Forest Management

Proposal
Landowner: Ms. Theresa Catherine Pennyworth III
ForesTree Land Management Inc.

Outline
Objectives
Management Proposal
Finances
Summary

Objectives

Maximize bird diversity

Increase resilience to disease and pest
Prevent catastrophic fires
Health and quality of water resources
Farmland Tax Assessment
T&E and Pinelands/state regulations

Avian Species
Common
House sparrow
American goldfinch
House finch
Common grackle
Red-winged blackbird
Dark-eyed junco
White-throated sparrow
Rufous-sided towhee
Common yellowthroat
Ovenbird
Black and white warbler

Blackpoll
Pine warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Yellow warbler
Northern parula
Red-eyed vireo
Solitary vireo
White-eyed vireo
European starling
Gray catbird
American robin
Tufted titmouse
Carolina chickadee

Uncommon and Rare

Purple finch
Northern oriole
Orchard oriole
Song sparrow
Dickcissel
Northern waterthrush
American redstart
Black-throated blue
warbler
Magnolia warbler
Cedar waxing
Brown thrasher
Wood thrush
Hermit thrush
Blue-gray gnatcher
Broad-winged hawk
Cooper's hawk
Sharp-shinned hawk

Northern Waterthrush
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Golden-crowned kinglet
Northern mockingbird
Carolina wren
Brown creeper
Bank swallow
Rough-winged swallow
Hairy woodpecker
Red-headed woodpecker
Belted kingfisher
Whip-poor-will
Barred owl
Yellow-billed cuckoo
Black-billed cuckoo
Wood duck
American kestrel
Bald eagle
Prothonotary warbler

Proposal Summary

Maximize structural and habitat diversity

Prescribed fire
Thinnings

Maintain complex edge areas

Install species-specific boxes
Develop a walking path

All Plots (A-X)

Plots A-D: Atlantic White Cedar

Total area

Thin all areas in the first 10 years

Clearcut and regeneration

8.06 acres

70-80 year rotation length

4 Warbler houses mounted on poles in

stream

In-stream mounting attracts warblers

4, 7, 10, 12 ft off the ground

Plot X: Atlantic White Cedar

No silvicultural management
Maintain even aged structure
Observe and maintain

Plots E&F: Coniferous/Deciduous

Area:

Clearcut both stands

Stand F: retain a few dominant trees

Prescribed burns every 1-2 years

Stand E: 0.77 acres

Stand F: 1.77 acres

Allow grasses and wildflowers to

flourish

Additional management:
One Purple Martin House per stand

Plots G&H: Coniferous/Deciduous

Area:

Stand G: 1.37 acres

Stand H: 2.05 acres

Aggressively thin to create

softened edge
Prescribed burns every 5-7 years

Plots I-L: Coniferous/Deciduous

Area:

Stand I: 5.83 acres

Stand J: 6.16 acres
Stand K: 11.10 acres
Stand L: 7.00 acres

Group and single tree selection

Prescribed burns:

Stand I: 5-6 years

Stand J: 8-10 years
Stand K: 14-16 years
Stand L: 10-12 years

Plots M&N: Coniferous Wooded Wetlands

Area:

Maintain 30% canopy cover in

Stand M

Stand M: 9.75 acres

Stand N: 17.68 acres

Thinning every 15 years

No treatments prescribed for

Stand N
Installation of wood duck boxes

Plots O-R: Deciduous/Coniferous

Area:

Stand O: 4.33 acres

Stand P: 3.87 acres
Stand Q 3.67 acres
Stand R: 4.76 acres

Thin all stands

Conservative variable retention
system

Stand O & Q: clearcut

Stand P & R: retain

Aggregated Retention

Plots S-U: Coniferous

Area

Plot S: 2.28 acres

Plot T: 2.16 acres
Plot U: 2.08 acres

Plots S, T, U: Stoddard-Neel

Frequent fire (1-3 years)

Single tree/small group selection, not

including suitable nest trees

10 yr harvest plan to remove growth as

needed, build substantial old cohort

Targeted towards Red-headed

Woodpecker foraging and breeding
habitat

Plot V: Coniferous

Area: 1.83 acres

Thin every 10 years to prevent catastrophic
fire/pests
Cant burn due to proximity to
development

Plot W: Brush-Dominated Bog Wetlands

Area: 4.23 acres

No silvicultural action
Installation of 12 wood duck
boxes along lake

Unfinished wooden construction

Mounted on posts @ 8 feet above the

ground

Snags and Downed Woody Debris

Provide nesting, feeding, and

perching sites for birds
Leave snags in areas being
harvested, especially d>12
Create fire breaks around snags
to prevent them from burning
down

Fire Breaks

Fire breaks along some plot

boundaries
Disked as opposed to plowed

Also reduces channelization and

altered hydrology

Logging Roads

Designed to maximize
plot access while
minimizing impact
Most follow firebreaks
Buffer zone of 50ft
between road and
stream to meet BMPs
Use slash to minimize
mechanical soil
compaction

Walking Paths

Packed dirt path

along firebreaks,
existing trails and
logging roads to
allow ease of access
Multiple access
points along
property boundary

Finances

We meet Farmland Tax

assessment value of $545.75
annually
After an initial period of debt, we
generate total net positive
income at year 14
By using regeneration thins
rotationally through our plots,
we can maintain a positive net
income while funding the
management of the forest

Summary

Apply management practices to specific plots in order to promote avian

biodiversity
Supplement suitable habitats with bird boxes to encourage breeding
Cater to threatened and endangered species that have been observed on
the property
Increase structural diversity and a variety forest communities
Maintain financial feasibility for perpetuity through Farmland Tax
Assessment

Selected References
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. New Jerseys Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide. 2016. Retrived from
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Melanerpes%20erythrocephalus/
Degraaf, Richard M. and Yamasaki, Mariko. Options for managing early-successional forest and shrubland bird habitats in the northeastern United States. Forest Ecology and Management, 185, 2003,
179-191. (Degraaf and Yamasaki 203)
Degraaf, Richard M. et al. Associations between breeding bird abundance and stand structure in the White Mountains, New Hampshire and Maine, USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 103, 1998,
217-233. (Degraaf et al 1998)
Franzreb, Kathleen I. and Ohmart, Robert D. The Effects of Timber Harvesting on Breeding Birds in Mixed-Coniferous Forest. Condor, 80, 1978, 431-441.
King, David I. and Degraaf, Richard M. Effects of group-selection opening size on the distribution and reproductive success of an early-successional shrubland bird. Forest Ecology and Management,
190, 2004, 179-185. (King and Degraaf 2004)
Lance, Art N. and Phinney, Mark. Bird responses to partial retention of timber harvesting in central interior British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management, 142, 2001, 267-280. (Lance and Phinney
2001)
Marzluff, John M. et al. Understanding the Effects of Forest Management on Avian Species. Wildlife society Bulletin, 28, 4, 2000, 1132-1143. (Marzluff et al 2000)
NJDEP. Red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 2016. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/redhdwdpckr.pdf
Swanson, Mark E. et al. The forgotten stage of forest succession: early successional ecosystems on forest sites. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9(2), 2011, 117-125.
Thompson, Frank R. et al. Approaches to Investigate Effects of Forest Management on Birds in Eastern Deciduous Forests: How Reliable is Our Knowledge? Wildlife Society Bulletin, 28, 4, 2000,
111-1122. (Thompson et al 2000)
Thompson, Frank R. et al. Breeding Bird Populations in Missouri Ozark Forests With and Without Clearcutting. Journal of Wildlife Management, 56(1), 1992, 23-30.
Yahner, Richard H. Changes in Wildlife Communities Near Edges. Conservation Biology, 2(4), 1988, 333-339.