Date: Fri 30-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Upper-Paugussett-timber-DEP

Full Text:

with photos: DEP Oversees Timber Harvest In Upper Paugussett Forest

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

State forester Gerard Milne briskly walks northward on a dirt road in

sun-dappled Upper Paugussett State Forest, near Lake Lillinonah.

In the distance, the intermittent buzzing of a chain saw is followed by

silence, and then an accelerating "swoosh" of leaves, branches and twigs

breaking, before a loud cracking noise ricochets through the hardwoods, and

silence returns.

One of more than 650 trees marked for sawtimber has been felled.

Mr Milne, who works for the state Department of Environmental Protection's

(DEP) bureau of natural resources, oversees state forests in Fairfield County,

New Haven County, and also People's State Forest in Litchfield County.

The green-shirted forester took stock of a 29-acre piece of Upper Paugussett

State Forest last year, deciding which trees should be cut down and hauled

away. About one-third of the trees standing in the 29-acre plot will be

removed.

Formerly used for agriculture, the 800-acre state forest now is managed by DEP

for sawtimber, cordwood, wildlife habitat, recreational value, environmental

education, and scientific research.

Networks of old stone fences criss-cross the undulating forest floor,

delineating areas where farmers formerly kept their cattle.

"This was all agricultural at one time... all the stone walls," Mr Milne said

as he walked through the mixed deciduous forest, punctuated with hemlocks.

Trees that love the bright sunshine, such as tulip poplars, grow straight and

tall, perhaps 80 feet tall or higher. Trees that do well in the shade, such as

sugar maples, live in the forest's understory.

Trees found in the state forest include black birch, black oak, red oak, white

oak, red maple, hickory, chestnut, beech, and hemlock, among others.

Mr Milne points to an area which was cut in 1984. A stand of tulip poplar is

now growing there. The forester estimates the density at about 1,000 tulip

poplars per acre. The wood of tulip poplar is shaved off logs to manufacture

plywood.

When marking its trees for cutting, the state is conservative, Mr Milne said,

noting that the state isn't out to maximize profits from logging operations.

The DEP's forestry approach promotes the long-term health of the forest, he

said. The 29 acres are being thinned out to remove mature trees and

poorly-formed trees, and also to provide more room for young trees to grow.

The cutting also will improve wildlife habitat, Mr Milne said.

The logs taken in the harvest will be sawn into lumber and used to make

furniture, flooring, railroad ties, and pallets.

After the timber harvest is complete, any cut wood that's left on the ground

will be sold for firewood through the state's cordwood cutting program for the

public.

Sample Plots

In assessing which trees are the most appropriate ones to cut, the state

forester checked small sample plots in the forest, estimating the number of

trees on those plots by type, size, and condition. Through extrapolation, the

forester can estimate the contents of the 29-acre parcel.

The DEP follows United States Forest Service guidelines in deciding how much

tree thinning should be done in a given area, Mr Milne said. Trees typically

grow too close together to achieve full maturity.

Trees to be cut are marked with spots of bright orange paint several feet

above the ground and at the trees' bases.

In marking trees for cutting, the foresters determine which tree growth in the

forest is excess growth. When that excess growth is removed, the better

quality trees that remain are allowed to mature for a future timber harvest.

In bidding on the timber harvest, DEP awarded the logging operation to New

England Forest Products of Guilford, Mr Milne said. The lumber company will

turn the sawn trees into lumber at its sawmill.

The logging work, supervised by lumberjack Peter Marlowe, began May 22. Work

is expected to be completed by late June, weather permitting.

The logging company has the rights to take an estimated 79,200 board feet of

lumber out of the forest. A board foot is a unit of linear measure of lumber

equal to a board one foot square and one inch thick.

In gaining the rights to cut in the forest, the logging company agreed to pay

the state $9,500 in cash and give the state 10,000 board feet of logs, Mr

Milne said. The state will mill the wood at its Portland sawmill to make

picnic tables for state parks. The state has marked 671 trees for the loggers

to cut.

Also, the loggers will provide truckloads of stone to improve a wet logging

road in the forest.

Foresters checked with a state biologist about the tree-cutting project before

proceeding and learned the work won't pose habitat hazards to bald eagles who

live in the general area in the wintertime, Mr Milne said.

Bald eagles may benefit from the tree cutting because the work will provide

more clearance for the wide-wingspread birds to fly in the forest, he added.

After the loggers have completed their work in Upper Paugussett State Forest,

scrap wood will be left on the forest floor.

Through a lottery system, members of the public will be allowed to go into the

forest in the fall with four-wheel drive vehicles and cut up the scrap wood

for use as firewood, Mr Milne said. The state sells that wood at $20 per cord.

Mr Milne said the area which is being cut will be able to provide another

timber harvest in about 20 years. The entrance to the forest used by the

loggers is off Echo Valley Road, near its intersection with Sanford Road and

Alberts Hill Road.

A logging operation which started in Lower Paugussett State Forest last year

off Stonebridge Road will resume this year.