A Maple Morning

A few weeks ago the stars finally aligned for me to tag along with Audubon Vermont’s Conservation Biologist Steve Hagenbuch for a Bird-Friendly Maple sugarbush assessment. Chaska Richardson and Matt Menard of Couching Lion Maple Sugar Farm run a sweet sugaring operation high in the hills of Huntington. They already manage their forest to enhance wildlife and were enthusiastic to learn more about how to make a commitment to manage their sugarbush to intentionally enhance bird conservation through Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple Project.

My interest in tagging along was two-fold: 1) an opportunity to take some pictures and tell the story of what a sugarbush assessment is all about, and 2) a chance to build my assessment skills so I could better incorporate sugarbush assessment into Audubon’s Education Programs for school groups.