91制片厂

Have you ever walked in the woods while 15 women are running chainsaws? While historically this hasn鈥檛 been a common sight in New Hampshire, 91制片厂 Extension is now helping make it a more frequent reality.

The health of New Hampshire鈥檚 forests is defined by the ability of private landowners to make informed management decisions on their properties. Women landowners contribute to management decisions on over 1.8 million acres of the state鈥檚 forestland and are the primary decision makers on 23% (429,000 acres) of private forestland. Nationally, land ownership trends are showing that women are increasingly becoming the primary decision makers for privately owned forests.

Despite this national trend, research has revealed that women are less likely, overall, to participate in management activities, partly because outreach efforts have not reached women as successfully as men. In response to this need, 91制片厂 Extension, , (Forest Society) and other partners have committed to increasing engagement with this underserved and underrepresented audience through the program.

鈥淲omen landowners play a significant role in managing New Hampshire's forests, and it鈥檚 important we support them with the resources, training and skills they need to make stewardship decisions and effectively manage their forestland,鈥� says Haley Andreozzi,鈥�91制片厂 Extension state specialist in wildlife conservation.鈥�

Women in the Woods workshops have included training on chainsaw safety and maintenance, tree identification, winter wildlife tracking and logging with farm tractors. A key component of these workshops is that they are designed for women and are led by women with experience in educational programs.

Rebecca DiGirolomo, 91制片厂 Extension natural resources field specialist, sees this trend reflected in requests for technical assistance visits in the communities she serves 鈥� Belknap and Strafford counties. 鈥淢ore than half of the visits I have had in 2022 were requested by women landowners, professionals or volunteers,鈥� she says.

With support from the , the team is identifying needs and implementing outreach strategies to support women landowners. As the primary outreach mechanism of 91制片厂, Extension is in a unique position to provide project leadership in survey development and distribution, network creation, trainings and evaluation.鈥�

鈥淭he Women in the Woods program allows us to utilize Extension鈥檚 existing connections to landowners, relationships with conservation partners and expertise in outreach and engagement, but with special attention paid to what women landowners want and need,鈥� says Andreozzi.鈥�鈥�

The Women in the Woods team is comprised of 91制片厂 Extension State Specialist for Wildlife Conservation Haley Andreozzi, 91制片厂 Extension Forest Stewardship Outreach Program Manager Amy Gaudreau, 91制片厂 Extension Natural Resources Field Specialist Rebecca DiGirolomo, 91制片厂 Extension Natural Resources Field Specialist Wendy Scribner, NHTOA Program Director Cheri Birch and Forest Society Managing Forester Wendy Weisiger.

( appears in the latest edition of , the annual storytelling publication of .)