Forestry workshops eye management techniques

Dan Stepanausks leads the beginner's workshop. (Courtesy photo)

MMRG and Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust (BHF/CSFCT) teamed up to offer two free outdoor forestry workshops recently, one aimed for beginners and the other for natural resource professionals.

The beginners' workshop was led by consulting forester Dan Stepanauskas, who took participants on a tour of some high quality BHF/CSFCT hardwood stands in Wakefield that had been thoughtfully logged the previous year. A group of a dozen timberland owners and forest enthusiasts followed Stepanauskas along a logging road through the colorful late fall woodland. Stopping numerous times, he explained the considerations important to a well-thought-out timber harvest plan, including roles played by soil, climate, and shade. For example, proper cutting allows just the right amount of sunlight to reach the remaining trees. Too much sunlight, particularly in oak stands, results in unwanted side limbs developing on the trunk stems whereas too little sunlight results in slower growth and longer harvest intervals. Dan pointed out the various tree species present, their relative market values and likely uses. A relatively new demand for hardwood is in the construction of large timber mats used to protect the forest floor when moving heavy equipment to remote locations.

Stepanauskas also explained how cutting techniques and equipment selection are important and depend on the nature of the job. Equipment best suited for a specific job may range from a team of one or more horses, to skidders, to enormous feller-bunchers or cut-to-length forwarders. He elaborated that the use of whole-tree chipping machinery is often counter-productive to the successful regeneration of desirable hardwood species, reduces soil nutrients, and is inappropriate for the thinning of hardwood stands.

Resource Conservationist Don Keirstead of the state Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and consulting forester Charlie Moreno jointly taught the NRCS Conservation Field Day workshop for NRCS staff and other natural resource professionals at Branch Hill Farm (BHF) in Milton Mills. As one of BHF's foresters, Moreno has been managing a low impact timber stand improvement using advanced silviculture techniques in these BHF forests. This workshop was an opportunity to give NRCS some visual examples of the outcomes of their financial support for implementing such improvements. Helping state landowners manage their woodlot is a major focus of NRCS in a state that is 85 percent forested. Reducing erosion from skid trails, using temporary crossings, and providing landowners cost share dollars to develop a forest management plan are the most popular practices.

Moreno focused on current and innovative forestry best management practices and the economics of managing woodlands that have been cut heavily over the past 100 years. One newly-supported NRCS practice he discussed was tree marking, which will pay for a private forester to mark the wood lot using a paint gun to mark either the 'cut-trees' or 'leave trees'. The goal is to improve regeneration of desired crop trees in timber stands with low-grade timber products, such as pulp and biomass material.

The tour looked at a BHF culvert area which had been blown out during hurricane Irene and leaders discussed ways to help fish and small streams and rivers recover naturally. NRCS helped remove the culvert and the stream was restored by removing fill from the brook, reducing the angle of the stream bank and seeding the area. Nels Liljedahl, NRCS District Conservationist from Carroll and Belknap Counties, provided insight on stream restoration techniques which involve adding wood to small streams. This practice is beneficial to brook trout and other fish by creating more cover and deeper pools and by catching leaves and other organic matter that benefit the macro-invertebrates (bugs) that fish eat. This technique can also benefit water quality by reengaging floodplains, reducing flow velocity, and accreting sediment, although its implementation takes some care and expertise.

Don Keirstead pointed out that recent climate change models predict that NH will continue to be impacted by heavier rain and storm events. Removing undersized culverts, reducing stream velocities and re-engaging the floodplain benefits not only wildlife but infrastructure in the watershed. Local lake associations are also interested in these practices, having noticed a reduction in water clarity from increased sedimentation due to larger storm events and development in local watersheds.

Added Keirstead, "NRCS staff greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss and brainstorm several new conservation solutions at Branch Hill Farm. It was a perfect place to do this sort of workshop because of the progressive conservation ethic that has always governed their majestic 3,000 acre property in Milton Mills."

Thanks to Bruce Rich, Dan Stepanauskas, Don Keirstead, and Charlie Moreno for their contributions to this article. Eedited by Virginia Long, MMRG Executive Director.