology from the University of New Hampshire and Forest Health from the University of Massachusetts. In his spare time he volunteers for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies as a participant in Mountain Birdwatch and tends to his small woodlot in Buckland, MA with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.
To register for this webinar please click HERE.
For any questions, comments, or assistance please contact us at info@northcountylandtrust.org or contact Lisa at 207-631-1891.