Recent Forestry Projects

[On hold**] Monadnock Reservation (Dublin), Oct 2023

**There is about 30 acres remaining to be completed in summer of 2025

This forest management project will occur on the north side of Monadnock Reservation off Old Troy Road. A "bare ground" phase has started already in one stand and a winter "frozon ground" phase is slated to begin this coming winter in another adjacent stand. Logging equipment will be crossing the Dublin Trail and working nearby the trail. Notices will be posted to inform hikers. Part of the reasoning for phase two occuring in the winter is to lesson the impacts to the hiking public. But also to see what effect winter management will have on white ash recruitment and regeneration. These projects are occuring in two stands that have a high percentage of white ash. The goal being to regenerate white ash using a variety of silvicultural techniques, seed tree, shelterwood and group cuts. These treatments provide varying amounts of light to the ground. We have conducted several site visits to identify and mark female ash trees for specific retention of these trees to dispurse their seed. We also have injected a dozen ash trees, many of them female, which will be protected from the emerald ash borer (EAB). It might sound counterintutive to manage these stands for white ash given the low likelihood ash will survive emerald ash borer infestation (which is already present in the stand) however the thinking is to flood these stands with young ash which are less susceptible to EAB. Once these trees reach a size where they become attractive to EAB there will be less EAB around because the wave will have passed given less ash overal on the landscape. This time period will also allow biocontrol wasps (Tetrastichus) to boost their numbers having shown promising results in curbing EAB numbers particularly in their home range of Asia. Whole tree machinery used will be utlized by the logging crew. Grapple skidders, feller bunchers, slashers and chippers will be on site completing the work.

Forester: Eric Radlof, Full Circle Forestry LLC

Loggers: DH Hardwick & Sons Inc.

[On Hold] Hunter Preserve (Deering), June 2024 - Jan 2025, restarting Summer 2025

This harvest is aimed at improving the quality of the standing timber in Stands 4,5 and 8 while regenerating some areas. The thinning across harvest area is targeting trees with low quality and vigor to give more growing space to crop trees. Several gaps in the canopy will be created in areas dominated by unacceptable growing stock to allow for development of new cohorts of higher quality trees and improve wildlife habitat. This harvest is adjacent to the Hedgehog Ridge Trail, hikers should proceed with caution. The job is paused during the winter, but will resume after Spring 2025.

Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Consulting Co.

Logger: Kevin Bourgoine Timber Harvesting

[On Hold] Piper & Olsen Forests (Sullivan), July - Aug & Dec 2024

This project seeks to improve the existing growing stock and promote a diversity of forest structure through the application of thinning methods and patch cuts, with reserved seed trees. The new age class that will develop will further enhance wildlife habitat attributes on this property and beyond.

Olsen was cut over the summer by D.H. Hardwick & Sons Logging using a whole tree system. The large patch cuts in the harvest area were done to restart the growth in the forest. These patches were dominated by poorer quality trees that had already begun to decline. Through cutting these patches, a wide variety of tree species, particularly early successional species will be established. Within the patches piles of brush or "bear piles" were created for wildlife habitat. Several new snags were created in the patch through leaving very high stumps, these were then carved with the feller buncher to create potential habitat for small animals.

Piper started in December 2024 and will continue throughout the winter and resumed again when conditions allow. The loggers are Corey and Trevor Smith. This crew uses a conventional system, with the trees felled, topped and delimbed in the forest using a chainsaw, then skidded with a grapple skidder.

Forester: Matthias Nevins, Meadowsend Consulting Co.

Loggers: D.H. Hardwick & Sons Logging (Olsen) Corey & Trevor Smith (Piper)

Monadnock Reservation (Jaffrey), December - January 2024

The work we are doing on this portion of Monadnock Reservation is being informed by an inventory and management plan written for the property in 2014. This plan indicated stands were in need of treatment that would enhance work done here dating back to the 1950s. Specifically, we are increasing species diversity and age classes through gap openings in the forest. We are also thinning to remove low vigor trees such as red maple and black birch. There are a number of intentionally placed reserve areas that will not be cut and can be best described as an older age class hemlock stand. This will be a whole tree operation.

Forester: Eric Radlof, Full Circle Forestry LLC

Logger: DH Hardwick & Sons Inc.

Hay Reservation (Newbury), January - March 2025

A forest management plan was recently updated for the Hay Reservation in 2020. As a result, a series of management actions were laid out for the property for the next 15 to 20 years. One such action was to complete a thinning treatment in a pine stand. This is being implemented this winter. This thinning will prepare the stand for an eventual regeneration cut with the intention of growing a new cohort of white pine trees on the site. The thinning allows the best formed trees to continue to grow by removing the competition surrounding their crowns. This in turn makes them more rubust and more productive at producing pine seed. This thinning will be proceeded by a shelterwood cut leaving a widely spaced canopy of pines for maximum sunlight. This will favor the regeneration of white pine. This second entry we anticipate happening in 5 to 10 years. The logging company will utilize a cut-to-length system with a processor and forwarder for equipment. A heavily used hiking trail passes through the harvest area and has been temporarily closed down while the loggers complete this important work. Hikers will see interpretive signage upon the completion of the job to explain the management that has taken place along the trial. Recently we held a public harvest tour of the project site to see first hand what it takes to implement a logging operation on Forest Society lands.

Logger: Rolling Meadow Farm Logging

Forester: Jeff Snitkin, Full Circle Forestry

Gap Mountain Forest (Dublin), Started in 2022, completed in 2025

Winter came and went fast. Spring like conditions have halted this project until the ground is dry this summer. Otherwise we hope next winter will provide more favorable and seasonable conditions to complete this harvest.

This harvest will cover approximately 80 acres on the northern flank of Gap Mountain. The forests here contain abundant old field white pines, intermixed with red oak and northern hardwoods such as white ash and sugar maple. This harvest will build off prior management efforts in these stands, which produced a flush of poletimber hardwoods, most notably yellow birch which is growing exceptionally well. This harvest was able to start late in the winter, due to its north-facing aspect and well drained soils. The silvicultural treatment in areas with a heavy old-field pine component is to conduct a seed tree harvest, which removes most of the overstory to put a high level of sunlight on the ground and initiate a flush of regeneration. Legacy trees will be left behind to cast seed and to create structural diversity. In other areas, the goal will be to provide more sunlight and resources to poletimber trees that germinated after the previous harvest in 1988. The broad goal is to create a diverse mosaic of forest layers preferred by many species of wildlife. Due to the warm winter and late start, the job needed to be halted. The harvest resumed in July.

Forester: Eric Radlof & Ben Vicere, Full Circle Forestry

Logger: Stoddard Lumber Inc. (Aaron Bryer)

High Watch Preserve (Effingham), Jan 2024 & Jan - Mar 2025

High Watch Preserve is over 2,300 acres in size. The inventory and management plan identified a roughly 300 acre area that could use some treatment. Two stands encompass the harvest boundary. One stand is primarily northern hardwoods including white ash and sugar maple. The other is a stand comprised of a mixture of species such as beech, hemlock, red maple, red oak and some white pine. Emerald ash borer was a concern and a main driver in initiating this entry, being a devestating insect to white ash trees. We suspect the insect had reached this part of the property and began to show signs of damage. In response we are applying a regenerative silvicultural technique called a seed tree harvest. Trees of good form such as sugar maple and white ash will be retained in the openings in hopes of regenerating these two species. Other habitat features will be retained in the openings which include snags, down logs and cavity trees as well as legacy trees. Other retained trees include beech trees that show signs of bear use from the evidence of claw marks. The second stand will also focus on regeneration as the stand is lacking the next generation of trees we would hope to see growing there. Patch cuts will be placed sized anywhere from 1/2 acre to 2 acres in hopes of promoting a diversity of tree species to naturally regenerate in the newly exposed openings. Stream corridors will be only lightly harvested near as many have hemlock providing cool shade along the banks. Access is via an abutters land over which we have a right of way. The logging system includes a unique collection of equipment using a feller buncher to cut the trees down, a cut-to-length processor to cut trees into products and a forwarder to transport and sort the logs to the landing.

Forester: Tim Nolin, Forest Land Improvement

Logger: Khiel Logging & Chipping

Grafton Pond Reservation (Grafton), Jan - Feb 2024 & Jan - Mar 2025

This forest management project will cover roughly 45 acres of the 932 acres that comprise our Grafton Pond Reservation. The stand is composed of primarily white pine in the overstory with some red maple in the mid-story and regeneration consists of beech, balsam fir and red oak. Historical entries in this stand in the 80s and again in the 90s have resulted in high quality timber through the use of a thinning treatment. Thinning treatments focus on improving the quality and the growth of the stand. This project will be reaping the rewards of that improvement work and will begin to transition away from improving timber growth on overstory trees and concentrate on establishing the next generation of trees. Gaps and openings in the forest canopy will be created to increase sunlight. White pine regenerates prolifically when sunlight is able to reach the forest floor. We expect that white pine will also do well due to the abundance white pine seeds that developed and dispursed this past year. Other goals will be to protect existing regeneration, species such as balsam fir and red oak. The logging system used in this entry is hand felling and cable skidding. Logging roads will be cleared at the completion of this project to once again allow access to the property by recreationists.

Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Consulting Company

Logger: Daniel Clark Logging

Stearns-Lamont Forest (Rindge), Jan 2022, Jan & Feb 2024, Dec 2024 & Jan 2025

This harvest has two primary silvicultural goals: (1) to thin the oak-dominated forests on the west side of the beaver wetland to increase stand quality and health, and (2) to initiate new regeneration on the east side of the wetland in a pine stand via a shelterwood harvest. The western side of the property was last thinned in 1987, and the forest has responded nicely but is ready for another thinning similar to our previous harvest. One difference is our harvest in 2022 aims to thin out the understory a bit more, in an attempt to allow more light to hit the ground. We hope that this strategy results in the establishment of some desirable advanced regeneration in the understory. The pine shelterwood will open the forest up more than the thinning, leaving widely-spaced, healthy, wind-firm white pines uncut to put a significant amount of light on the ground. This sunshine is likely to inspire a flush of young growth in the coming years. Pine seedlings from the 2024 bumper crop have already established and are starting to carpet the forest floor in the shelterwood cut. Shelterwood harvesting create a two-aged forest, which can provide distinct benefits to wildlife, especially birds. The retained overstory trees provide habitat for most of the mature forest birds that were present prior to the harvest, but the dense understory that comes in can bring in additional early successional species such as eastern towhee and chestnut-sided warbler that weren't present previously. These dense young forests can also sometimes provide nesting areas for turkeys. As the seedlings turn to saplings, the habitat becomes suitable for ruffed grouse and rose-breasted grosbeaks. The harvest was partially completed in the winter of 2022, restated again with a different crew in 2024 and was completed over a few weeks in the winter of 2024-2025.

Forester: Charlie Koch

Logger: Spaulding Timber Harvesting (2022)/Doane Logging (2024-25)

High Watch Preserve (Effingham), August - November 2024

Access for this forest management project will be off High Watch Road. The High Watch Trail starts here and improvements to this section of trail will be implemented as part of the project. There will be some interuptions to the hiking public from this side of the mountain but will be temporary. The Libby Road Trail and Donovan Trail will remain open, both offering access to the summit of Green Mountain and the fire tower that exists there. Goals for this project include recreation infrastructure improvements, diversifying the age class and species diversity within the stands to be harvested through the use of thinning and small groups. Red oak will be favored in this entry and shows very good promise to become a future sawlog tree within the project area. White pine grows well here although is in tough competition with hardwoods such as American beech. Despight this we anticipate the prolific seed year of 2023 which allowed for a new generation of white pine seedlings to sprout in 2024 to respond well to this forest treatment also. Particuarly where there will be some canopy gap openings. Black birch we also hope will do well in the gap openings, a species that is slated to do well in the future. Time will tell what the beech leaf disease forest pest will bring to this part of the property and was first discovered here in June of 2024.

Forester: Tim Nolin, Forest Land Improvement

Logger: Khiel Logging & Chipping

Carter Forest, (Dublin), started Dec 2021, completed July 2024

The objectives of this harvest are to remove an aged and declining cohort of white pine to regenerate and release northern hardwood tree species, most notably yellow birch. A number of red oak poletimber-sized trees will also be encouraged as a result of the increased sunlight. The forest will have a very open look, which is necessary to provide the levels of sunlight needed to regenerate a diversity of tree species. In areas with better quality large red oaks, we are thinning the forest, with the goal of providing increased sunlight and water/nutrient resources to allow these trees to continue to grow and provide mast to area wildlife. Deer and turkey are abundant on this small tract of land.

Forester: Eric Radlof

Logger: Walter Swanson (Cersosimo Lumber)/ Aaron Bryer

David Wilson Land (Sharon), Jarmany Hill Road Phase 2, Dec 2022 - June 2024

While we have access to this part of David Wilson Land good management is being implemented. Hemlock dieback is throughout the stand due to a second wave of the hemlock looper outbreak this year in addition to last year. Many hemlocks have succumbed to this pest. Logging here now will focus on the removals of these dead trees and also open the stand for regeneration of species including black birch, white pine and red oak. Red oak stems are throughout the stand but are younger so will be released as part of this logging project so that they can continue to grow and put on volume and provide a valuable seed source to area wildlife. Harvesting in this stand will go through the winter and perhaps not finish until summer or the following winter. So far it has gone slow due to it being the warmest winter in many foresters recent memories. Stay tuned for a phase 3, from this same access point which will cross into a small and otherwise inaccessible stand to the west.

Consulting Forester: Charlie Koch, Jaffrey, NH

Logger: Brett Johnson

Peirce Reservation (Stoddard) Dec 2023 - Feb 2024

This forest management project will cover roughly 150 acres of the 3,500 acre forest. Regeneration and tree productivity are two key focuses with this entry. Regeneration establishment through seed tree and shelterwood treatments and regeneration maintenance through release of the overstory. Red spruce is one such species being keyed in on for release as well as other norther hardwoods such as yellow birch, white birch and sugar maple. A red oak stand will be thinned to allow for better spacing by removing unnacceptable stems. Throughout the project area, downed woody debri and cavity and snags will be left for wildlife use and other benefits these forest features provide. The logging crew is utilizing whole tree and chipping equipment. The landing will be off Old Antrim road just east of the Bacon Ledge Trail. A public harvest tour was held for anyone to come and learn about this project and how the Forest Society practices sustailable forestry on their lands. It was a huge success!

Forester: Jeff Snitkin, Full Circle Forestry Inc

Logger: DH Hardwick & Sons Inc.

Hunter Preserve (Deering), Feb 2023 to Jan 2024

This harvest is aimed at improving the condition, diversity, and vigor of the forest, which a mixture of white pine, red maple, red oak, and hemlock. Most areas will be thinned, to promote the growth of desirable trees and species well suited to the site's soils. Two areas will be harvested more heavily, with the goal of putting enough sunlight on the ground to initiate a flush of new growth. This harvest is being cut using both a feller buncher and a chainsaw, with trees limbed and topped in the woods and brought to the landing with a grapple skidder. The second entry in 2024 on the north side of Falls road is complete and incorporated the same silvicultural strategies.

Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Consulting Company

Logger: Kevin Bourgoine Timber Harvesting

Hope Forest (Danbury), November 2023

This red pine stand was planted roughly 65 years ago according to tree tree counts. The total acreage of the stand clocks in at 13 acres. In 2014 a forest managment project sought to thin the red pine which were planted in rows. Every third row was removed to allow more sunlight to reach the crowns of the remaining trees. As a result of this project a catch of hardwood sprang forth in the openings between the rows. Perhaps not intentionally what happened was a shelterwood where young trees were growing under the overstory red pine. Unfortunately red pine is being threatened by the red pine scale insect prompting the need for this latest entry in the stand. Working with the understory hardwood regeneration and taking care not to damage these trees the operators efficently cut the majority of the overstory red pines to release the hardwoods. Hardwoods include grey birch, red maple, red oak and white birch. Cut to length logging equipment was utilized to accomplish this work. This nearly monoculture stand of planted trees will become a more diverse hardwood stand of native to the area tree species. The stand into the future will be more diverse from a tree species standpoint. White pine trees around the periphery of the stand were retained and given the productive seed year they experienced this past fall we are expecting some regeneration from this species as well.

Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Consulting Company

Logger: High Tech Harvesting

Lamprey River Forest (Epping), May 2023 - July 2023

We are picking up where we left off from the last harvest on the property in 2003 also administered by Charlie Moreno. That forest management project was a success having regenerated oak (white and red), hickory, black birch and white pine in addition to providing more space for the remaining trees to grow and thrive. The younger trees are ready for a release. Thinning some overstory trees that are casting shade will achieve this as well as small group openings. Other objectives include salvaging dying red pine that is succumbing to the red pine scale. We hope for a good seed year from both oak and pine two species that often take some chance and luck to successfully regenerate. White pine should have an excellent crop and operating during the growing season will ensure a scarificed seed bed, prepping the soil for germination from the seeds this early fall. Because this is a whole tree operation we suspect excellent scarification. This harvest will diversify the age structure of the property by creating some large gaps where the planted red pine once grew and will ensure adequate overstory and superstory trees to remain adding verticle structure to the property. Also species diversity will be enhanced. Tree and shrub species that are underrepresented will be encouraged and protected during the operation. There will be two access points. One from the original point of entry off Prescott Road and another from Olde Bridge Lane which will be a newly created access to the property.

Consulting Forester: Charlie Moreno, Moreno Forestry Associates

Loggers: William A. Day Jr. & Sons

Gardner Memorial Forest (Hollis), Aug - Nov 2023

This is a relatively small forest managment project in a predominantly white pine dominated stand. The goal here is to improve the acceptable growing stock by removing poor quality trees. Many of these poor quality trees are the product of being established in a pasture setting so have multiple stems and branches due to having grown in an open condition. This leads to breakage and then disease entry lowering the productivity of the stand as well as timber value. This forest management project will increase the sunlight on the forest floor which promotes regeneration of desirable tree species namely white pine. This year is shaping up to be a very bountiful seed year for white pine, the timing couldn't be more perfect to be operating here. The logging machinery will scarify the soil prepping the soils seed bed for when the seeds fall from the cones high up on the remaining trees. Additional sunlight will benefit a shrub layer of blueberry and huckleberry here which will increase the soft mast benefit to nearby wildlife. A unique aspect to this harvest is the rare plant work nearby. The plant that is rare needs lots of sunlight to grow and prosper. We have already seen good results from increasing sunlight and are looking to expand by cutting the trees within the vacinity of the plant. Due to invasive species pressure this area will require some invasive species management. Mowing to maintain a small meadow will be necessary to continue the conditions this rare plant requires.

Forester: SPNHF, staff foresters

Logger: Proctor Hill Forestry and Logging, LLC

Kauffmann Forest (Stark), Dec 2022 - Feb 2023

This is one of our largest operations to date. The entire area covered is around 300 acres although the treated acres in that area closer to 150 acres. This mechanized harvest utilizes a feller-buncher, grapple skidders and a stroke delimber on the landing. All tops and limbs are carried back to the woods for armoring skid trails. The treatment applied is thinning throughout with a focus on removing poor-quality trees to favor good healthy and quality in the residual stand. This will result in the development of an uneven-aged stand.

Forester: Dave Faulkenham, NEFCo

Logger: Mike Kelley, Kel-Log Inc.

Wilkins-Campbell Forest (Deering), Sept 2022 - Feb 2023

The previous harvest of this part of Wilkins-Campbell Forest occurred in 2000. Areas cut at this time now contain vigorous pockets of black birch regeneration, and one of the goals of the fall 2022 harvest was to encourage these young stems, by cutting trees that were overtopping and shading them. The 2022 harvest also has the goal of thinning dense mixedwood forests made up of white pine, red oak, hemlock, red maple, and black birch. Many of the pine trees in these areas are either mature or of poor quality, and some of these pines will be cut to provide more growing space to oaks and other hardwoods, which are better suited to the soils present on the site. A heavier cut will be carried out in a 3-acre section of mature oak trees, with the goal of regenerating a new young forest. Forests within 250' of Deering Lake will be left uncut to provide a mature, older forest type to complement the younger, managed forests elsewhere.

Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Consulting Company

Logger: Jake Bronnenberg Forest Services

David Wilson Land (Sharon), Jarmany Hill Road phase 1, Aug 2022

Another operation that is utlizing access through a temporary cooperative agreement with a private landowner. We cant thank them enough for trusting us with the care of their land. A load of firewood is the least we can do. With the drought conditions persisting into the late summer this section of David Wilson Land was a good candidate to initiate a harvest to due as moist soil conditions are typically the norm here. Operating within 1 mile away to the north of the active harvest off Rt. 124 this side of David Wilson will be in the regenerative phase for the next decade. Hemlock looper has effected the hemlock here and cut to length equipment are able to utilize this product much more efficiently than say a hand feller would. Cut areas have white pine that are beginning to age out. By opening up their crowns they will produce a crop of seed to regenerate the forest floor below. Irregular shelterwood might best describe the silvicultural method used here. When regeneration successfully established itself the next step would be to give it maximum sunlight by cutting the majority of the overstory. This could happen in as little as 5 to 8 years. We will be monitoring the success or failure of regenerated areas in 4-5 years time. It is shaping up to be a pine seed year next year as evidenced (photo above) by one year pine cones visible in the tops of the trees. This season is dropping red oak acorns and operating now will help drive those into the soil layer to avoid predation by critters.

Forester: Charlie Koch, Jaffrey, NH

Logger: Thomas Doane, New Salem, MA

David Wilson Land, (Sharon), Nov 2022 - Dec 2022

The first order of business was to open up 1,000 feet of old access road and landing which had grown in with very think saplings of pine, grey birch and hemlock. Considering our options it was decided that the best piece of equipment was a forestry mulcher. This would avoid having to pull the roots and damage the road. The end result was great and cost about the same as hiring an excavator to clear the trees, perhaps even saved some money. Once that was complete cutting could commence by this one man, chainsaw and grapple skidder operation. Due to the size of the harvest it will likely take the entire winter to complete if all goes well. Old field pine is targeted for regeneration cuts using the shelterwood method. Oak pole timber that regenerated from the last harvest will be protected and released where it is found in addition to pockets of red spruce. The hemlock is this stand shows some signs of hemlock looper, and will be monitored in future years.

Forester: Charlie Koch

Logger: Brett Johnson

Gilman Forest (Tamworth), June - Aug 2022

One of the goals of this harvest is to diversify the forest's structure and composition by creating sections of young forest to complement the middle-aged forests that are currently present. This is being accomplished by cutting trees in groups and patches (up to a few acres in size) and allowing the forest to naturally regenerate. Group and patch cut openings can be an effective tool at resetting a forest and allowing a different mixture of trees to gain a foothold. In a few locations seed tree white pine were left, mimicking shelterwood silviculture but on a smaller scale. Prior to this harvest, the forest contained a mixture of red maple, hemlock, and beech, with many trees of relatively poor health and quality. Operating in the summer should provide the opportunity for scarification of the soil and disturbance to the advanced regeneration of beech. Group and patch cuts allow for the possibility of additional species to become established, including yellow birch, red oak, white pine, and sugar maple. It also means that, as the forest regrows, there will be multiple aged and sized trees present. Forests with a high tree species and structural diversity are more resilient and adaptable to stressors such as forest pests and disease, drought, and climate change. A majority of this forest is being left uncut during this harvest, to allow for the trees to continue growing, and to provide areas to be cut during future harvest entries.

Forester: Tim Nolin, Forestland Improvement

Logger: Khiel Logging

Gipson Forest (Greenfield), Apr - May 2022

The Forest Society has owned the Gipson Forest since 1935 when it was donated to us in the will of Emma Gipson.  We acquired a small addition to the property in 2016.  Over the decades, we have conducted several timber harvests – in 1947, 1951, and 1975 – but have not conducted one in over 40 years at this point.  Inventories in 2013 and 2017 noted plenty of impressive white pines on the property, but not many young ones to take their place once they start to decline.  An opportunity recently came up for us to conduct this harvest this spring, using an abutting parcel as a landing.  We are not clearing our land for development (although the abutting parcel, not owned by us, is) and it will remain as conservation land open to the public after the harvest.  Many of the large pines will remain after the cut, but we do aim to put enough light on the forest floor to stimulate new growth.  Red oak and sugar maple that germinated following the harvests in 1951 and 1975 were identified and protected during the harvest; the removal of tall pines near these trees will allow them the sunlight they need to attain full size. We expect additional seedlings to sprout in the years following this cut, to provide the next age class of trees in this forest.

We worked with the local elementary school to provide a field trip opportunity to 3rd and 4th grade students while this harvest was active. Students were able to watch a grapple skidder moving logs to the landing, and ask questions about cutting trees. You can read more about the field trip  here .

Sanborn Forest (Epping), Jan 2022

The property contains a nearly pure pine stand with three different species growing. White pine, red pine and pitch pine found in this order of abundance. Much of these pines were planted by the property donors father who cared deeply for his "woodlot". Thinning and tending work in the stand has produced a well stocked stand. After examination of the stand and the modest amount of existing regeneration it was determined that a regenerative harvest was needed. The best formed and largest pines were retained for future structure within the stand and provide a seed source to the site. This prescription turned out to be the correct decision as a large percentage of the trees contained internal decay and fungus staining called red rot which leads to structural integrity loss and a reduction in timber value. Another area smaller area was treated differently with individual mature stems of pine being cut which are competing with hardwood trees including red maple, sugar maple, red oak and shagbark hickory. Slopes of hemlock and large pine within riparian zones were not entered in this harvest.

Eagle Cliff Forest, (Sandwich), Jan 2022

We are very thankful to our neighbor permitting us access to their land for a landing, making this project a reality. The prescription on this harvest is group cuts in ice damaged northern hardwoods and red oak. No single opening will be greater than 3 acres. Thinning in red oak dominated portions of the property area. Total area of harvest is 35acres. Total area impacted by thinning and groups is about 20. Total property acreage is 102. The white tailed deer are very happy for the bounty of hardwood tree tops for nibbling on during this cold winter and low availability of hardwood mast crops.

Glavin Memorial Forest (Warner), Jan - Feb 2022

The primary goal of this harvest was to remove poor quality white pine trees in the overstory to favor the mixture of hardwoods growing in the midstory beneath. Red maple, black birch, and red oak (now 4-10 inches in diameter) germinated following the previous harvest on this property 30+ years ago under a previous owner. These young hardwoods were growing well but will benefit from the increased sunlight following this harvest. In the southern section, the overall quality of the trees was better, and this area was cut in a lighter fashion to provide more space to the pines and hardwoods present. Very large, branchy pines and standing dead trees were left uncut for their value to wildlife. Additionally, large hollow or rotten sections of pine were left on the forest floor to increase the abundance of downed woody debris, which can be beneficial to amphibians, small mammals, and some species of sonbirds. The few white oak trees on the property were identified and left uncut, to provide this species an opportunity to increase in abundance. As our climate warms, species such as white oak are expected to shift their range northward, and cold-hardy individuals such as these are important pioneers to jump-start this range expansion.

Forester: Brooks McCandlish

Logger: Ryan Mingarelli of R.M. Timber Harvesting

Sidney Butler Smith Woodlot (Tuftonboro), Dec 2021 - Jan 2022

This harvest covered about 30 acres of the 65 acre property. Care was exercised in and around the numerous wetland areas and hiking trails to minimize impacts. This maturing forest was thinned with an eye towards the future production of quality sawtimber which this property grows very well, particularly northern red oak. This was a very lucrative harvest and stocking remains very high here.

Forester: Tim Nolan

Logger: Khiel Logging

Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest, (Lempster), Dec 2021 - Jan 2022

This harvest encompassed about 90 acres on the western side of the Silver Mountain Tract. Recently a harvest tour was given by Forest Society staff and the consulting forester. This tour was open to the public. Care to avoid hiking trail impacts was implemented by the creation of a new permanent landing site. This new site offered the ability to combine two harvests areas into one. Objectives ranged from thinning from above to release northern hardwood pole timber in old field pine areas to overstory removal of pine where advanced spruce and fir were found. Patches and one clear cut will increase tree species diversity and wildlife habitat through the creation of browse cover and food. Whole tree harvesting and chipping equipment was utilized for this harvest project.

Forester: Jeremy Turner

Logger: Hardwick Logging

Jennings Forest, (New Durham), Nov 2021 - Jan 2022

This harvest covered about 1/3 of the acreage on the property. Pure stands of white pine were thinned to increase growing room to the residual trees. Nearly pure red oak stands were treated similarly to improve overall quality of the stand by removing mature and or high risk trees. In mixtures of red oak and pine the hardwoods were favored as the pine is generally not growing on a suitable site to allow it to regenerate well. Whole tree logging and chipping equipment was utilized for this large timber sale which had long skidding distances. Many access improvements were made including creating a new landing, hardening an access road, installing rock abutments for future bridge crossings and rehabilitation of an old access road which had become flooded by beavers.

Forester: Peter Farrell

Logger: LE Taylor & Sons

David Wilson Land (Sharon), Aug - Oct 2021

In the late 1990s, the Forest Society conducted a timber harvest in this stand, resulting in the establishment of young black birch and red oak. This previous harvest removed about half of the overstory white pine and hemlock, and the sunlight that reached the ground was sufficient to allow these young hardwoods to grow. By 2021, these young stems were well established, but being partially shaded out by the remaining overstory that was left uncut in the 1990s harvest. The goal of our harvest in the fall of 2021 was to remove about two-thirds of the remaining overstory hemlock and white pine, to provide more sunlight for the black birch and red oak below.

Halfway through this harvest, the stand was unexpectedly hit by a hemlock looper outbreak. The hemlock looper is a native caterpillar which feeds on hemlock needles, and can result in significant defoliation and mortality. The looper moths lay eggs in August and September, and the eggs overwinter and hatch the following June. The looper caterpillar feeds on hemlock needles, taking a few bites of each needle and then moving on to the next one. The damaged needles die and fall to the forest floor. Previous outbreaks of this native forest pest have not occurred since 1990 (in Cheshire and Hillsborough County) and 1965 (on the shores of Lake Winnepesaukee.

We consulted with the Forest Health experts at the NH Division of Forest and Lands to determine how we should respond to this outbreak. One option would have been to cut all the hemlock in the area, given that these outbreaks often last for years and many hemlock that we had been planning on leaving uncut may die. We decided against this, as removing many of these hemlocks we were planning on retaining would have resulted in damage to the young hardwoods we were trying to release. Additionally, hemlock experiencing less than 80% defoliation from the hemlock looper could potentially survive. Towards the end of the harvest, we did not observe significant looper moth activity in the harvest area, a potential sign that wet weather may caused native controls of this pest to increase their numbers. We are hopeful that some of the hemlocks we left uncut will survive, but if they don't they'll provide wildlife habitat as standing dead snags and eventually fall to the forest floor to provide additional structure and homes for amphibians and small mammals.

Consulting Forester: Charlie Koch

Logger: Brett Johnson

Indian Arrowhead Forest Preserve (Surry), Dec 2020 - Mar 2021

This large winter harvest was completed in one winter utilizing a cut-to-length harvest system. Cut to length systems utilize the brush and limbs from trees by adding them to the skid trails, which reduces impacts on the soil by keeping the machinery from sinking when the ground gets soft or wet. The cut-to-length system enabled the logging crew to complete the harvest even with less than favorable conditions that occurred during the winter (warm spells that unexpectedly thawed the frozen ground). The objective of this harvest was to improve the overall quality of the forest. Much of the harvest area was thinned, a harvest type which removes poorer quality trees, and improves spacing for the better quality trees which are left to grow. A regenerative cut known as a seed tree harvest was employed in three three different areas that were each 1.5 to 3 acres in size. Prior to harvest, these seed tree harvest areas contained mature pine and oak and the objective of the harvest type is to initiate new growth as well as diversify the cover improving wildlife habitat. One part of the forest contained bitternut hickory trees, which are unusual in New Hampshire. A thinning around these trees was aimed at encouraging their growth. As our climate warms, southern trees such as hickories are predicted to do well, so we try to locate and purposefully favor them during timber harvesting.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: High Tech Harvesting

Gap Mountain Reservation (Troy), Jan 2020 - Mar 2021

This harvest was carried out over two winters, using a landing off Old Troy Road, adjacent to the South Gap Trailhead parking area. Hikers were directed to the other parking to access Gap Mountain while the job was underway. The harvest created patch cut openings 1-3 acres in size in the southern part of the harvest area. The goal here was to remove mature red oak and in others the goal was to cut poor quality, diseased beech trees. Recent heavy acorn crops were observed, providing the opportunity for red oak to regenerate in these areas. However, if deer browse pressure over the next few years is high, that may result in black birch (which is less palatable to deer) being successful instead. In the northern part of this harvest area, the forest type transitioned to a mixture of hemlock, oak, and pine. In these areas, we harvested groups of poor quality trees in small group openings 0.5 to 1 acres in size. Black birch hemlock are likely to be successful in recolonizing canopy gaps of this size. The smaller sized openings in this part of the harvest were aimed at maintaining the forest type that was present, and improving what appeared to be a deer wintering area.

Consulting Forester: Eric Radlof, formerly with Bay State Forestry, now with Full Circle Forestry

Loggers: Bill Kimball

Heald Tract (Temple), Nov 2020 - Jan 2021

Prior to harvest, this part of the  Heald Tract  contained high quality red oak trees that were ready to harvest along with white pine trees of poor health. The goal of this harvest was to remove these mature trees and create conditions suitable to the natural regeneration of red oak and a mix of other desirable tree species. A low density shelterwood technique was applied, removing about 90% of the overstory trees and leaving strong, healthy seed trees evenly spaced throughout the harvest area. This harvest was timed to coincide with a heavy mast year for oak, so that the harvest machinery would push the abundant acorns that had fallen into the ground, which greatly increases their germination rates. A follow up visit in the summer of 2021 indicated early success - a thick carpet of young red oak seedlings! Many of the beautiful oak timbers harvested here will be used to build a pavilion at the Forest Society's North Country Headquarters at  The Rocks  in Bethlehem.

Shelterwood harvests can have benefits for wildlife, because they result in a two-aged forest structure. Animals that utilize mature trees are still able to use the trees that were left behind, and the forest that regenerates underneath these trees often contains a diverse mixture of berry-producing shrubs, grasses, flowers, and tree saplings. This diversity of vegetation results in a greater diversity of wildlife than was likely present prior to the harvest.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: D.H. Hardwick and Sons

Coolidge Tree Farm Forest (Sandwich), Nov 2020 - Dec 2020

A heavily wooded quiet lakeside property describes Coolidge Tree Farm well. This harvest was a continuation of decades of sustainable forestry work that dated back to before Forest Society ownership. Thinning and group selection timber harvesting regimes worked well here to improve the structure and diversity of the forest. Mature white pine and red oak was removed in groups, positioned adjacent to former group openings from a previous harvest. The old openings now contain young hardwood saplings that will benefit from the increased light levels from the openings we established during this harvest. Other parts of the forest were thinned to improve the overall spacing of desirable hemlock, white pine, red oak, and sugar maple trees. The Coolidge Tree Farm, like much of New Hampshire, was reforested in the late 1800s or early 1900s, and there are many large pine trees still standing as a legacy to this past history. We chose to retain many of these large legacy pine trees to preserve this link to the past, and increase the forest's structural diversity.

Consulting Forester: Tim Nolan, Forestland Improvement

Logger: John Kheil Logging & Chipping

Heald Tract access agreement (Greenville/Mason), Sept - Nov 2020

The Forest Society was approached by the State of NH in the summer of 2020, and asked if we would be willing to provide access to the Russell State Forest, a small land-locked parcel to the south, for forest management purposes. The Forest Society is regularly approached by abutting landowners with this type of request, which we consider on a case-by-case basis. When we grant an access agreement, we require a written document that stipulates that the abutting landowner follow all best management practices to protect soil and water quality. For this access request, we worked with Sam Taylor, forester with the NH Division of Forests and Lands, to ensure that their needs for access would be met, and also that our land would be cared for and stabilized after the use was complete. The State and their foresters hold themselves and their timber harvests to a very high standards, so this access agreement went quite smoothly.

Black Mountain Forest (Sutton/Warner), July - Oct 2020

This harvest was primarily focused on creating small patch cuts in areas that contained poor quality hardwoods, especially beech. Scattered reserve trees were left in many of these cuts for structural diversity and wildlife habitat considerations. Fall 2020 was an abundant seed year for red oak, white pine, and red spruce, three species which are numerous on this forest. The bountiful availability of these seeds will be helpful in allowing these patch cut areas to quickly regrow into a more diverse young forest than the largely beech-dominated areas that were cut. The patch cuts ranged in size from 0.3 to 3.8 acres, and were located as to avoid the numerous headwater streams in the area. These stream corridors were buffered to preserve water quality and wildlife travel corridors. In some areas, a previous harvest had created dense thickets of young growth - pine, spruce, maple - underneath trees that were nearing maturity. This 2020 harvest removed the overstory in these areas to re-allocate the site's resources - light, water, nutrients - to the diverse mixture of young trees. A popular hiking trail, the Lincoln Trail to the top of Mt. Kearsarge runs through this part of the Black Mountain Forest. This trail also serves as a portion of the  Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway . We communicated with the hiking community and worked to minimize disruption but maintain safety around this popular trail.

Consulting Forester: Jeff Smith, Butternut Hollow Forestry

Loggers: Timberwolf Logging

Taves Forest (Roxbury), Aug - Sept 2020

In 2015, a winter harvest in this stand was halted before completion due to an early spring thaw and wet soil conditions. Conditions were right in the late summer of 2020 to finish this work with a logging crew that had just finished up a harvest on a different portion of the Taves Forest nearby. The continuation of the 2015 harvest was focused on an improvement thinning of high quality oak trees. In this type of harvest, poorer quality trees are removed to provide trees of better form and health more growing space. This allows healthier crowns, faster growth, and greater seed/nut production. With the crop tree red oaks here nearing maturity, the next harvest in this stand will likely be aimed at creating conditions suitable for the natural regeneration of a mixture of desirable tree species.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: Holton Farms

Taves Reservation (Roxbury), Aug - Sept 2020

Several different timber harvesting techniques were used during this cut. Some areas were thinned to improve the quality of the forest, favoring trees that were healthier, better formed, and/or of a species better suited to the site and soils. Poor quality white pines were carefully removed in one area to provide more light and resources to a mixture of hardwood species - red maple, black birch, red oak. A shelterwood technique was applied in one area that was dominated by red oak. This type of harvesting removes about three-quarters of the trees, leaving the strongest and healthiest ones to drop seed. In this instance, we left mostly red oaks as the seed trees, and hope for a carpet of red oak seedlings in the future years. The fall of 2020 was a heavy mast year, so we are hopeful about our chances for success here. In another part of the harvest area, we conducted a seed tree harvest, a cut which removes around 90% of the overstory trees and leaves a few scattered individuals to cast seed. In this area, we left paper birch trees as the seed source. Paper birch have small, wind-blown seeds, so the exposed mineral soil that occured as a result of this harvest should provide a fertile spot for this species to germinate.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: D.H. Hardwick and Sons

Tilton Memorial Forest (Gilmanton), July - Aug 2020

The primary goal with this harvest was to initiate new regeneration, and we used a silvicultural technique called patch cutting to attempt to achieve this goal. Patches up to 8 arces in size were evenly spaced across the western side of Tilton Forest. We located these patches in areas that were growing trees of low quality (poor health or growth form, or an undesirable mix of tree species). Hemlock, beech and red maple were the predominant species that were in these areas, and there was a lack of desirable young regeneration underneath. The fall of 2020 was a prolific mast year for red oaks, so we are hopeful that this abundant acorn crop will result in some red oak establishment in the patch cuts here. Lets hope the deer don't get to them first!

Consulting Forester: Jon Martin, Martin Forestry Services

Loggers: Hicks Logging, LLC

Tebbetts Hill Reservation (Farmington), June - Aug 2020

This harvest on the Tebbetts Hill Reservation occurred in an area dominated by white pines. Other portions of the property that contained healthy red oak that were not ready for a harvest, and so this entry focused on the pine on the eastern side. A previous harvest in 1990 (prior to Forest Society ownership) had removed old field, poor quality white pine, but the stand grew in quickly and had become overcrowded in the years since that cut. Trees showed clear signs of slow growth, and dense pine stands can be vulnerable to disease, so this harvest aimed to thin the pine stand to increase the health of the forest and jump-start growth rates. Some younger red oak was identified in the harvest area, and these trees were left to grow. Harvesting in a pine stand during the summer results in soil scarification, meaning that the upper organic and duff layer of the soil is disturbed slightly, exposing the mineral layers below. This disturbance, combined with the increased light levels from the trees removed, presents favorable conditions for the establishment of small-seeded tree species such as white pine.

A low slow growing hemlock grove occurs in the middle of the harvest creates unique thermal cover opportunities in a predominantly hardwood dominated landscape. These large hemlocks were left uncut as a future seed source, despite the future uncertainty for hemlocks in our state. The hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA), an invasive forest pest that attacks and kills hemlock trees, has spread northward and is now common throughout the southern and central parts of New Hampshire. Cold winter temperatures can knock back HWA populations, and this harvest opened up the hemlock stand just a bit in an attempt to lower winter temperatures and protect this stand from infestation.

The operation utilized a cut to length system to harvest the trees; this system leaves logging slash on the forest floor to decompose. This harvest system proved to be a good fit for this harvest, given the loss of softwood low grade markets. The material left on site has no monetary value, but it will provide shelter and habitat for wildlife and enrich the soil as it decomposes.

Consulting Forester: Peter Farrell, New England Forestry Consultants

Loggers: Billy Dirubbo

Taves Forest (Marlborough), June - Aug 2020

The goal of this harvest was to carefully thin high quality red oak trees to improve their spacing and health. This type of harvest provides more light, water, and nutrients to the healthier and better formed trees. The western side of this harvest area, which contained white ash and black cherry, was cut a bit heavier, putting enough light on the ground to likely result in a flush of hardwood regeneration. A high quality vernal pool in the northeast was avoided and buffered, in order to maintain cool water temperatures and preserve the integrity of this important amphibian breeding area.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: Holton Farms

Yatsevitch Forest (Plainfield), Jan - Feb 2020

This northern hardwood stand dominated by sugar maple was thinned in the winter to benefit trees of better form and health. Sugar maple trees are tolerant of shade, and this area contained smaller maples underneath the canopy trees that will benefit from the resulting increased light levels. A small portion of this harvest was more heavily cut to stimulate a flush of new growth. Tree species which we expect to regenerate in this area include sugar maple, yellow birch, white birch, white ash, beech, and striped maple.

The Forest Society hosted a timber harvest tour for the public while this harvest was active. About 30 people attended to learn about the planning and science that goes into implementing a sustainable timber harvest.

Consulting Forester: Jeremy Turner, Meadowsend Timberlands

Loggers: Heath Bunnell Logging