The annual Randolph Forest Day will be celebrated this year on Saturday, August 6th. The theme of this year’s event will be presented by Richard Boisvert and will discuss the east-west movement of native Americans between the areas defined by what are now Burlington, VT and Portland, ME. 

   The day will begin, as usual, in the Randolph Town Hall at 9 am. Members of the Forest Commission and the Forestry team will report on new activities which have been carried out on the Forest during the last year. These include a summary of recent harvesting activity, summary of acquisition of new parcels to the Randolph Town Forest and an overview of the new Bridges to be installed near the Pond of Safety. These bridges will replace conventional culverts to allow native fish species to again migrate up the water courses.

  Our guest speaker, Richard Boisvert, spent summers in Randolph between 2004 and 2009 on land owned by Robert Potter and Roberta Arbree. This land was recently gifted to the Town and is now part of the Randolph Town Forest. He and his students discovered artifacts that indicate seasonal use by native Americans over 12,000 years ago as a hunting site for caribou that traveled through the Randolph valley. 

After Richard’s presentation, the commission hopes to include a field day to view the bridge project up near the Pond of Safety. Details will be determined at a later date.

All are welcome. People can come to the presentation at the Town Hall and skip the tour. People can come to the Town Hall late and join the tour. Dogs and young children should be accompanied by an adult who will be responsible for them. If attending the Field Trip, please bring a trail lunch and water, wear shoes appropriate for light hiking and remember to bring your bug repellent.