ISSUE #5 • WINTER 2025
From the
Ground Up
Conversations about conservation, climate, and communities in New England.
Artwork by HEIDI BRONER - "WINTER CATTLE" - View Full ImageNOTE FROM OUR EDITORS
The climate crisis has exposed a need for a dramatically different, more integrated approach to conservation. While people have lived in reciprocity with land and water for millennia, unchecked development and destructive practices of the past century have threatened the natural systems and society itself here in New England and around the world. Each season, we share stories, conversations, research and perspectives that explore the inextricable connections between conservation, climate, and communities — human and wild.
Our hope is to inspire action and support for policies and practices that protect New England’s Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities.
My chest tightens whenever I reread Aldo Leopold’s account of shooting the wolves that eventually transformed his ethics and science.
In those days we had never heard of passing up a chance to kill a wolf. In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing. When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks. We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain.
Occasionally in meeting a new person, opening a fresh book, or traveling, one experiences completely new thoughts or identifies novel solutions to old problems. Such was my experience on returning this summer to Denmark, a country that I have grown to love over a couple dozen visits since I first traveled there in 1972 with my girlfriend (now wife) to visit her grandmother. This summer we headed to westernmost Jutland, the mainland portion of this island-rich country, to explore the oldest national park and largest wilderness in this country that is roughly the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined.
In 2017, a landmark article in BioScience offered a comprehensive analysis of climate-related threats to the global biosphere and set forth an ambitious agenda for the global conservation movement. In “An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm,” the authors recommended protecting 50 percent of the Earth’s land and forests to preserve intact ecosystems, protect species under threat, and galvanize a movement in support of natural and wild lands’ capacity to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate. In the hopes of spurring immediate action toward this broader goal, subsequent scholars and activists proposed an interim goal of protecting 30 percent of the globe by 2030.
Conversations
Land and Law
Putting Hope on the Ground: An Interview with Representative Amy Sheldon
by Liz Thompson
A year ago, we interviewed Vermont Representative Amy Sheldon on the heels of the passage of Vermont’s landmark Community Resilience and Biodiversity Law, Act 59. A year later, thanks to the work of Sheldon and her committee, and many others, another important law was passed, Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection through Land Use, Act 181. This is an important update to Vermont’s Act 250, a 1970 law that many credit with making Vermont what it is today.
On a crisp October day, Amy and I hiked to a rocky ridge in the Green Mountain National Forest, where we talked about many things: from books we were reading, to wildflowers and mosses, to forest management, to the vagaries of environmental policy work.
The Paradox of Pestilence
Ecological Hope in a Landscape of Tree Death
by Colby Galliher
The American beech trees of southern Connecticut’s Chatfield Hollow State Park are ailing. Over the summer, leaves which should have shimmered svelte and silver-green hung withered and leathery. Some trees, with smooth, stately trunks sporting level branches like spokes, stood naked; now, in winter, most lack even the translucent, faded leaves that typically persist through the cold months. This forest is infected with beech leaf disease (BLD), a malady caused by an invasive nematode from East Asia. Early assessments of BLD’s lethality suggest that affected trees, from wizened elders to humble saplings, will die in a matter of years. In these woods, at least, the writer finds no beech spared of symptoms.
Policy Desk
New England Policy Chronicle
Updates from Around the Region
by Alex Redfield
After four years of expanded federal investments in food systems, conservation, and climate mitigation, the incoming administration will almost certainly adopt a different set of policies and priorities governing federal action on land and climate. The extent of this shift remains to be seen, but state level policy will continue to play a major role in determining how New England responds to a changing climate. In this issue’s Policy Chronicle, we share a story from each New England state to highlight new developments in our region’s approach to protecting our shared landscape.
Green Amendments and the Right to Food
Mutually Reinforcing Protections
by Chelsea Marshall
A wave of legislative activity is spreading across the United States, aiming to protect the conditions that will allow us to live healthy lives with dignity, now and in the future. Efforts to embed new rights in state constitutions face difficult and extended journeys, yet more and more state legislators and local advocates are adopting constitutional amendments as a strategy to effect meaningful change.
The campaigns to protect the right to food and the right to a clean and healthy environment in state constitutions are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Both can—and should—be considered as important contributions to the efforts to protect wildlands, woodlands, and farmlands so that all communities can thrive.
Conservation in Action
Uncharted Floodwaters
Recovering, Rebuilding, and Adapting in Montpelier
by Nadine Canter
In July 2023 my husband and I had a harrowing drive on Interstate 89 in Vermont returning home from a family trip to southern New England. Relentless rains poured from the sky at an alarming rate, clouds exploded with water, and winds rattled the car. Visibility was nearly zero as we crawled alongside other travelers, often coming to a stop because we couldn’t see. The ride was more intense than any snowstorm we’d ever traveled through.
All around us ditches and culverts overflowed as the streams and lands uphill couldn’t contain the water. Washouts were eerily close, as shoulders along the highway collapsed into sinkholes. We crept north through Montpelier while officials closed the highway behind us.
Conservation for All
Reimagining the Role of Land Trusts in Environmental Justice Communities—An Interview with Karen Grey of Wildlands Trust
by Marissa Latshaw
Raised in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts, where “kids were taught that bad things happen in the woods,” Karen Grey shares her unlikely path to becoming a champion for environmental justice and land conservation in Brockton and other communities throughout southern Massachusetts. Today, Karen serves as the President of Wildlands Trust, where she is redefining the role of land trusts in urban communities. I had the pleasure of talking with her about the Wildlands Trust’s ground-healing work in the communities they serve.
Oasis on Ballou
A True Oasis for Food Security and Green Space
by Anna Gilbert-Muhammad
Massachusetts cities and towns are full of thriving community farms. Though each is unique, they share a commitment to bringing fresh produce and food empowerment to their neighborhoods.
Oasis on Ballou, located in the central part of the Dorchester neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, is an urban farm built on an innovative model. The farm, stewarded by Apolo Catala, Farm Manager and Environmental Justice Coordinator, is an outcome of deep community organizing efforts and the assistance of the Codman Square Community Development organization. It provides farm-fresh food to the community using climate-smart soil health practices, and it serves as a beacon of environmental justice.
An Autumn of Connections
This fall, several gatherings connected us and offered opportunities for learning, sharing, and expanding our views on conservation. Each was inspiring in unexpected ways, and each left us better prepared to communicate about the great work being done by so many dedicated people. There is really no substitute for gathering in person with people who share our passion for connection to the land and the conservation of its many wonders.
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Making Peace with Nature: Inspirations from COP 16
by Walter Poleman
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When Land Trusts Gather: Inspiration From Around the Country at the 2024 LTA Rally
by Liz Thompson
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Collaborating for Healthier Communities: Highlights from the 2024 RCP Network Gathering
by the editors of From the Ground Up
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Partnering to Conserve Land and Protect Birds: Highlights & Takeaways from the Northeast Bird Habitat Conservation Initiative
by Katie Blake and Sara Barker
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Sowing Seeds: Vermonters Gather for Conservation
by Liz Thompson
Read, Watch, Listen
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How Wild
NPR
Listen: The How Wild podcast explores the meaning of wilderness through stories from rangers, scientists, hikers, environmentalists, and Tribal leaders. It examines the U.S. wilderness legacy, its evolving reality on a changing planet, and whether true “wilderness” ever existed.
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Joanna Macy: A Wild Love for the World
On Being with Krista Tippett
Listen: Buddhist philosopher of ecology Joanna Macy, now in her 90s, reflects on humanity’s pivotal moment to create or unravel a life-sustaining society. A former CIA and Peace Corps worker, she brings a poetic and spiritual sensibility to ecological and political challenges.
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Wilderness in History and Ecology
Edward K. Faison, Arnoldia
Read: Some have said that the concept of Wilderness is a colonial construct. Yet the Nez Perce people have a name for it: “peopleless land.” With this and other information, Faison challenges the idea that Wilderness is a strictly Western idea.
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Pr Satish Kumar: Beyond Deep Ecology
Neo Frics on YouTube
Watch: Satish Kumar explains the difference between shallow and deep ecology, concepts introduced by Arne Naess. Drawing on his Jain beliefs, he explores nature’s sacredness and proposes a “reverential ecology” that challenges Darwin’s survival of the fittest.
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Biodiversity and Forestry: The Canada Lynx as Umbrella Species
Tinsley Hunsdorfer, New England Forestry Foundation
Read: Responding to COP16, the New England Forestry Foundation highlights tools for protecting biodiversity in managed forests, using Canada lynx as a case study. Their Exemplary Forestry standards aim to improve wildlife habitat, mitigate climate change, promote sustainably produced wood, and more.
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Rare Lynx Sightings Put Carnivores and Wildlands in the Spotlight
Northeast Wilderness Trust
Read: A lynx sighting in Rutland County, Vermont, highlights the importance of preserving New England wilderness. Learn about theories behind why this lynx might have been in Vermont, and efforts to support lynx populations.
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Born to be Wild: The Ecological Benefits of Wild & Scenic Rivers
GrassRoots Community Network on YouTube
Watch: Jennifer Back, a retired Hydrologist with the National Park Service, presents on the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, covering criteria for designation, benefits of protected rivers, and examples like the Lower Farmington River in Connecticut.
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The Heartbreak Hotel Apartment Building Stitched Plainfield Together. Floods Washed It Away
Erica Heilman, Vermont Public
Read & Listen: When a flash flood washed Vermont’s “Heartbreak Hotel” apartment complex into a river, residents lost their homes, pets, and community. Reporter Erica Heilman shares interviews with residents, reflecting on the incident, their joyful memories, and their hopes for the future.
The Bookshelf
Essential reading from our editors and contributors.
ARTWORK BY JACO TAYLORBulletin Board
Events, updates, and announcements from our partners and friends from around the region.
Want to join the conversation?
We invite your questions, reactions, debates, suggestions, and contributions. Our editorial team is committed to expanding the chorus of voices needed to safeguard the health, resiliency, and vibrancy of New England’s communities—both human and wild.
Reflections
Artistic expressions that reflect Nature's complexity, simplicity, and beauty.
Photo © Liz Thompsonstar shower
A POEM BY MARY KATHERINE CREEL
After cotton-soft fog,
I am drunk
on oak bokeh
and the brittle leaf rattle
of December. Here,
the quiet work
of a winter aster,
its bone-white petals
worn like a crown
until wispy seeds
fall away
in a tiny star shower.