Gary Gouldrup of New England Forestry Consultants points out areas for harvesting during a presentation to the Conservation Commission on Tuesday.
Update: the public walk through the woods has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m. because of rain.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city is looking at a forest management plan around Notch Reservoir to preserve its watershed, root out invasive species, promote sustainable growth and bring in some revenue.
The initiative is part of Mass Audubon's Forest Climate Resilience Program in conjunction with the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts, of which the city is a member. Two demonstration forests in the partnership are eligible for three-year U.S. Forestry Service grants.
The Conservation Commission heard a presentation on Tuesday from Andrew Randazzo, a forest ecologist for Mass Audubon, and New England Forestry Consultants Vice President Gary Gouldrup and forestry technician Liam Smith.
They emphasized the need for education, collaboration, and sustainable planning to address climate change.
"We've established a cooperative agreement with the city of North Adams that establishes this Notch Reservoir site as a Climate Smart Demonstration Site for the purpose of not just implementing your forest stewardship climate plan, but really engaging in monitoring research and education," said Randazzo. "We work with municipalities to help them get sort of get over the finish line with forest stewardship plans and implementation in relationship to thinking about climate change and climate adaption ...
"We often find that municipalities get a forest stewardship plan and then don't have the capacity to implement that."
The program, supported by federal funding, is based on the idea that forests can act as a natural climate solution by absorbing greenhouse gases and locking them away in trees and wood products. Randazzo said carbon sequestration is associated with young forests because younger trees are better at soaking up carbon rapidly while more mature trees are associated additional storage.
"North Adams has many goals for us for Notch Reservoir, obviously, water quality being the biggest one, you know, income and recreation being another another piece of it," he said. "The idea of having a demonstration forest is really so that we can bring the community to see and understand what these practices look like and to couple that with sort of monitoring of the site over the longer term."
Gouldrup said his company looks at past forestry practices and how they relate to climate change and forest structure -- which types of trees are going to have the most trouble adapting to a warming climate and which should be promoted to.
"We're not going to have those cold winters, those deep frosts anymore," he said. "We're going to have more catastrophic weather events more water and rain when we don't want it. So we're looking at managing land based on what we expect will happen in the future because of the warming climate."
The forest management plan was presented at a previous public hearing. Over the next week, the consultants will be marking trees to the north and west of the reservoir and the public will be invited to a walkthrough on Wednesday, July 31, at 6 p.m.
The largest part of the project will be harvesting of invasives in the red and white pine plantations to the west of the reservoir. Beyond it is a hardwood stand on the east side of Mount Greylock with "the most beautiful white ash stands that I've ever been in," said Gouldrup. "We've got beautiful sugar maple, red oak, in conjunction with some hemlock, and some other hardwoods, red maple, birch, etc."
The ash trees are of concern because of the emerald ash borer and the state is trying to develop ways to protect these types of stands. The oak and sugar maple are more resilient to climate change. The recommendation is to focus on harvesting and thinning trees at higher risk to promote growth of the more resilient species and to help the ash varieties regenerate in hopes of outliving the infestation.
"We want to try to establish a resilient forest and that may require transitioning to species that have a better resilience," Gouldrup said. He added the city could realize some revenue through logging though how much would depend on the bids received.
The program will be funded through stewardship grants with the exception of matching funds necessary to address several failing culverts. Randazzo said the culverts have been there for about a century and that's why they are failing and causing erosion. Their replacement would require approval from the commission.
The commissioners were concerned with the skid trails that would have to be cut through the forest, the potential for erosion and the use of herbicides to eradicate invasive species.
Gouldrup said his company as the consultant and would oversee the harvesting and the skid trails, which he said would be closed up on completion. Commissioner Heather Williams wasn't completely satisfied with that.
"You are opening up a whole bunch of trails that people on snowmobiles and ATVs are going to use and so there has to be a plan," she said. "Motorized vehicles are not allowed on that property and there has to be a plan to prevent their access to these areas."
She also wanted more information on the herbicides to be used, expressing concern that the most likely candidate glyphosate, used in commercial applications, can linger in water. Smith said he is waiting on the state Department of Environmental Protection for approvals.
The presentation was informational but commission wanted a summary of the herbicide treatment and a map showing its application areas before approval. A meeting was set for Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. as Smith said the goal was to apply the herbicide before the leaves began to fall.
The woods walk is Wednesday, July 31, at 6 p.m. Meet at the Bellows Pipe trailhead next to 1130 Reservoir Road.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
North Adams Warns Residents of Lead Pipe Survey Scam
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City of North Adams is warning residents about scammers exploiting a city-run lead pipe survey project.
As mentioned in a letter sent to city residents, the city is undergoing a lead pipe survey. Since then, some residents have been contacted by scammers claiming to be part of the survey and looking for financial information.
Officials emphasized that the survey is free, and the city is not making phone calls to residents at this time.
Residents are urged not to share financial details over the phone. Anyone receiving such calls should report the incident immediately to the North Adams Police Department at 413-664-4944, extension 1.
There are several events this weekend, including an immersive installation, live music, and book activities. See a list of upcoming bazaars, craft fairs and markets here.
click for more
The scope of the work includes demolishing the existing roof membrane, flashing insulation and protection boards on the existing flat roof, repairing and repainting the window frames and sashes, and painting and sealing all surfaces.
click for more
Community, education and business leaders are promoting the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Restoration Project as a critical component for economic development. click for more
Monument Mountain's Everett Pacheco took control of the race in the final mile and went on to a convincing Division 3 State Championship on Saturday at Fort Devens. click for more