Flexing Forests: Managing Woodlands for Adaptability and Uncertainty with Jess Wikle, UVM Research Forests
Free and in-person at NBNC

Tickets Required – Register Here

Northern forests face a number of new threats, from severe weather patterns driven by climate change, to invasive insects and pathogens. But novel forest management techniques can prepare forests to be more resilient in the face of an uncertain future. Jess Wikle, Manager of UVM Research Forests, describes some current forest vulnerabilities and a selection of management strategies that can be used to address them, sharing outcomes of recent research projects in New England.

About Jess: Jess Wikle, Ph.D, is a Research Associate and Manager of Research Forests at UVM. She studies stand dynamics and the application of silvicultural techniques in an era of change. More specifically, she focuses on how forest structure may contribute to the adaptive capacity of forests and how management can enhance forest structural diversity while meeting a broad set of societal goals. As both a forest manager and researcher, Jess is interested in performing research with practical applications and finding ways to best communicate outcomes to practitioners. She strives to combine her interests in application to all facets of her job—engaging students in practical, real-world problem-solving, and outreach in activities at the UVM Research Forests.

About our Naturalist Journeys 2025 Winter Presentation Series: This year’s series focuses on making healthy and sustainable forests in Vermont. How should we weigh competing forest management goals? Is timber harvesting at odds with biodiversity? Can felling a tree save a bird? When can logging be a radical act of compassion? How do Vermont’s ecological foresters make choices? What happens when we restore a forest’s wild autonomy? We hope you’ll join the discussion. The series runs December through February.

In-person events will be livestreamed on our YouTube page.

Naturalist Journeys is made possible by our sponsors:

Hunger Mountain Coop
802 Coffee
Onion River Outdoors
Washington Electric Co-op
Stone Environmental
Waite-Heindel Environmental