Fri, Jul 30 7:30 pm
In partnership with Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, Wild Thing highlights films about the natural world. The Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust inspires and leads private, voluntary action to conserve the land the North Country loves.
What were New England’s woodlands like prior to 1600? What do the small old-growth remnants look like today and what special values, if any, do they hold? Lost Forests of New England addresses these and other questions in an effort to bring clarity to a subject that is often lost in the mists of time.
Producer Ray Asselin, a naturalist and filmmaker from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, narrates the video. The film features key scientists and naturalists associated with the discovery and study of New England’s remaining old-growth woodlands. These experts discuss the structure, ecology, history, and value of New England’s oldest forests, and their future prospects. The audience is treated to a visual tour of woodlands that have endured for centuries, through compelling images that compare and contrast the old growth sites with today’s highly altered landscape.
The result is a side-by-side comparison between original and reshaped woodlands that makes a strong case for preserving the ancient remnants.
David Govatski is a member and county coordinator of the Old-Growth Forest Network, a national organization focused on protecting and restoring old-growth forests. He has visited and studied many old-growth forests in New England and throughout North America. David is co-author of “Forests for the People: The Story of the Eastern National Forests.” He served as technical advisor for the documentary film “The People’s Forest.”
David’s professional background was with the U.S. Forest Service, where he worked for 33 years until retirement in various positions and locations across the country as a Forester and Silviculturist. David has written about New Hampshire’s old-growth forests and leads field trips to visit remnants of our original forests. David lives in Jefferson, NH.
