How to help the forests thrive

SHARON — A notable forest is growing in Sharon, so much of note that it drew a gathering of 70 professional foresters and conservationists to a day-long exploration on Thursday, July 26.

The late-July event at Jim Gillespie’s Herb Road tree farm was a working meeting of the Connecticut chapter of the New England Society of American Foresters, part of a national forestry organization. 

Visitors learned about a variety of topics, such as using solar-powered electric fencing to protect seedlings from deer. 

How to meet management goals of providing habitat, growing top-quality timber, controlling erosion and controlling invasive plants were all topics that day.

Gillespie terms his more than 100-acre parcel a “keystone” that connects 10,000 acres of protected land. His piece had been owned by the Chaffee family, dating back to the Civil War. 

As a young man, Gillespie had been the Chaffee family forester, beginning to manage the diverse hardwood forest in 1988. 

Clear cutting

In 1994, he acquired the acreage and has worked it into its current importance as a model of forest management, using clear cutting to achieve even-aged young forests.

While “clear cutting” is a scary term for many; Gillespie substitutes the concept of “even-aged” forest growth, promoting the value of increasing the numbers of young forests.

After the charcoal industry died out, the hardwood forests that fueled the industry were left to grow. The diverse hardwood abundance shows among Gillespie’s trees, including oaks (red, black and white), ash, tulip, cherry, birch (yellow, black and white), hickory and aspen.

“Trees are adapted to disturbance,” he said. Clear-cutting creates a young forest where the trees thin themselves out. “Foresters help them along,” Gillespie explained, describing the value of even-aged tree management. Trees need overhead light to thrive, he said, pointing out the straight, true growth of the individual hardwood trees.

As the trees grow, some are harvested for lumber, firewood and even chips. Gillespie noted that the nearby Hotchkiss School in Lakeville heats its campus with locally sourced chips in its biomass facility. By not using fuel oil, the school’s carbon footprint is reduced and fuel costs are substantially lowered.

The absence of avians

Many species of birds prefer young forests, Gillespie said. For that reason an invited participant in the July event was Eileen Fielding, director of Sharon’s Audubon Center. 

Reflecting on her experience, Fielding said that the day was “interesting,” and that late July is a quiet time for birds. She said that they neither saw nor heard birds all day, but she explained the probable cause: In addition to the noise of a large number of human visitors, the birds were preparing to migrate.

Most forests in Connecticut today are middle-aged growth; many bird species shy away from middle-aged forests, preferring the shelter and insects found in young forest growth, Fielding said. Found living in younger forests are ruffed grouse, woodcocks and blue-winged warblers, for example.

“He is maintaining and creating habitats for birds where their natural habitats are dwindling these days,” Fielding said of Gillespie.

Today, Connecticut is 60 percent forested.  In 1900, 25 percent of the state was forested. Today, only 6 percent of the forests are classified as young forests. People today are not managing and harvesting as they once did to fuel industry. In the 19th century, forests were cut every 20 to 40 years to encourage growth of properly sized trees for prevailing needs, Gillespie said.

The healing begins

Wildfires from iron smelting sites as well as the railroad created the open areas that gave rise to desirable young growth. Gillespie’s acreage contains a few remains of charcoal-making furnaces.

In the 19th century, farmers headed west from Connecticut, abandoning their cleared land for the more fertile promise of the Midwest with its dark soil free of rocks. The abandoned land reverted to natural forest. 

Once an area is cleared, the competition begins. Perhaps 25,000 natural seedlings will sprout on an acre. Natural thinning processes will mean that about 800 trees will emerge. Trees with larger crowns, or the most leaves, will win. A skilled forester can help the process with thinning to help the better trees. When that acre is 100 years old, the number of trees may reduce to 150, Gillespie explained.

“There is a lot of future here,” Gillespie noted, looking over the beauty of his wooded surroundings to which he contributes toil and expertise.

He offers to welcome any school groups interested in a tour or he said he is willing to visit area schools to speak about his work as a state-licensed forester.