From a failed heath hen reservation to a red pine plantation gone wrong, the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest has weathered its share of management experiments.

In 2012, the forest’s plants and trees can breathe easy, as the forest recently has been designated as a state reserve by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

David Foster, Harvard University forest director and historian for the Correllus state forest, said the designation has guaranteed a better future of the forest.

A federal magistrate has ruled that a man who sold his summer home but kept a nonbuildable lot in Aquinnah is not entitled to a parking permit to use Philbin Beach.

The decision sided with the town of Aquinnah in a case brought almost two years ago by John M. Callagy, who was denied a permit to the town beach off Moshup Trail after he sold his Aquinnah home in 2007. The beach was given to the town by J. Holladay Philbin in 1968 with a deed restriction that said the property was to be used “by all permanent and seasonal residents.”

Donations to Martha’s Vineyard Community Services continued to stream in the day after the 33rd annual Possible Dreams auction, bringing the total raised by the popular fund-raising event to more than $400,000, organizers said this week.

“We feel wonderful,” said Julia Burgess, executive director of Community Services, who will retire by next year. “We are very grateful to the people who contributed and came to the auction.”

Martina Thornton was sworn in as the new county manager on Wednesday evening. Mrs. Thornton, who served as executive assistant to the county manager for four years, said she is pleased with the contract she negotiated with the seven-member elected commission last week in executive session.

The terms of Mrs. Thornton’s contract include an annual salary of $67,709.