Have you considered having timber cut on your property? Do you have questions about the process involved or different types of equipment used to cut and remove the wood?
If so, you may want to come on a Timber Harvest Tour that will be held in Hubbardston on Friday, June 22nd at 9 a.m. The Massachusetts Forest Trust and the Department of Conservation & Recreation have been holding tours of active logging operations to show landowners how different types of harvest are conducted and how they can have wood cut while protecting the environmental values of their properties.
At the Hubbardston tour on June 22nd, participants will visit an active harvest site on a state watershed and see how the work is being carried out using different types of forestry equipment. The harvest consists of a series of 1 to 5 acre patch cuts where most of the trees in an area are removed. The newly created openings will allow a more diverse new forest to regrow, creating better habitat for wildlife and transforming the forest into a multi-aged woodland with areas of large older trees interspersed with areas of new growth. The mixture of tree sizes should make this forest more resilient to severe weather events or insect outbreaks. This current harvest will affect only about 25 percent of the 100-acre woodland.
The logging operation being featured uses a mechanical harvester to cut the timber and a grapple skidder to bring it to the landing to either be loaded on trucks for transport to a mill, or to be processed into firewood or wood chips.
This tour is free and open to the public. Participants should dress for the weather conditions with suitable footware for a hike on sometimes rough terrain. Participants should wear pants and long sleeves and bring bug spray to prevent tick bites.
The tour will meet at 9 am on June 22nd at the Pirner sawmill parking lot at 152 Williamsville Road in Hubbardston. Participants will then carpool to the actual logging site. The tour will be postponed if there is heavy rain or lightning.
Preregistration is encouraged so participants can be notified should the tour need to be postponed or cancelled. To preregister, call Greg Cox at (413) 339-5526 or email gcox@crocker.com .
This program is funded by a grant from the USDA – Forest Service.