On November 6, Paul K. Barten will be the guest speaker at the Suffield Land Conservancy’s annual meeting. The program will begin at 7 p.m. at the Suffield Senior Center.
The forests of New England are constantly changing. Some changes may be barely perceptible while others are sudden and dramatic. In any forest, large or small, we might ask: was it nature (ecological processes) or nurture (protection and restoration) that changed its character and condition? Alternatively, was it responsible land use or overt, grasping exploitation that altered forest structure and ecosystem function? On all but a tiny remnant of primary forest, the answer would simply [sic] be yes (…all of the above). Put another way, almost all forests reflect the cumulative influence of biophysical and socioeconomic drivers over many centuries. (If not for the remarkable resilience of trees and forests and the moderate, well-watered climate of this region our quality of life would be very different.) Understanding how forests have changed through time can help a community to deliberately choose a more sustainable future. Fully and objectively appreciating the critical functions of forests (e.g., mitigation of climate change, protection of drinking water supplies, conservation of biological diversity, to name a few) can help to persuade skeptical citizens and political leaders that, as Gifford Pinchot often said, conservation is “the application of common sense to common problems for the common good.”
Paul K. Barten is a professor emeritus (University of Massachusetts Amherst 1997-2022; Yale University 1988-1997) of forestry, hydrology and environmental history (https://www.umass.edu/environmental-conservation/about/directory/paul-k-barten) and a resident of West Suffield. Dr. Barten earned an A.A.S. in forestry and surveying from the New York State Ranger School (1977), a B.S. in forest resources management from SUNY ESF (1983), and an M.S. (1985) and Ph.D. (1988) in forest hydrology and watershed management from the University of Minnesota. Before beginning his academic career, he worked as a land surveyor and served in the U.S. Army.