October 16th: Our Research and consultant teams convened and held our first meeting with the advisory committee to discuss and obtain input on outreach efforts, definitions, and survey tool questions.
Key highlights:
- Our team considered expanding the advisory committee to include a specialist on recreation, with some possible candidates mentioned.
- Our team considered outreach efforts, the difficulties that could be encountered in making contact with forest managers, and ways to spread information to interested parties.
- The definition of “town forest” was discussed, to clarify which forests that should be included in the census. The general consensus was that community forests with dedicated resources to private land management should be excluded.
- Possible survey questions were brainstormed, with consideration given to questions on land cover, economic benefits, and recreation.
Looking forward: Our team will continue to work on a detailed project schedule and establish meeting dates. The next meeting of the advisory committee will be around November 15th, to review census questions, and review the tentative list of forests.