by Mattie Vandiver

When Tamara Muruetagoiena came to Great Mountain Forest last October as its executive director, there was an expectation that the organization might see some changes. The forest is a large tract of woodlands straddling the Norfolk and Falls Village line. Muruetagoiena, with master’s degrees in business administration and forestry sciences, has held posts in environmental policy and research on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the months since her arrival, Muruetagoiena has aligned GMF with a number of environmental organizations. “I strongly believe that we are a large enough forest of over 6,000 acres and significant enough that in this time in history we have a voice and we have something to say to the world,” said Muruetagoiena. One such group is the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, a council of academic and environmental experts who gather to write future policy for the state of Connecticut. Muruetagoiena is a member of the Science and Technology Working Group and chairs the Health, Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Water, Food and Soil Subgroup.

GMF has also joined the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative, a group founded at the University of Vermont that has now expanded to seven other states including Connecticut. GMF will be able to contribute to this group with the extensive forestry research it has already conducted over the years. For example, one of the data collections in the cooperative’s archive focuses on sugar maples. Because of GMF’s sugar house and its history of maple syrup production, 75 years of sugar maple data have already been collected.

The third group GMF is joining sits at the United Nations and is the world’s largest environmental organization, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Muruetagoiena looked into membership qualifications and found that GMF is eligible to join the union, which is an exciting opportunity for the forest. 

GMF staff members are currently working on their strategic plan for the next five years. Muruetagoiena expects research to be expanded, especially research on climate change. “We’re a house that shelters a bunch of living organisms from trees to other plants, from fungi to wildlife, insects, all of that, and we need to know how climate change is going to impact their well-being—so we’d like to increase that research,” she said. The greatest impact of climate change on the Northeast is most likely to be an increase in the amount and strength of precipitation. Increased research on climate change, particularly precipitation, could give us a better idea of how the inhabitants of the forest will be affected. 

Hunting has always played a role in GMF, and Muruetagoiena sees it continuing to have a role in the future. “I think that as long as it’s supported by science, I will be in favor of it,” said Muruetagoiena. Though she supports deer hunting in GMF because it corrects an ecological imbalance, she also sees how the sound of gunshots changes the personality of the forest. When hunting is depleting a species, when it’s not supported by science, or it’s not having a positive impact on a species or an ecosystem, I will personally not be in favor of it.” 

Muruetagoiena said that recreation has always been a byproduct of the forest, while forestry and research have been the focus. Now, with the current Covid-19 pandemic, she said that there has been an increase in the number of hikers, bikers and others enjoying the forest. “Covid is giving us this new perspective on our need to be engaged with nature,” she said. “One thing that we’re learning more about is the positive impacts on human mental health of being in nature, so that’s another ecosystem service that we never really tapped into or explored, but it’s definitely worth exploring.” Because of this, perhaps recreation will play a bigger role in the forest’s future.

All educational programs at GMF have unfortunately been canceled until further notice owing to Covid-19. Muruetagoiena hopes they will be returning soon, because they are instrumental in engaging the community with forests and the environment. “I think there’s a key there that is so important. It’s that you inspire. You inspire people to love nature and to be stewards of nature,” said Muruetagoiena. “You create new environmentalists, new people who want to be environmental stewards. I don’t want to underestimate the power and influence in the minds of people who will go out in the world and work in different places and do different things, but who were inspired by that one time or that one lecture that happened here at GMF. It’s so powerful.”