Keystone Cooperator Projects

Keystone Cooperators are community leaders who benefit from over 30 hours of intensive training in forestry, wildlife management, and land conservation education during the annual Keystone training. Participants are also given a significant amount of take home resources. In return, Cooperators agree to return to their respective communities and serve as spokepersons or advocates for forest conservation in a way that fits the Cooperator's time, talents and resources. As a target, we ask that Cooperators match the 30 hours of formal training by contributing 30 hours towards a project or projects of their choosing.

To date, over 350 people have participated. Their approaches to promoting forest and wildlife conservation have been as varied as the people and towns they come from. The activities of these volunteers are limited only by their own creativity. Below is a list of some of the projects and activities that past cooperators have done to meet their Keystone commitment.

Keystone Cooperator Projects and Activities

  • Developed a video that was played on the town's cable access t.v. station.
  • Worked with neighbors in town to permanently protect their land.
  • Created early-successional habitat on their own land with the help of the Landowner Incentive Program.
  • Connected landowners in town making decisions about their land with local professionals that can provide assistance.
  • Worked with a nearby Keystone Cooperator to host a Woods Forum.
  • Become a New England Forestry Foundation Forest Steward.
  • Worked with their local land trust to host a series of woods walks on land trust and private lands.
  • Created early-successional habitat on land trust land.
  • Organized a Keystone reunion.
  • Hosted monthly meetings of landowners, community leaders and the local service forester.
  • Wrote a series of articles on forest management and land conservation for their local paper.
  • Helped a neighbor make an informed decision about selling their timber.
  • Lend out their take home resources to community members through the town library.
  • Developed and implemented a fund-raising campaign for their town open space committee.
  • Joined their local land trust and promoted land conservation and forest management.
  • Facilitated the creation of a town agricultural commission, with forestry defined as one of its responsibilities.
  • Developed a wildlife management plan for town land.
  • Created early successional habitat on town land.
  • Worked with a consulting forester to manage town forest land.
  • Hosted a woods walk on their land.
  • Organized a presentation in town about wildlife habitat management.
  • Permanently conserved their own land.
  • Encouraged friends to join conservation organizations and municiple boards.
  • Helped their town pass the Community Preservation Act.
  • Worked with the open space committee to prioritize parcels of conservation priority.
  • Organized invasive/exotic control on town forest and conservation land.
  • Joined their town's conservation commission.

Cooperator Quotes

"Thank you for a wonderful, educational, inspiring weekend. I come away with great motivation and courage to implement some new ideas!"
"Much better knowledge base and appreciation for the role of managing forests specifically for wildlife."