State Forest Management– Seeing the Forest for the Trees

October Mountain State Forest takes up a good portion of Washington; 11,600 acres, which is 42% of our town’s footprint. So, when the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) takes steps to manage the forest, we’re going to notice it more than other visitors of the park.

In late October, DCR representatives Kristopher Massini and Thomas Brule attended a Washington Select Board meeting to answer any questions and hear comments Washington residents might have about an upcoming project they’re calling “Ant Lot.” This was announced in Tracks in advance, but few residents attended the meeting; I didn’t either! The subject of forest management and tree cutting is complex, and had I attended, I’m sure I would have learned a lot—including the fact that forest cutting is a hot topic that stirs up strong opinions.

Over a five-year period, DCR proposes a project that involves cuttings in a 447 acre area of the forest along parts of West Branch Road and Lenox Whitney Road. The goals are to increase the resilience of the forest, and to manage the forest ecosystem health and biodiversity. You can see the full proposal here. The basics of the project are these:

• In 120 acres of this lot, cut some areas of the forest leaving seed trees of desired species, Yellow and Paper Birch in particular. The cutting will occur in dense stands of Ash. This is intended to promote the regeneration of trees that don’t do well in shade, and to curtail the conditions that are good for Beech understory; Beech are kind of like bullies in the forest, making it difficult for other trees and vegetation to thrive.

• Clear-cut patches of the Beech understory. This will create a needed break in the cycle of Beech bark disease, and also allow a greater diversity of northern hardwood to grow. The ice storm of 2008 created opportunities for the Beech understory to block regeneration of other trees. Clear-cut patches will be variable in size and will not exceed 5 acres. Multiple patches will occur on approximately 50% of the 80 acre section slated for this treatment, and thinning between patches may occur as well.

• In 99 acres of the lot, where there’s a variety of tree species, they will harvest trees based on species. Within each stand, between 20% and 80% of trees will be harvested. Generally, more trees will be removed where there are predominantly shade-intolerant trees and fewer will be removed in areas where trees will thrive without thinning. A primary goal will be to promote the retention and regeneration of softwood species in the overstory.

• Along the roads, Ash trees (which are being decimated by emerald ash borer) within 200 feet of the road will be removed. Other species of trees within that 200 ft. buffer will be retained unless they pose a hazard.

• The revenue generated by the viable lumber will fund the treatment of invasive species in the area. The invasive species slated for chemical treatment are Japanese Bar Berry, Bittersweet, Honeysuckle, and Garlic Mustard.

• Historic areas will be flagged and protected before machinery is brought in.

• An overriding goal is to sustain future generations of Ash trees: Silvicultural treatments in areas of existing ash regeneration can foster the growth and development of these young trees in hope that a control for EAB (ash borer) becomes available.

The town of Washington benefits from these cuttings in a few ways: We get an 8% stumpage fee for whatever revenue DCR receives from the loggers who do the project. And DCR gives our highway department the gravel needed to improve the roads in the project area. Since the roads are our responsibility, this keeps us from having to pay for their improvements from taxes. Also, preemptive removal of hazardous trees along the roads will save our highway department from dealing with fallen trees across those roads later.

While these objectives sound positive, there’s no getting around the fact that when areas of the forest are cut, they look unsightly and disturbed. To look at, it doesn’t “seem” good for the forest at all. Residents who frequent the forest have thoughts about the cuttings.

Birder and naturalist Ed Neumuth spends a lot of the time in October Mountain State Forest. He knows that the blackberry bushes will be some of the first vegetation to take over cut areas, and it’s excellent habitat for Mourning Warblers. He hopes that the activity won’t be too close to the swamp area. He has been keeping track of Sandhill Cranes in the vicinity and hoped they would begin to nest there; too much activity would likely make them decide it’s not the place for them. He hopes there is care in selecting and protecting seed trees left in the cut areas. In previous project areas, poor specimens were left standing alone, unprotected by trees around them, and many were blown over. And he hopes that DCR intends to create brush pile habitats for the New England Cottontail rabbits, whose population is vulnerable.

Ellen Bond enjoys walking and biking in the state forest with her husband, Ed. She is concerned about the animals that currently live in the earmarked area because it’s the right habitat for them. The cutting down of carbon-collecting trees seems to her inconsistent with the idea of helping our climate.

Dick Spencer had another perspective on forest management. As the owner of 153 acres in Chapter 61 (the Massachusetts program for reduction of tax assessments on forested land), he is committed to improving the timber on that land. Over the years, he has earmarked various sections of his land for the kinds of cutting projects that take place in the State Forest. He thinks these projects are important to do if the forest is to maintain diversity, health, and resilience into the future. Regarding his own land, Dick says, “I will never see the results of the forest management I am doing now. My sons will be in their eighties when they see the benefit. But the forest will be better for it.”

Dick’s perspective made me stop and think about my aversion to how the land looks after a cutting. I am not accustomed to making plans that won’t come to pass during my lifetime, but forests will be here for a long, long time. I hope that, whatever downsides there are to contemporary forest management, it will ultimately be best for the forest of the future.