News

19 04, 2016

NorthWoods Expands USFWS Youth Conservation Crews

2016-12-13T19:11:46-05:00April 19th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

The NorthWoods Stewardship Center has had a long-standing partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, managing Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crews at National Wildlife Refuges across New England since 1999. Nearly 20 years later, the partnership continues to offer great potential at new locations. This year, NorthWoods will manage a YCC Crew at the Misissquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, VT and a YCC Crew Leader team at the Moosehorn NWR in Charlotte, ME. These crews are in addition to our current YCC crews at the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge Nulhegan Basin [Read More...]

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19 04, 2016

Vermont’s Green Up Day

2016-12-13T19:11:47-05:00April 19th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

The first Green Up Day occurred in 1970, when Governor Deane C. Davis decided there should be a day dedicated to citizen-powered state cleanup. On that first Green Up Day, over 4,000 garbage truck loads were required to haul the trash that was picked up by Vermonters. Now, 46 years later, the tradition is still going strong with over 40,000 bags of trash collected annually! Green Up Vermont, like NorthWoods, is a 503(c) non-profit organization. It was started in 1979 to organize the annual litter gathering and distribute special trash bags. The people of Green [Read More...]

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19 04, 2016

Trail Guidelines for Mud Season

2016-12-13T19:11:47-05:00April 19th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

It is mud season in the Northeast Kingdom and NorthWoods is discouraging hikers from damaging local trail during this transitional time of year. In northern Vermont mud season comes early and ends late, often extending into June—much later than other parts of the state. The impacts of hiking during mud season are significant and they should be minimized during any wet spell, not just in the spring. Fragile soils, plants, loose slopes, access roads and parking areas are all more susceptible to rutting, compaction and erosion at this time of year. To reduce impacts to [Read More...]

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25 02, 2016

NorthWoods Staff Lead Sterling College Backcountry Course

2016-02-25T10:20:12-05:00February 25th, 2016|Education, Highlights, News|

Sterling College's Winter Intensive provides students with the opportunity to dig deep into a subject, and only that subject, for two straight weeks. For students in my course, while the snowpack was on the thin side, we certainly dug in to backcountry skiing in Vermont. We found snow in likely places when we left the lowlands, and reached the summits of Mt. Mansfield, Bald Mtn, and the ridge of the Bolton Trapps Traverse under the power of our muscles and skins attached to our skis.  We enjoyed snow made soft by rain, [Read More...]

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23 02, 2016

This Week in the Woods: A Look Through the Ice

2016-12-13T19:11:48-05:00February 23rd, 2016|Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

It may be common knowledge that water freezes at 32°F, and that water, unlike most things, expands as it freezes. We, as residents of winter, have a complicated relationship with ice. What glory it brings when fishing and skating, and what frustration, when it covers our roads and windshields. What you may not know is that the ice on our ponds and lakes (though lately it has been looking a bit thin…) actually began to form in late summer of 2015. As temperatures begin to drop, the top layer of water [Read More...]

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11 01, 2016

This Week in the Woods: Winter Tracks

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00January 11th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

Have you ever walked outside in the morning to find that someone, or something, has been quite busy while you were asleep? Here are some hints to help you narrow down your suspects. There are four main ways that animals move: Walk/Trotters (cat family, dog family, and hoofed animals) move on their toes, front foot on one side, followed by hind foot on the other side. Typically you will only see the hind tracks as they place them on top of the front tracks. Waddlers (Bears, Beavers, Porcupines, Raccoons, Opossums, Muskrats, [Read More...]

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11 01, 2016

This Week in the Woods: Freezing Frogs

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00January 11th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

There are five species of frogs that are able to enter a “frozen state” as they hibernate for the winter: the Wood Frog, Cope’s Gray Tree Frog, the Eastern Gray Tree Frog, Spring Peepers, and the Western Chorus Frog. Even in their protected winter homes, temperatures are sure to drop below freezing. This causes the water in their outer cells to begin to freeze. Once this begins, their liver starts producing glucose, which the heart pumps through the blood to all vital organs. This glucose helps prevent the tissue from drying [Read More...]

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17 12, 2015

Winter Programs & Conditions

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00December 17th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

Trail System Snow Conditions Groomed Open Trails / Total Trails Last Updated NorthWoods Center High Moisture Powder over Ice Yes  6 km / 18 km 4-March-16 Willoughby State Forest High Moisture Packed Powder Yes  12 km / 14 km 4-March-16 Q Burke Resort Please See Q Burke Site -  - - Click here for maps of our Nordic trails at NorthWoods, Willoughby, and Q Burke. NorthWoods will be posting up-to-date trail conditions on this page throughout the season. For a more detailed update on trail conditions and programs, please refer to our weekly [Read More...]

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14 12, 2015

This Week in the Woods: Why the heck is it so warm?

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00December 14th, 2015|Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

December, why are you so warm? This unusually warm start to winter can be attributed to a global event known as “El Niño.” Generally speaking, El Niño can be defined as a prolonged increase in average sea surface temperatures across the Pacific Ocean. A cyclic event, El Niño typically occurs every 2-7 years, every five on average. This ocean warming means different things to different places. Here in the Northeast, it brings warmer, drier winter months. El Niño’s rush of warm ocean water, heated as it travels eastward in the Equatorial [Read More...]

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7 12, 2015

This Week in the Woods: Balsam Firs are Busy

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00December 7th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

The Balsam Firs are busy! Not only do they serve as one of the most popular choices for Christmas trees, they are also highly medicinal. This tree has been used throughout history by many Native Americans, such as the Iroquois, Algonquin, Abenaki, Penobscot, and others. The resin can be used on cuts and burns, as well as turned into a chest ointment for colds and congestion. A tea can be made from the needles to sooth coughs and colds. Once made into an essential oil, it can be used to calm [Read More...]

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PO Box 220, East Charleston, VT 05833

Get in Touch

Email: info@northwoodscenter.org

Main Phone: 802.723.6551

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Funding for the development of this website was made possible in part by the Rural Business Enterprise Grant through the Vermont Community Loan Fund from USDA Rural Development.
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