Harvest Blocks Open for Comment
It’s been awhile, but we have new harvest blocks up for comment on the Province’s Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV). They will be open for comment until November 30, and we encourage our members, and members of the community to provide feedback. If you’re not sure where to find our license area in the viewer, they are the only openings in Annapolis County with the Nov. 30 deadline.
Here are some additional details on the prescription for each of these areas:
AP190001: Commercial thinning (30% removal) - 20.42 ha
This harvest is nearby Salmon Lake along the West Branch Rd., and like much of the MCFC license area, borders the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area (MLWA). This block is a softwood stand with a species composition of primarily red spruce, with scattered balsam fir, hemlock and white pine. After coring the trees, we’ve estimated the age is near 55 years, and the stand was previously planted; creating ideal conditions for a commercial thinning. The aim of a commercial thinning is to ‘release’ suppressed trees, increasing the amount of light available for remaining trees and encouraging growth. A commercial thinning is generally done in stands that show vigorous growth, and an ability to be more intensively managed. They are even-aged treatments, however, since the MCFC aims to promote Acadian forest restoration, it’s likely there may not be a final overstory removal - the traditional follow-up treatment to a commercial thinning - especially considering the proximity to the MLWA.
One unique element of this block is there are three small roadside patches of red pine with severe sirococcus shoot blight damage. This is the element that is listed as a salvage harvest within the HPMV. All areas are all less than 0.1 ha each, and will be cleared and replanted with a mix of species including white pine, red spruce and red oak.
See a detailed map for AP190001
AP190002: Restoration/Irregular Shelterwood (35% removal) - 18.84 ha
This harvest location is on the main road in the Medway region of our license area, just past the former Bowater basecamp and the Medway River crossing. The stand is more diverse, with a dominant white pine overstory and mix of balsam fir, black spruce, red maple and red oak. Because this stand is more diverse in both age and structure (ie. varying heights and diameters), the prescription will be tailored accordingly. Earlier this year, we took Maine-based forestry guru, Bob Seymour into this area to query him on the best treatment to promote adaptability and resiliency; whether it be to invasive pests, pathogens or climate change.
We determined that the best way forward was to prescribe an irregular shelterwood, a dynamic harvest that takes stand-level characteristics into operational planning. Once the block is approved, we will create a prescription that will encourage natural regeneration as well as improve growing conditions for the remaining trees. This will involve the creation of gaps in areas with existing regeneration, and thinning in ares that are currently densely spaced. An important component of successfully executing this prescription is laying out gaps and tree marking. Rather than a uniform removal, we will instead be seeking to retain only the highest quality growing stock of long-lived species such as white pine, red spruce and red oak, able to help seed the next regeneration of forest.
See a detailed map for AP190002
If you have any further questions regarding these openings, or our general management practices, please contact us.