Why I became involved with Winnakee after being drawn to the Hudson Valley

The young trees are eaten by an overpopulation of deer (about 5x more deer per acre than the land can support), and then invasives such as barberry, multiflora rose, buckthorn and burning bush move in and take over the forest understory, crowding out important native species and tree saplings essential to forest regeneration and the wildlife that depends on it.  You can see what is happening yourself by walking in any of our forests –their understories are bare. 

This dynamic is particularly alarming in the Hudson Valley, which has the fastest growing population, and the lowest forest regeneration rates in NYS.  And Dutchess County woodlands face disproportionally high critical forest health issues such as non-native pests and introduced pathogens that are killing existing trees. 

Winnakee has a solution…

New York has many land trusts that have done important work to protect forests from development.  Winnakee has been one of these doing this work for over 30 years.  Winnakee also recognizes that to ensure our forests remain and regenerate, we must take active efforts to support them and the wildlife within them.

Winnakee’s conservation strategy, includes a forest management approach that prioritizes the long-term health, resilience, and ecological function of forests. It emphasizes climate adaptation, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage. By aligning management practices with natural processes, this approach ensures forests continue to provide essential ecosystem services such as clean air, water filtration, and soil health. It means deer management strategies, too, that enable tree saplings to survive and grow for the next generation.

My involvement at Winnakee has included underwriting forestry staff to manage sustainable landscapes that benefit both nature and communities.   My husband Madhu and I helped launch a new Landowner Assistance Program at Winnakee led by Conservation Forester Trevor Keough. Since 74% or roughly 14 million of the roughly 19 million acres of forest in NYS are privately owned, forest owners collectively can have the greatest impact in helping them become sustainable for the future. 

I wanted to impact Winnakee’s ability to help fulfil this vision. 

This summer, my neighbors and I are starting a consortium to invest in stewardship of our land together in a pilot of Winnakee’s Landowner Assistance Program.  Through a combination of fencing (to exclude deer from specific areas of the forest and allow trees to go up above deer browsing levels) to deer population reduction (to more sustainable levels) to invasive bush removal (to allow spaces for young trees to grow) we will be helping to impact an important forest corridor in our region.  One that supports forest regeneration, the range of wildlife that can only survive in large intact forests and for the inspirational viewsheds that define the beauty of our region. 

I invite you to become a part of this stewardship.  Whether you are a private landowner, part of forest “neighborhood” that can act collectively or have the capacity to help fund this visionary stewardship work for our future, we need your help!    

When I think about what is facing us, I am both deeply troubled and also encouraged.  Without action, so much will be lost.  However, we can act and we can protect these forests if we work together now.

If you would like to learn more and ensure the future of our forests, I would like to invite you to contact Winnakee’s Conservation Forester, Trevor Keough, at tkeough@winnakee.org on how you, too, can make impact. 

Also, supporting our work with a gift is always a meaningful way to make a difference for conservation.

Rebecca