Woodland Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts Executive Committee Meeting - Apr. 16th, 2024

Members of the public are welcome. This is a hybrid meeting at Windsor Town Offices, 1890 MA-9 Please RSVP to Kate Conlin to request a Zoom link by emailing: kconlin@newenglandforestry.org

Agenda

1. 4:00 – 4:05 Call to order by Board Chair Dicken Crane and welcome
2. 4:05 – 4:15 Agent overview of accomplishments and ongoing projects to inform Board decisions and direction:
   1. Snapshot of Agent contract & estimate of discretionary funding - Lisa
   2. Seeking strategic direction on big-picture priorities
      1. Forest Center – Gauge Board support for the Vision of a physical Forest Center for the Woodlands Partnership & discuss possible re-allocation of available study funding. Does a location need to be identified as a first step, or could a plan for space needs be more clearly articulated without a site? – Lisa
      2. Heritage Area Feasibility Study – Agent will be investigating capacity needed to accomplish a study – Forest Center may be a component. – Kate & Lisa
      3. Legislative strategy – Agent update on name change bill and long-term funding needs; planning future meetings with legislators - Lisa & Kate
      4. Allocation of DEIJ funds – proposal to host a well-advertised and promoted educational forum featuring an Indigenous scholar on aboriginal rights (FY25) ^ Kate & Lisa
3. Committee Chair updates (5 minutes each) followed by group discussion around Committee needs and strategy to support those needs, both in the long- and short-term, and next steps ^
   1. 4:15 – 4:20 Municipal Financial Sustainability – Sam Haupt
   2. 4:20 – 4:25 Forest Conservation – Alain Peteroy
   3. 4:25 – 4:30 Natural Resource Based Economic Development – Amy Shapiro/Jay Healy
   4. 4:30 – 4:35 Education, Outreach & Research - Marybeth Chichester
   5. 4:35 – 4:40 Finance & Budgeting – Joe Nowak
   6. 4:40 – 4:45 Executive Committee – Dicken Crane
   7. 4:45 – 5:05 Discussion re: Strategy & Next Steps to Meet Committee Needs
4. 5:05 – 5:15 Discussion of how Committees might work together to accomplish goals and best communicate, Agent role in facilitating
5. 5:15 – 5:20 Ten-Year Plan yearly updates – suggestions for additions or edits are welcome
6. Any item(s) not anticipated within 48 hours
7. Public comment and Adjournment

^ executive committee action needed

Executive Committee members: Dicken Crane – Windsor (Board Chair); Art Schwenger – Heath (Board Vice Chair); Alain Peteroy – Franklin Land Trust (Clerk); Jeffrey Thomas – Lever, Inc. (Treasurer); Rhonda Anderson – Ohketeau Cultural Center; Russ Richardson – Massachusetts Forest Alliance; Robert O’Connor – MA EOEEA; Constance Carpenter (USFS ex-officio)
Committee Chairs: Marybeth Chichester (Education, Outreach, & Research); Dicken Crane (Executive, Indigenous Relationship Building); Sam Haupt (Municipal Financial Sustainability); Joe Nowak (Finance & Budgeting); Alain Peteroy (Forest Conservation); Amy Shapiro (Natural Resource Based Economic Development)
*On Oct. 11, 2022, the Board of the public body created in 2018 voted unanimously to change its name from the “Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership” in its bylaws to operating as the “Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts” and requested the state legislature and USDA Forest Service to officially establish and