When the decision was made to use sustainably harvested wood in the new LaForce dining hall, the College didn't have to look far for a forest to supply it. The College's Bread Loaf lands, located only 20 minutes from campus contained the yellow birch and beech the project required. By the project's end 30,000 board feet would be removed from the property, the equivalent of seven log trucks. Throughout the logging, David Brynn of Vermont Family Forests served as the primary forester managing the Bread Loaf lot to insure the forest's long-term health, both as a resource and an ecosystem. 
David Brynn of Vermont Family Forests at the Bread Loaf lot.
Following the removal of the timber, College forester Steve Weber performed a variety of management techniques ranging from relocating tops and stumps, to run off control, to agitating the soil to disturb fern growth and encouraging seedling trees.
Similar management practices were employed prior to and after logging on the other local wood lots involved in the project. 
Middlebury College Forester Steve Weber.
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Birch marked for Harvest. |
Dense fern growth indicating moist soil. |
Next: Logging with John Anderson