Dozens of Volunteers work to restore habitat

Photo provided to the Times Observer Forest Service staff, Gracie Archer, and volunteers, Don Bickle and Mary Ellen Scowden, plant eastern white pine saplings in the Farnsworth watershed.
Dozens of volunteers gathered last month to restore habitat in the Farnsworth watershed.
The event saw the Forest Service partner with the National Deer Association and the state Department of Conservation and National Resources.
The focus was improving wildlife habitat by restoring fencing, installing bird boxes and planting trees and shrubs.
“Volunteers were additionally gathered through the Working for Wildlife Tour hosted by MeatEater, Inc., an outdoor lifestyle company with a commitment to conservation,” the Forest Service said in a statement.
“The Working for Wildlife Tour began in 2023 to bring attention to the critical work done by conservationists to improve public lands and steward our nation’s natural resources.”
The purpose of the tour is to bring hunters and anglers together for this important public land ecosystem work.
Participants in the Farnsworth event installed 14 bluebird boxes, 600 feet of fencing to protect plants from animal browsing, planted 50 eastern white pine and buttonbush and removed 2,000 feet of worn fencing.
“This work resulted in the creation of critical nesting habitat, high-value seasonal food, and needed cover for a variety of wildlife,” according to the ANF, “including pollinators such as hummingbirds, honey bees, and butterflies.”