Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ways of the Woods seeks to help people better understand the past and present of—and to plan for a more prosperous and sustainable future for—one of the nation’s most important and rapidly changing regions.

The Northern Forest is the largest intact forest ecosystem east of the Mississippi, spanning 30 million acres across northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Its ecological significance is well known: vast areas of wild forest, critical habitat and the headwaters of major rivers. But it is more than an ecological resource. It is also home to 1.5 million people whose cultures, livelihoods, families, aspirations and dreams are tied to the forest.

Founded in 1997, the Center works through networks and partnerships to build a sustainable economy, revitalize local communities and conserve the landscape of the Northern Forest of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

As forests and forest communities around the world are challenged by social, economic and ecological change, the Northern Forest can and must be a worldwide leader in learning and teaching how to live in a way that sustains both people and nature. This is our purpose.