2023 Red Barn Series, Newfound Audubon
No registration necessary – just come and join us!

Speaker: Dr. Lindsey Rustad, USDA Northeast Climate Hub

Ice storms are a common disturbance in north temperate and boreal forests worldwide. In the United States, they account for roughly 60% of winter storm losses with damage to property; closures of roads, schools and businesses; and accidents and loss of life. Current models suggest that ice storms may become more frequent and more severe as a result of climate change, but studying their impact is difficult since the storms are so hard to predict. To better understand ice storms, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest created controlled ice storm experiments during the winters of 2016 and 2017. The experimental ‘storms’ changed the forest canopy and soil conditions giving the scientific community, land managers and community members greater insight on the impacts of these powerful, frightening, and curiously aesthetic extreme winter weather events in northern hardwood forests.

Dr. Lindsey Rustad is the Director of the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, providing expertise on the impacts of global change on northeastern forests. She is also a Research Ecologist for the USDA Forest Service Center for Research on Ecosystem Change in Durham, NH. Her areas of expertise include biogeochemistry, global change impacts, and advanced environmental sensor systems. Her current interests include implementation of cybertechnology in forests across the northeastern United States and integration of Arts and Science at long term ecological field stations.

Please park across the street at Ash Cottage. Download a map here. Note that this is now a private residence and there is no bathroom access.

Special thanks to our 2023 Red Barn Series sponsors, John S. Jordan Design PLLC, the Hebron Conservation Commission; and to our co-host, the Newfound Lake Region Association.