Forest Stewardship Plan

for

County

Town of

Prepared by:

Plan prepared for:

Plan prepared by:

Contents:

· Landowner goals

· Property description

· Soils

· Access

· Topography

· Boundaries

· Wildlife Habitat

· Forest resource assessment

· Northern Hardwood stocking chart

· Sattellite image - land and forest units mapped

· Stand inventory reports

· Suggested stand prescription reports

· Property location map - USGS topographic

· Soils map and descriptions

Landowner Goals

The primary goal of the landowner is to keep the property in an environmentally sustainable condition. Secondary goals are timber management, recreation, wildlife habitat, aesthetics and wetland maintenance.

Property Location and Description

The subject parcel is located in county, Town of , in the Great Plains ecological region, approximately 3 miles East of the Hamlet of . The surrounding landscape consists of relatively low, flat areas with a mix of agricultural, residential and woodland uses.

The property is located within the Watershed ( ). There are no major watercourses on the property. However, a wetland improvement project was undertaken on the area comprised of Carlisle Muck soils (see soils and timber type map).

The parcel has multiple uses and contains the following areas with associated approximate acreage: homestead area - 3ac; tillable - 15 ac; wetland area with buffer - 11 ac and woodland - 17 ac., for a total of 46 acres.

A check of the Natural Heritage mapping system indicates that there are no known threatened or endangered species on the site and none were encountered during woodland field observations. However, many White and Painted Trilliums are present along with a wide variety of other woodland plants. A quick walk around the wetland area revealed no rare or endangered species. If desired by the owner, a more thorough investigation by a wetland specialist may be warranted. No widespread insect or disease problems were observed that would negatively affect forest health.

Soils

In general, the soils in the woodland portion of the parcel are well suited to timber production. Erosion hazards and equipment limitations are slight. The only exception to this is the wet area located in the southwest corner that contains Lamson very fine sandy loam. Timber production here is moderate, erosion hazard is slight, and equipment limitations are severe.

For more detailed information, please see the soils addendum contained in this report.

Access

Overall access is good as almost half of the parcels perimeter is road frontage. Access to the woodlot is from Road. An old road running east-west through the middle of the woodland should be used as the main skid trail with a fishbone pattern off this road for secondary trails. The landing area should also be located along the old road with the preferred location in stand #3 or roadside at Road.

Topography

The topography is gently sloping except for a minor drop-off adjacent to a small wet area in the southwestern corner. Please see the USGS topographic map for more detail.

Boundaries

The boundaries are well established to the North and East along and roads. The majority of the western boundary is bordered by agriculture and is evidenced by old wire fence and tree stumps. However, past agreements with the adjacent landowner have confused the issue, and permanent line establishment is recommended. The approximate location of the southwest corner was flagged at an old Beech snag on the western side of the wet area with flagging continuing North to the aforementioned agricultural parcel. The southern boundary is evidenced by an old stone wall and old wire fence in tree stumps. A stake is located at the most southeastern corner. Before any timber harvesting is performed, it is recommended that the owner walk the lines with adjacent property owners to avoid any potential problems.

Wildlife Habitat

The property has good wildlife habitat resources within its boundaries. The mixture of agricultural fields, wetland area and mature forest offer a variety of food, cover and nesting habitat for a number of different wildlife species.

Forest stewardship provides management opportunities to change wildlife habitat according to the landowner’s goals and objectives. Several different types of forest management systems are available to meet wildlife habitat needs. The type of management chosen will effect habitats and influence tree and plant species composition, age, density and size.

Animal diversity is often a function of plant diversity. Diversity can be achieved through forest management activities such as creation of wildlife openings, leaving wildlife trees/snags, timber harvesting and thinning which can create forest openings that make more herbaceous and woody browse available to deer and other animals. Open fields add to habitat diversity and can be maintained as such or planted with trees and shrubs for food or cover. Construction and placement of nesting boxes for owls, ducks or blue birds is a popular activity with many landowners. Creation of brush piles following a timber harvest or thinning is recommended to create habitat for small mammals and rodents.

The following is a summary of wildlife species potentially expected on this property.

Mammals Birds Reptiles/amphibians

white tailed deer scarlet tanager American toad

cottontail rabbit wild turkey common garter snake

coyote red tailed hawk spring peeper

raccoon eastern wood pewee wood frog

chipmunk screech owl salamanders

deer mouse American kestrel

grey squirrel woodthrush

red/grey fox sawhet owl

woodchuck downy woodpecker

white-footed mouse pileated woodpecker

striped skunk woodcock

chickadee

red eyed vireo

blue jay

great blue heron

ruffed grouse

great horned owl

Forest Resource Assessment

The following is a description of the forest types and stand conditions located on the property. The wooded area surrounding the wetland was not included in this section as it serves as a wetland buffer. Measurements were taken in stands 1 and 2 with an ocular assessment conducted in stand 3. Please refer to the forest type map for stand locations.

Three tree size classes are recognized: (1) seedling-sapling [1"-5"], (2) pole [6"-11"] and (3) sawtimber [12" and up]. Tree stocking descriptions are located with the stocking chart contained within this report.

The 17 acres of woodland is a Northern Hardwood forest type with all tree size classes represented in various proportions. The owner has expressed a preference for uneven-aged or all-aged management for recreational and aesthetic reasons. Roughly 80% of the acreage is overstocked and contains mature hardwoods available for a commercial harvest. The acreage was broken out into three areas based on stand characteristics.

Stand 1 (6.1 acres)

This stand is dominated by Sugar Maple (78% of basal area) with Black Cherry, Yellow Birch, Hemlock, Beech, Basswood and Hophornbeam making up the remaining species and ranging from 2%-6%. The stand is approaching full stocking and hence tree density is higher than optimum for individual tree growth. Total growing stock is 113 square feet of basal area per acre with 70% of basal area in the sawtimber class. Net merchantable volume is estimated at 8 cords and 6200 board feet per acre. Tree quality is average to above average throughout the stand. Due to the high percentage of Sugar Maple and good tree quality, over 90% of the trees were classified as acceptable growing stock (AGS). There is an adequate amount of regeneration in the form of small seedlings and saplings which consist mostly of shade tolerant species such as Sugar Maple.

It is recommended that a combination thin/harvest operation be conducted within the next few years. Such a treatment would reduce the overcrowded conditions, remove any unacceptable growing stock, increase the growth on the residual trees, create openings in the canopy to provide sunlight for regeneration and move the forest towards a more true uneven aged condition. The following is the recommended cutting prescription for the standing trees.

Sample Marking Guide

Reduce stand density to 78 sq. ft. of basal area.

Cut 1 out of 3 trees from the sapling class.

Cut 1 out of 2 trees from the pole size class.

Cut 1 out of 6 trees from the small sawtimber class (12-18").

Cut 1 out of 2 trees from the medium sawtimber class (19-24").

Given the above prescription, a yield of roughly 1400-1700 board feet and 2 cords per acre is expected. Only after actual marking and measurements are made can the harvest totals be estimated. This stand should be reevaluated in ten to fifteen years in order to determine the type and timing of the next treatment.

The landowner has expressed an interest in leaving large trees for aesthetic reasons. It is suggested that large trees benefitting wildlife be identified, especially adjacent to walking trails or known recreation areas, and left in the stand. Any Hemlock present in the stand should also be retained for aesthetics and wildlife cover. If the sample marking guide above is followed, species composition is expected to remain similar to the present stand.

Stand 2 (7.6 acres)

This stand is made up of the following species with associated basal area percentages: Sugar Maple - 56%, Red Maple - 17%, Hickory - 15%, Black Cherry - 10%, with Yellow Birch and Basswood at 1% each. The stand is approaching full stocking and hence tree density is higher than optimum for individual tree growth. Total growing stock is 116 square feet of basal area per acre. Basal area per tree size class is as follows: 53% small sawtimber, 8% medium sawtimber, 34% pole and 5% in the sapling class. Net merchantable volume is estimated at 13 cords and 4475 board feet per acre. Tree quality is average with the exception of a small strip along stand 3 that consists of poorer quality Red Maple, Black Cherry and Sugar Maple. When field data was collected, Red Maple and Hickory were recorded as acceptable growing stock. Upon further reflection, these species should be considered unacceptable growing stock and any harvesting should concentrate on reducing these species along with the poor quality Sugar Maple. A small component of Hickory could be retained as it is valued by some wildlife species due to its hard mast production. There is an adequate amount of regeneration in the form of small seedlings and saplings with Red Maple, Sugar Maple and White Ash present. A large majority of the regeneration is Red Maple. If Red Maple is not desired in the future, some timber stand improvement work to manipulate species composition will have to be performed.

It is recommended that a combination thin/harvest operation be conducted within the next few years. Such a treatment would reduce overcrowded conditions, remove a large percentage of the unacceptable growing stock, increase the growth on residual trees, allow manipulation of forest openings to encourage regeneration of desired species and move the forest towards a more true uneven age condition. The following is the recommended cutting prescription for the standing trees.

Sample Marking Guide

Reduce stand density to 77 sq. ft. of basal area.

Cut 1 out of 10 trees in the sapling class.

Cut 2 out of 5 trees in the pole class.

Cut 1 out of 5 trees in the small sawtimber class (12-18").

Cut all of the trees in the medium sawtimber class.

Given the above prescription, a yield of roughly 1200-1400 board feet and 4 cords per acre is expected. Only after actual marking and measurements are made can the harvest totals be estimated. This stand should be reevaluated in ten to fifteen years on order to determine the type and timing of the next treatment.

For aesthetic reasons, any large trees with wildlife potential should be left in the stand. If a larger component of Black Cherry is desired in the future stand, it is suggested that adequate seed trees be left and larger areas harvested with a group selection harvest method in order to facilitate regeneration of shade intolerant Black Cherry seedlings. Species composition of the remaining stand will vary depending on marking decisions, present species distribution, regeneration techniques and management strategies used.

Stand 3 (4.7 acres)