James Madison's Montpelier We The People Fall 2017 WTP_fall 2017_FINAL-rgb | Page 14

WE THE PEOPLE To find living evidence of Madison as a steward of the landscape, just walk though the 200 acres now known as Montpelier’s Landmark Forest, protected by an easement through The Nature Conservancy. Experts who have examined the trees and soil in the Forest have concluded that the land was at least partly cleared and cultivated in the time of Madison’s grandfather and father, and then abandoned. Madison could have been describing a stage in the Forest’s development when he wrote to a friend in 1818, “Now all our red fields long unplowed, are overspread with pines as thick as they can grow.” Although Madison did clear some pinelands on the property for tobacco cultivation in the 1820s, he seems to have used the future Landmark Forest mainly for grazing livestock and for careful timbering. As Madison correctly predicted in 1818, his pine forests would continue to evolve: “many years may not pass before the oak & other trees hitherto an undergrowth only, will instead of a new forest of Pines, become Masters of the Soil.” Today, the oaks and poplars of the Landmark Forest stand as a tribute to the far-reaching vision of this early environmentalist. “[M]any years may not pass before the oak & other trees hitherto an undergrowth only, will instead of a new forest of Pines, become Masters of the Soil.” —James Madison Left: T  he next time you visit Montpelier, make sure to check out our new trail map. Happy hiking! 14