‘In a Rush.’ Vineyard Forest Cutting Plan Gets Mixed Reactions. Time Added for Comment.

A project to restore natural woodlands by removing dense white pine plantations in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on Martha’s Vineyard is stirring debate among residents, environmentalists, and state officials.

Now, in answer to a demand for more community feedback, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation has agreed to reopen public comment about the plan until March 26.

The state agency’s plan ultimately calls for clearing 175 acres of white pines within the 5,300-acre forest in Edgartown. The goal, conservation officials say, is to enhance biodiversity and improve fire safety by converting monoculture white pine plantations into native oak woodlands and sandplain heathlands — habitats necessary for the survival of several rare species.

Those opposed to the plan as proposed are worried about the scale of the project and questioning its long-term effects on wildlife and the landscape. Many are supporting a change.org petition to halt the project and call for more in-depth community engagement about the forest’s future. As of Wednesday, 1,131 verified signatures had been collected.

State officials reviewed the plans during a session with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission-convened Manuel F. Correllus State Forest Task Force on March 12.

Remnants of a forgotten lumber enterprise

The white pine plantations within the forest were planted starting around 1914, with the most concentrated activity in the 1920s, state Department of Conservation and Recreation management forester Paul Gregory said.

The aim was to create a lumber industry on the island that could contribute to the global demand at the time for timber used in ship building, ships’ masts and manufacturing shipping crates that were used just prior to the development of corrugated cardboard in the 1930s.

Demand for the lumber plummeted during the Great Depression, leaving white pine plantations abandoned, according to Harvard University’s Harvard Forest long-term ecological research website.

In 2009: State clears acres of dead pines in Vineyard state forest due to blight

What are the plans?

The white pine tree-cutting would be phased in and undertaken in the offseason, between November and April.

The project initially focuses on two areas — a 32-acre plantation that is “very dense with white pine” where plans call for clear-cutting four three-acre patches, and a 47-acre plantation where the project would remove white pines while working around oak, blueberries, huckleberries and other native growth.

Costs are estimated at $3,000 to $6,000 per acre.

An effort to restore rare habitat, protect vulnerable species

Over time, white pines in areas of the forest have grown to what state conservationists term “dog hair density,” making it harder for the native sandplains and oak barrens — a globally rare habitat, according to Gregory — to thrive.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation and MassWildlife want to protect 34 state-listed species, including rare butterflies and moths, and the whip-poor-will, a bird whose population is in decline and listed as a species of special concern under the state Endangered Species Act.

According to MassWildlife senior restoration ecologist Chris Buelow, the area’s highly specialized species, such as scrub oak and pitch pine, rely on these specific habitats and are at risk because of the white pine plantations.

“These plantations, through their seed rain, are starting to spread, infiltrate and degrade the rest of the natural communities on this landscape,” he said.

He emphasized that the project is part of a larger effort to address climate change and restore biodiversity across the state.

Aiming to manage wildfire risks

Gregory explained that the project is also important for wildfire management. The white pine stands are particularly prone to catastrophic wildfires because they lack natural breaks in vegetation that prevent fires from spreading rapidly.

The state conservation and recreation agency’s chief forest fire warden, Dave Celino, said the height of the trees is also a concern if crown fires break out, since it promotes further migration of burning embers to other areas. Additionally, he said, the density makes it difficult for firefighters to navigate and challenging to organized controlled burns.

Community has mixed views

Concerned community members are questioning the project’s urgency and its potential consequences.

Andrew Woodruff, who has farmed on the Vineyard for 55 years, said he agrees with the concepts behind the state’s plan, but thinks it needs more public discussion and fine-tuning.

Islander Johanna Hynes said the project is “attempting to fix something that isn’t broken.” She further asserted that allowing only a few days of additional public comment makes it seem like the state agency is “in a rush to get it done.”

Island resident Michael Blanchard, a photographer who’s spent a lot of time documenting the forest, said it is “meaningful to a lot of people on the island.” He suggested that managing the forest less dramatically by thinning the pines and clearing out deadwood should be considered before a final plan is initiated.

Local conservationists, meanwhile, are generally in favor of the project as proposed. They argue that, while white pines may have existed on the island thousands of years ago, they died out, and the intentionally cultivated white pine plantations in the forest now are not meant to be part of the island’s natural landscape.

Luanne Johnson, a wildlife biologist and director of the Vineyard Haven-based conservation organization Biodiversity Works, said the state’s plan is “well-thought-out.” She pointed out that the white pines “were planted to be cut,” and that “right now those pine plantations are taking up habitat” needed by native species that “are declining.”

What’s next, and how to comment

The plans await final review and permitting by the Edgartown Conservation Commission. State officials hope to begin the project this year. To submit a comment to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, visit DCR Public Comments | Mass.gov (www.mass.gov/forms/dcr-public-comments)

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable and Brewster. Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: ‘In a rush.’ Vineyard forest cutting plan gets mixed reactions. Time added for comment. Reporting by Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times / Cape Cod Times

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Top Photo: Work crews use heavy equipment to remove acres of dead red pines on Jan. 14, 2009, from the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on Martha’s Vineyard. A blight had infected 300 acres of red pine in the forest, according to state officials.