Many hikers recoiled with horror nearly five years ago when logging crews cut down 65 acres of trees at Stonington’s Hoffman Evergreen Preserve, making it look as if a hurricane had ripped through se.
At 9:30 on a morning in late May, it was already hot and promising to get hotter as a dozen or so volunteers gathered at the Hoffman Evergreen Preserve in Stonington. They were there to plant trees – a seemingly curious activity, considering the preserve is already a forest.
But planting those trees – a mere 150 or so on this particular day – is intended to do more than just revitalize the woodland. Along with a few similar projects around the state, the Hoffman work may help set a course for how Connecticut can adapt its forests to withstand the effects of climate change.
Date Time
Researchers Developing Coastal Forest Resiliency Plan for Coastal Evergreen Preserve
Extension educator Juliana Barrett will lead a team in developing a coastal forest management plan for a preserve in Stonington.
A view of the coastline at the Avery Point campus on Sept. 23, 2015. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Coastal forests are unique ecological communities. They provide habitat to wildlife, reduce flooding, and trap carbon, preventing it from entering the atmosphere. Unfortunately, as the planet warms, sea levels are rising, and sea storms are becoming more frequent and intense. This is making these forests wetter and saltier and more susceptible to storm damage, seriously endangering them.