Mass. State Agency OKs State Forest Cutting Plan

A top Massachusetts forestry authority has approved a plan to begin removing white pine plantations as part of a project to restore native species of trees in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. Work is expected to start this winter.

MassWildlife's Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program (NHESP) backed the proposal to remove approximately 50 acres of white pine before the Fourth of July. A state service forester approved the proposal on July 2.

The goal is to remove 175 acres of white pine plantations by 2035. Phase one of the project includes cutting 52 acres, estimated to result in 201,000 board feet of white pine and 2,613 tons of chips from two separate areas. The initial phase previously proposed removing 79 acres, but the inclusion of buffers around trails, bike paths, and roads where workers won't cut decreased the initial acreage.

According to the MV Times, the state forester's approval comes with new restrictions to avoid the "take," which refers to animals or plants that range from behavior disruption to kill, of species protected by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.

The conditions, which were outlined in a comment letter from NHESP, include limiting vehicle and equipment access to paved and fire roads in the management areas, visually inspecting and washing vehicles and equipment brought in from other sites, and removing “coarse woody debris” on the edges of trails and access roads.

Some Islanders on Martha's Vineyard say they weren't involved in the public comment period for the project and remain critical of it.

“It seems like a crime to take it away,” James (“Jim”) Athearn, a frequent supporter of State Forest trails and founder of Morning Glory Farm, said of removing the pine plantations. Athearn doesn't believe that the forest will gain anything in the attempt to bring back native species.