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  MARTIN ZIMMERMANN |
The Harvard Forest and its Fisher Museum welcome visitors, free of charge, year-round. Trail guides, available at the entrance to the museum, include directions to two easy trails with interpretive markers and information. A quarter-mile natural history walk leads through John Sanderson's farm, showing how the land looks today and how it appeared 180 years ago. The 1.5-mile Black Gum Trail takes in tree seedling beds, old stone walls, and habitats ranging from new forest growth to swamp and the site of David Foster's first attempt, in 1989, to simulate a hurricane. Under terms of the original bequest, the forest also remains open to hunting, in season. (Nature-lovers should note that a trip to the Harvard Forest may easily be combined with a visit to the Quabbin Reservoir, the wildest place in Massachusetts.)
The museum, named for Richard T. Fisher, A.B. 1898, the forest's founder and first director (from 1907 to 1934), showcases 23 dioramas constructed between 1931 and 1941 (shown here, views of the same tract in 1700 and 1850). They portray the history of central New England forests since European settlement began, and such associated subjects as wildlife management, soil erosion, and forest fires. The museum is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., throughout the year, and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. from May 1 through the last weekend in October. Visitors should be aware that public rest-room facilities are available only when the museum is open.
The most direct access is from Route 2. Take exit 17, for Athol and Petersham, and head south on Route 32 (also called North Main Street); the entry to the forest is about three miles from Route 2, on the left side of the road. Petersham's town center is three miles farther south. It boasts a charming general store where visitors may purchase sandwiches and snacks; no food service is available at the forest.
For additional information, or to arrange a group visit, call (978) 724-3302. To learn more about the Friends of Harvard Forest, write to Dottie Recos-Smith, Harvard Forest, P.O. Box 6, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366; e-mail, "[email protected]". Comprehensive information on the Harvard Forest's research, publications, personnel, and public programs is available on the Internet at "http://LTERnet.edu/hfr".