Indian Foresters Visit Yale

Last month, the F&ES-based Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry hosted 29 officers from the Indian Forest Service (IFS) participating in the service's mid-career training program. During their two-week visit, held from June 1 to 14, the officers took part in a series of lectures and field trips on campus and throughout the region. In addition to events on campus, they visited Yale Myers Forest; the Harvard Forest; the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts; the Bronx Zoo; the New York Botanical Garden; and the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. The program was conducted in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University in India. 
 
Below are some photos of their visit.

The group started its visit with a walking tour of Yale University. The officers were impressed by the architecture and rich history of Old Campus.

Colleen Murphy-Dunning, executive director of the F&ES-based Urban Resources Initiative (URI), showed the group numerous urban green spaces located in New Haven's neighborhoods. During the tour, she described the challenges and opportunities of maintaining green spaces in an urban environment.

The officers traveled to the Quabbin Reservoir, one of the largest human-made public water supplies in the United States, to learn about watershed management practices. The Quabbin, located in Belchertown, Mass., provides potable drinking water to more than 2.5 million people in the Greater Boston area. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

While visiting the Quabbin, the group was treated to a close encounter with a snapping turtle that was in the process of laying eggs on a dirt path. The female turtle was gently returned to her nest so that the vans could pass.

Despite frequent rain showers, the trip to Yale Myers Forest — located in northeastern Connecticut — was considered a highlight of the program. The Officers met with Mark Ashton, Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology and Director of the School Forests, who led the group through the forest and discussed both silviculture and the ecological history of Yale Myers. 

During a visit to an active logging site near Yale Myers, the Officers met with employees of Hull Forests Products, who detailed the company's practices and work in the area. After the logging site, the group toured a Hull sawmill facility.

The group spent three days in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in New Hampshire. A highlight was meeting with Forest Supervisor Tom Wagner and members of the Forest's staff. Some Officers noted that meeting with the WMNF staff felt like meeting with family, since they are the U.S. counterparts to the Indian Forest Service.

Officers and staffers from the White Mountain National Forest explore the forest. During the field visit, the group discussed climate change, law enforcement in the forest, management of recreational activities, and general forest management.

IFS officers skip rocks during a break in field lectures at White Mountain National Forest. 

— Photos and Text by Emma Kravet