If you don’t check the Viibrant section of the website every day (I, for one, haven’t gotten into that habit yet) you may not have seen the memo from Seth Beaver in which he lays out the administration’s decision on fencing the Big Woods to protect part of the area from deer. You can read Seth’s memo here.

In brief, a small section of the woods (1.8 acres) north of Bennett’s Run will be fenced in 2023, and a large area south of Bennett’s Run (40 acres, or close to half of the entire woods) will be fenced in 2024.

The 40-acre area will include the entire spray field. The memo notes that fencing is only one part of what will be required to restore the woods.

Although the memo does not include a map, Seth’s previous Big Woods presentation included one. The map below is a screen capture from his presentation on February 8, 2023. The areas to be fenced are outlined in red.

In this map, the areas to be fenced are outlined in red. Crosslands is at the top and Kendal is at the bottom. The “lake district” is at the right.

The administration’s commitment to this fencing project is a critical step in restoring the health of the Big Woods, in my opinion. Together with the recent work on erosion control and the on-going removal of invasives, it is a great basis for developing a strong and healthy forest for future generations of Kendal residents. I’m delighted to see that this is finally happening.