County Road & Schoolhouse Road
Washington
MA
DCR’s Bureau of Forestry will hold a Pre-Harvest Forest Tour at October Mountain State Forest in Washington, MA on November 18th from 3 to 4:30 pm EST.
DCR Forester Kristopher Massini will lead a tour of the Borrow Pit Project, a 60 -acre planned forest management project within Norway spruce plantations and northern hardwoods forest types.
The tour of this prepared forest management project area will discuss silvicultural techniques, provide a view of the project delineation , and explain how harvest operations will take place. A detailed silviculture prescription for each harvesting operation will be provided to attendees. These tours are the culmination of a public process that included public meetings and a written comment period on each project.
This tour will be conducted rain or shine as indicated below. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather and to wear sturdy shoes. Walking within this project areas may be difficult due to fallen trees, rocks and other obstacles.
Meet at the intersection of County Road and School House Road. Attendees will then walk within the project area to view the planned operation. This tour will involve approximately 0.5-1.5 miles of walking off trail. Attendees should be prepared to be away from their vehicles for an extended amount of time and distance for this tour.
Directions:
From Route 8 in Becket – Go east on County Road for approximately 1 mile. Continuing right at Y intersection with Yokum Pond Road. Continue on County Road for approximately 3.75 miles. Continuing left at Y intersection with Lenox-Whitney Road. Continue on County Road (approx. 0.75 miles) and turn left on to School House Road into parking area.
From Pittsfield / Washington Mountain Road in Washington – Go west on West Branch Road for approximately 2.25 miles. Turn left on to Lenox-Whitney Road, stay on this road for approximately 1.25 miles to Y intersection with County Road. Turn sharp right onto county road for approximately 0.75 miles and turn left onto School House Road into parking area.
Other routes are not suggested due to poor road conditions, closed gates, and extended travel times, please do not follow GPS recommendations which do not use the above route.
For additional information about the tour and DCR forest management on State Forests, Parks, and Reservations, please contact Tom Brulé, Management Forestry Program Supervisor, at 413-545-3891.