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A Balancing Act The cornerstone of traditional use is public access. A promise was made when the Randolph Community Forest was created. A promise that the land would serve as a working forest, as stated above, with traditional uses continuing into the future. Indeed, acquiring the land was supported in part by the federal Forest Legacy Program—speaking to the promise that future generations would inherit the legacy of the past: a working forest offering a variety of recreation opportunities, a healthy home for flora and fauna, and wood to meet society’s forest products needs. The cornerstone of traditional use is public access. The Randolph Community Forest remains open for the enjoyment of all who seek the solace, sights, and sounds of the forest. Traditional uses of the land include the favorite pastime of many: tramping the paths, exploring the valleys, and climbing to that view from the top. Along the way the encounters are numerous: a glimpse of a deer, the chatter of chipmunks, the whispering flutter of a winter wren. In silence, you may follow a soaring broadwing hawk or the train of your own thoughts. In winter, the blanketed landscape offers yet more sounds—the crunch of skis, the huffing of your breath as you break trail, the soft plop of a clump of snow dropping from a hemlock bough. These are perfect conditions for communing with the natural world, an activity pursued as an escape from the details of hectic lives. The land will also continue to grow trees and provide raw materials for the forest products industry. You see evidence of historical logging throughout the Forest, and with time and the guidance of sound forestry principles, the Forest will continue to provide wood for the mills. Managing the land for such a variety of uses fits well with the neighboring White Mountain National Forest, which is managed for multiple uses as well. The U.S. Forest Service expects a variety of traditional uses will be identified for the lands west of Crescent Ridge and surrounding the Pond of Safety. The Pond of Safety is a gem to be carefully managed to conserve its important aquatic habitat as well as its recreational and historical values. Visit the Community Forest with an eye on the past and know that the land that attracts you continues to be a working forest—providing a place for hiking, birding, hunting, fishing, snow-shoeing, skiing, snowmobiling, and exploring, as well as a managed resource for your family, friends, and neighbors in the wood products industry. Balancing uses is an art that the Randolph Forest Commission will be perfecting through the years.
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