Milestones – Seventy Years at MFFC

by Marybeth Leu

In 2000, a timeline of significant milestones in MFFC’s first fifty years of continuous operation was published in the summer issue of the Ridgeline newsletter. Individual entries document such important events as the continued acquisition of land, construction of new facilities, development of educational programs and partnerships, and the re-alignment of staff positions to provide progressive and innovative responses to the challenges of managing the farm and forest.

In the twenty years since this 2000 timeline was published, milestones have continued to mark the progress of this organization. What might be most remarkable about this extended timeline is not awards won or production thresholds achieved, but the constancy, over time, of our guiding land ethic. It has been often stated - but nowhere more simply or with more heartfelt conviction than by longtime volunteer/staffer/ Advisor/Trustee, Margaret Mertz - in a 2001 interview: “I don’t think there could be a more important cause for the world than to have sustainable management of farm and forest in the world. I mean, I don’t see this as a local issue. It’s a worldwide issue.”

This sentiment has been a quiet drumbeat, a metronome by which we continue to measure our progress. We are poised to complete a century in the service of preserving and conserving land as well as managing and stewarding it and educating our 15,000 annual visitors about the work we do and why we do it.

Land Management Milestones

1940 George Merck purchases land in Rupert, Vermont, as a family getaway

1950 Mr. Merck donates 2600 acres to create the Vermont Forest & Farmland Foundation

1951 Dedication of Carl A Schenck Tree Farm

1952 Distinguished Farmer Award established

1957 Hosted statewide land-use conference

1980 151,000 board feet of lumber harvested & sold; improvements to the sugarbush

1997 310 acres of adjoining forest donated in memory of George Merck

1997 New Trail cut, others planned, between Old Town Rd and the McCormick Trail designed to reduce “traffic conflicts” on Old Town Road

1998 310-Acre Donation increases MFFC footprint to 3130 acres. Donation is the culmination of 3-year discussion between NE Forestry Foundation, Trust of Public Lands & MFFC

2000 20-acre donation from Dorothy Fetteroff in memory of her husband increases footprint to 3150 acres

2000 Cutting-edge sap pipeline constructed; designated Certified Organic syrup producer

2004 Charles Cogbill’s publication”Land Use at MFFC, 1761 to Present” documents the land use history of the properties which eventually comprised MFFC.

2012 Re-siting the sugarbush and installation of a new evaporator

2012 Grant-funded fences erected to manage pasturelands and institute rotational grazing

2013 Controlled burn of forest east of Lookout Road is conducted in order to regenerate the area for red oaks

2015 Trustee committee explores placing a conservation easement on MFFC property

2016 A permanent Conservation Easement, held by the Vermont Land Trust, is established to protect the natural resources of the property

2019 Collaboration with UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources to educate private landowners about the value of “landscape level” management plans for their properties

2020 With support from the Vermont Land Trust, MFFC purchased 144-acre parcel adjacent to the Mettowee Community School, for development of outdoor environmental programs

Educational Program Milestones

1 975 Summer Camps established

1976 Winter Study program initiated: Rustic living & selfsufficiency taught to college students

1976 New Education Coordinator develops 3-season programs for 25 local schools; participation of +/-2500 students from area schools

1976 8th consecutive year of SCA/MFFC joint programs for high school students; 3rd consecutive year for sleepover camps for 8- to 12-year olds; 1st year “nomad” camping experience for 12-15 year olds

1987 3-1/2 week Winter Program for college students; Spring school groups for over 600 children; Apprentices; Summer Camps for 120 children

1997 30th anniversary of SCA/MFFC partnership: rich, varied experiences are afforded to young people as they live on and work the land

2013 Professional education in place-based Environmental Science is offered to local teachers

2015 New collaborative program with area schools is initiated with focus on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) curricula

2016 A year-long series of workshops on lumber-processing and timber-framing construction was conducted, in prelude to the construction of a cabin replicating Henry David Thoreau’s tiny house at Walden Pond (Concord, Massachusetts)

2017 Replica Thoreau cabin is completed and dedicated on the bicentennial anniversary of HD Thoreau’s birth

2020 Major disruptions to programming occur as the COVID-19 virus closes down all social venues. The property remains open to the public, but events and programs pivot to online offerings

Conservation Ethic Milestones

1952 First participation in Soil Bank & ACP program

1954 Deer browse research initiated

1971 Battenkill Watershed Study established

1978 Intern wildlife studies conducted

1987 Widespread systemic damage to sugar maples in the sugarbush (attributed to acid rain) is discovered; the decision is made to reduce the number of taps installed in order to reduce stress on the sugarbush

1988 Decision to cancel sugaring due to sugar maples’ decline

1995 General Natural History inventory commences phase one with 40 community study-plots as a baseline

1997 MFFC celebrates 30-year partnership with SCA (Student Conservation Association)

1997 The Forest Stewardship Program (partnership between Vt Dept of Forests, Parks & Recreation, USDA Forest Service) awards MFFC the Forest Stewardship Award

1999 SmartWood Certification awarded MFFC by Rainforest Alliance in recognition of forestry practices that maintain the vitality & functionality of ecosystems

1999 In a 15-minute thunderstorm on July 6th, 45 acres of forest were flattened

2000 New Mission Statement & Strategic Objectives identified

2001 First-in-the-nation SmartWood Certification awarded by Rainforest Alliance for Maple Syrup operations

2002 Dual Certification: Green-Certified by the Forest Steward’s Council and Certified Organic by NOFA-VT

2002 MFFC selected Vermont Tree Farm of the Year by Vermont Woodlands Association

2003 Construction on new sugarhouse, with timber harvested at MFFC, is started

2003 “Shelterwood Timber Harvest” – a experimental staged harvest -- is undertaken

2011 35 chestnut tree seeds are planted in hopes of determining site tolerance of these plants to high elevation (2000’ plus) conditions

2012 Preparations begin for the establishment of a large experimental chestnut orchard in partnership with the Vermont Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation.

2013 NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) partners with MFFC on 4 water-quality projects to reduce erosion & nutrient-loading in the watershed

2013 Forester for the Birds project is initiated, in partnership with Audubon-Vermont and Vermont Dept of Forests, Parks & Recreation. The goal is to develop & demonstrate forest management that integrates timber and songbird habitat

2013 First-ever BioBlitz takes place to catalog living species at MFFC

2013 Solar panels installed at the lodge to provide electricity

2014 Partnership between MFFC and Vermont Center for Ecostudies to document biodiversity; Using iNaturalist application for May 2013 Bioblitz. 2016 United Nations Group of 77 – members from developing nations with an interest in sustainable management of farm & forest resources – visited MFFC for presentations by Ethan Crumley (Forester) and Jonathan Kilpatrick (Farm Manager)

2019 Citizen scientists catalog MFFC’s flora & fauna at the summer BioBlitz

2019 State House to Farm House event hosted at MFFC connected legislators with area farmers and food producers