This document serves as a summative analysis of the ecosystems and stand conditions of a private property in southern Addison County, Vermont. Vermont is a small rural state which values agriculture and forestry as primary components of the state's economy. The Use Value Appraisal Program, operated by Vermont's Department of Taxes, provides tax incentives for landowners who create a forest management plan and practice sustainable forest and land management....

Farmers are in short supply in the United States, with the average age of the American farmer ever increasing. There are significant barriers to entry for beginning farmers which include limited availability and affordability of agricultural lands, lack of experience in farming, high capital expenses, difficulty in getting financed, and various other social pressures. Farms are consolidating at a rapid rate, growing larger and decreasing in numbers....

Oregon forests need regulatory protection to live beyond the century of over logging that occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Regulatory actions of the past 20 years that limited logging in Oregon, primarily on federally owned land, which covers about half of the state. These limits have helped the forests regenerate, but have significantly hurt small, rural logging towns. Because so much of the geography of the state is forest land,...

With growing urban and suburban areas across the nation there is an increasing need to understand human-wildlife interactions. The Coyote (Canis latrans) is an adaptable and opportunistic species that can thrive in anthropogenic environments. This study was conducted with two goals in mind. First, to understand the influences of human-coyote interactions using public reports, and second, to use these interactions along with wildlife cameras to predict...

As humans and ecologists, we must consider our role in ecological restorations and the impact of our management decisions. As natural environments and plant communities are increasingly changing by the hands of human influence, a new approach to restoration must be implemented. This study uses the bioregional education from Green Mountain College to establish locally minded restoration of burn scars in northwest Colorado forests. In this study seed...

Much of the lands of the Mohonk Mountain House have been a protected and conserved landscape since 1869, when the Mountain House was established by Albert and Alfred Smiley with the purchase of Mohonk Lake and three hundred acres. Subsequently, the Smileys continued to acquire adjacent parcels, which were primarily subsistence farms or wood lots, to support their growing resort operation. Farms were used to produce food for the dining rooms, and wood...

In 2006, members of the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center staff identified the invasive Water Chestnut (Trapa natans L.) in "Big Pond", a freshwater emergent wetland located in Jamestown Audubon Society's (JAS) Burgeson Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS). T. natans L.is listed as a prohibited invasive species by New York State under 6 NYCRR Part 575 because of its threat, both environmental and economic, to the state's natural communities and systems...

With the growing number of young entrepreneurs starting business within food systems and urban farming, the need for sustainable strategies grows. Proper strategy will be the difference between successful startups and failed potentials. When sustainability is added to the mix, not only does the proper strategy become apparent, the community can also become ameliorated through the business's goals and achievements. One such business that aims to survive...