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In October 2020, Vermont Coverts presented Chittenden County Forester Ethan Tapper with the James Engle Award for Furthering the Coverts Mission in Vermont. The following text describes merely some of the reasons Ethan was awarded this honor.  Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester and 2020 James Engle Awardee Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester is passionate about forests and shares that passion with others along the way. Ethan is a teacher, performing comfortably, explaining clearly and presenting complexity so that it can be understood. His advice for learning about the woods when you walk in them is simple: “You need to go out and look at stuff.”
Ethan’s description of his duties suggests that he is something of a rhetorician: monitoring Current Use, advising on how to manage forests, assisting towns with their forests and doing “whatever.” This “whatever” includes figuring out how to increase the health and well-being of forests, giving license for Ethan’s imagination to roam. One way to increase the health of forests, it turns out, is to teach those who walk, hunt and play in them to see all the “stuff.” This is how Ethan succeeds brilliantly. Ethan has always been eager to partner starting off with the Coverts County Forester Meet and Greet. Ethan has worked with a number of partners to inform the public about forest management occurring in the Hinesburg and Richmond town forests, holding walks and talks addressing silvicultural treatments, wildlife, carbon and invasives. These were designed to reach different audiences depending on their interests, all tied to forest management and resiliency. In addition, Ethan is a prolific writer, penning a column called “Into the Woods.” When the Covid-19 lockdown happened, Ethan was one of the first to embrace the technology and Zoomed frequently to educate and entertain all of us stuck at home. He taught Tree-ID twice to over 100 people, helped kick off the Coffee with a County Forester series and moved his information sessions online covering topics such as old growth forests and climate change. He did all this with a sense of excitement, even establishing his own YouTube channel. Cooperator Sabina Ernst says it best: “I was first introduced to Ethan about the time I moved to Vermont 5 years ago. He led a walk in Jericho about the effects of a recent wind event on the forest. I remember thinking how cool it was to have a County Forester who was so approachable, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Since then I have been on many more walks led by Ethan, and now many virtual walks, as well. I always learn something new and come away with practical ideas. He does such a great job sharing the message that being good stewards and developing a land ethic is something that we all should strive for. I really appreciate that his public education is based on science but tempered by humility and respect for the greatness of nature.” This creativity, love of knowledge and teaching, expressed in a wide array of mediums, give Ethan an outsized impact on the world around us. |
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