Coming upon a swath of downed trees, whether they are accompanied by heavy machinery or not, can be disarming. The timber activities currently being managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) adjacent to the blueberry management areas in Goshen within the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area (MNRA) are no exception. While such timber harvesting (logging) practices can be controversial, most everyone recognizes the importance of a healthy forest.
Natural forested areas provide clean drinking water by catching rainwater to prevent erosion and allowing soil and vegetation to filter out nutrients that would otherwise pollute waterways. A healthy forest is also more resilient against invasive insects and plants as well as the changing weather patterns and climate.
Trees act as “sinks” for carbon in the atmosphere, and provide habitats for wildlife, plants, and other biotic species. In addition to the value of a healthy sustainable forest for its own sake, forests will continue to support our existence, use, and enjoyment now and for future generations, as long as they are managed and used wisely.
Forest health depends on a robust ecosystem, which, in turn, depends on biodiversity—many species of trees, animals and other biota. In addition to species diversity, structural diversity (having trees of different sizes and ages) is also important.
Do we keep forests healthy by actively managing them or letting them be?
People spend entire careers researching and debating this question. Historically, wildfires and burning practices used by indigenous peoples created a sustainable cycle of healthy forests. The suppression of wildfires in the early 1900s created overgrowth and fuel for higher intensity and more destructive wildfires. Even in the East, where sometimes the rain never seems to end. Scientists and public lands managers realized in the 1960s that the practice of suppressing wildfires created a whole host of not-so-great impacts to forests and ecosystems.
We’ve been trying to play catch-up ever since. Letting wildfires burn—so-called “controlled burning” and “fuels reduction”—is a present-day strategy.
The USFS manages its areas for multiple uses, including both recreation and timber management, the latter of which may involve commercial sales. Plans for any timber activity on national forests include studies on potential impacts to recreation, soils and water, archeology sites, botany and wildlife, and even “visual resources” (scenery).
The timber activity within MNRA near the blueberry management area was approved by the Forest Service in 2020, after a strictly regulated environmental decision process federal agencies must go through, including studies and public input. While the timber harvest is a commercial sale to a Vermont company, the activity will increase the lowbush blueberry coverage from 15 acres to 55 acres. The area historically covered about 39 acres. The activity removes “hazardous fuels” and supports the blueberry fields, which provide wildlife and pollinator habitat as well as economic benefit to local communities that accommodate visitors.
A second timber project in various stands throughout the MNRA is planned, though not yet approved. This action is not a commercial sale, but rather for the purpose of regenerating the Northern red oak and American chestnut. The American chestnut has declined sharply in its native Eastern U.S. range since the early 1900s.
The USFS, acting under legislative mandates, employs a diverse cadre of planners, scientists, resource specialists, and others to do their best job with the best information they have. There will always be multiple opinions on how or whether these actions should take place. If you’d like to share your opinion or have questions about the USFS’s timber management activities, please contact Philip Macaskill at philip.macaskill@usda.gov. I can be reached at execdir.moosalamoo@gmail.com. Tread lightly and enjoy the land.
Susan Johnson
Executive Director, Moosalamoo Association
