Prepared by: Tripp Timber Management, Saco, Maine
Location: Map R-27 Lots 3 & 17 Ashswamp Road
Objectives:
General Description:
This property was purchased by Al Sewell in the 1930's to provide raw materials for Sewell Wood Products, a production wood working shop located at the time, a few miles down the road. Many small harvests have been done on the property. The current stand of trees is well stocked with a variety of native species.
The terrain is flat and the soils are loamy sand and fine sandy loam. Drainage is poor and all of the soils have a seasonal high water table at or near the surface. Wind throw of trees is a serious hazard if over harvested. Two perennial brooks cross the land from west to east. There are no epidemic insect or disease problems at this time.
Access to the property is from the Ashswamp Road and the Hearn Road. Access within the property is along a series of old skid trails. Three landings are located so that no bridges will be required during harvesting. The boundaries are well marked with blazes and red paint. The corner are marked with iron pipes.
Stand Descriptions:
Stand 1: Softwood Lot 3
Lot 3 is located to the south of Ashswamp Road and the west of Hearn Road. This stand is located along Ashswamp Road. Eighty percent of the basal area in this stand is white pine with minor amount of red maple, red oak, red pine, hemlock and white ash. The total basal area for the stand is 140 square feet per acre and the mean stand diameter is 14 inches. The quality of the white pine is highly variable ranging from clear logs to pulp. The white pines contain first year cones which will mature this summer and drop their seeds in September. There is a thick understory of balsam fir with only a few white pine seedlings.
Stand 2: Mixed Wood Lot 3
This stand covers the whole central portion of Lot 3. The perennial brook enters along the western boundary and exists under the Hearn Road. The dominant species in this stand are white pine, red maple, red oak and hemlock. Also found were white ash, spruce, hackmatack and beech. The basal area is 96.1 square feet per acre and the mean stand diameter is 12 inches. Most of the sawlog volumes white pine with a small amount of red oak and hemlock. The quality of the white pine is highly variable as in stand 1. The quality of the red oak is high and the quality of the hemlock is poor. The regeneration in this area consists of balsam fir and hardwood stump sprouts. Portions of this stand suffered blowdown after the last commercial harvest approximately 30 years ago.
Stand 3: Hardwood Lot 3
This stand is located in the south east corner of Lot 3 adjacent to the Hearn Road. This stand of over 85 percent red maple with red oak and poplar. A couple of large white pine seed trees are scattered over the stand. The basal area is 110.0 square feet per acre and the mean stand diameter is 10.3 inches. The trees are pole sized and mostly pulp quality. Regeneration is minimal with just a few balsam fir and hardwood saplings.
Stand 4: Softwood Lot 3
This stand is located in the southwest corner of Lot 3. The trees are average to high quality. The white pines are dominant with a few red oak, hemlock and red maple scattered through the stand. The basal area is 150 square feet per acre and the mean stand diameter is 13.3 inches. The stand is well stocked with large trees. Only minimal evidence of past harvesting can be found in this area. The regeneration consists of hemlock and balsam fir in thickets. The white pines have first year cones which will mature this summer.
Stand 5: Mixed Wood Lot 17
This stand is located in Lot 17 on the north side of Ashswamp Road. The white pine compromises 50 percent of the basal area and only 25 percent of the number of standing trees. The smaller pole sized red maples make up only 30 percent of the basal area but account for over half of the number of standing trees. Red oak is a close third with only small amounts of balsam fir and beech large enough to tally. The trees are average quality with a few select oaks in the veneer grade. The basal area is 98.6 square feet per acre and the mean diameter is 11.9 inches. The regeneration is thick and almost impenetrable balsam fir six to twelve feet high. White pine and hemlock seedlings have started where the balsam fir has not choked them out.
Stand 6: Hardwood Lot 17
This stand is located to the north of stand 5 along the northern border of Lot 17. The second perennial brook runs from west to east through this area. The two brooks eventually join on a neighboring property. The trees are red maple and red oak with just a handful of white pine and hemlock. The red maple and red oak compromise 90 percent of the basal area and 90 percent of the standing trees. The basal area is 75 square feet per acre and the mean diameter is 10.2 inches. The regeneration is the same as in stand 5 with some open areas on the north side of the brook.
Silvicultural Prescriptions:
General: Roads and landings should be located to minimize soil disturbance and water crossings. All landings and main roads should be seeded after harvesting to prevent erosion. Access for recreation should be restricted during active timer harvesting to limit potential injury and liability. The boundaries and corners should be updated every five years with boundary paint.
Stand 1:
0-10 Years: This stand should have a shelterwood harvest to remove the poor quality wood and diseased trees and provide space and sunshine for new regeneration. White pine seedlings require a mineral soil seedbed for successful survival rates. The actual harvesting will scarify the ground and break up the duff layer permitting the seeds to sprout on mineral soil. After harvesting, small high quality white pine trees eight to twelve inches in diameter may be pruned to improve the quality of future harvests. Trees should be pruned to seventeen feet when possible to provide a clear sixteen foot log. Limbs two inches and less should be removed with a pruning saw. Pruning with an ax will leave a rough surface which will take longer to heal.
Stand 2:
0-10 Years: This stand should have an improvement harvest to remove poor quality hemlock and hardwood pulp. Most of the white pine should be retained for seed and the high quality red oak should be kept and grown for another rotation. This stand should be cut at that same time as stand 1 to take advantage of the current seed year. A small amount of pruning may be done in this area following the same specifications as in stand 1.
Stand 3:
0-10 Years: This stand should have an improvement harvest to remove poplar an the poorest quality red maple. White pine regeneration should be encouraged and harvesting with the previous stand will scarify the ground and prepare the seedbed for the fall seed drop.
Stand 4:
0-10 Years: This stand should be treated the same as stand 1.
Stand 5:
0-10 Years: This stand should have an improvement thinning to remove poor quality and diseased trees and break up the thickets of balsam fir. Harvesting during the white pine seed year will scarify the ground and improve the germination of seeds. Pruning may be done following harvesting according to the specifications in stand 1.
Stand 6:
0-10 Years: This stand should be treated the same as stand 2.
Wildlife Prescriptions:
Many species of wildlife utilize the property. The openings created by harvesting and the resulting vigorous new regeneration provide much greater diversity within this stand of timber. During harvesting, desirable species of trees should be maintained and released to improve growth. Individual trees may be identified as snags to be maintained for mast production and cavities. Wild turkeys and whitetail deer are two species upon which proper management of this woodlot will have the greatest impact.
Wild Turkeys: Habitat requirement for wild turkeys change with the seasons. In the fall, mast from the oak and beech are the mainstay of the turkey's diet. Acorns and beechnuts are high energy foods which help to prepare the birds for winter. Fruits, or soft mast, are also eaten when available. The include apples, raspberries, blueberries, etc.
In the winter, snow cover limits the ability of the turkeys to scratch for feed. At this time shrubs which retain their fruit are much more important. These include but are not limited to hawthorn, apple, wild rose, barberry, sumac and winterberry holly. Seed producing white ash and basswood may also provide winter food. During good seed years, these trees disperse seeds throughout the winter on top of the snow where they are accessible to the birds. Spring seeps which remain open through the winter are vital to the turkeys. Water is essential and the above freezing environment supplies a steady serving of insects.
Spring is breeding time for turkeys. Nests need to provide protection from avian and terrestrial predators and be located near forage where the new poults can feed. Poults feed on crickets and grasshoppers and the seeds and shoots of several grasses. Landings and roads planted to conservation mix grasses will provide a variety of plants for the birds. Fruit bearing shrubs may be planted in protected areas. Landings should not be used for planting shrubs or trees as these areas will be used during the next cutting cycle.
Whitetail deer: Spring is a time of activity for deer. Those individuals which have survived the winter search for early green vegetation to replenish lost reserves. does need large amounts of feed to nourish the rapidly growing fetal fawn which will emerge in late May or early June. Bucks are growing new antlers which depend heavily on this spring feeding.
Summer activities are dominated by feeding for growth and milk production. Green vegetation of grasses and shrubs are sought out for their high feed value.
Fall is the time to build up fat reserves. Growth and milk production stop an the energy is diverted to fat. High energy foods are available at this time. Acorns, beechnuts and fruits are usually abundant and heavily used. During the rut, these animals feed heavily to replenish needed reserves.
During winter, snow cover affects feed availability. Some winters in this area have little or now snow cover and mast may be fed on through most of the season. In other times, the deer switch to woody browse for feed which is accessible but much less nourishing.
Many hay and crop fields are within the home range of the deer which frequent this land. Emphasis should then be placed on mast production and browse availability. The silvicultural recommendation for this property will enhance both these areas. By thinning, the quality of red oaks that are maintained will be more vigorous and produce more acorns. The red maple stumps will sprout and feed deer for several years with their favorite winter food.
Recreation Prescriptions:
A parking area has been built on the Ashswamp Road to allow public access to the property. Walking trails have been cleared along the perimeter of the lots an signs guide walkers to stay on the trail. Two footbridges cross the brook on the southern portion of the property.
During active timber harvesting, access should be limited to scheduled visits to limit the potential for injury and liability. After harvesting, the trails should be cleared and maintained as before. Landing access should be gated or blocked to stop uncontrolled vehicle access.
Glossary of Terms:
Basal area - the cross sectional area of a tree measured at 4.5 feet.
Mean stand diameter - average diameter of trees in a particular stand, determined by sampling.
Shelterwood - partial removal of the mature timber to establish new reproduction under the shelter of seed trees.
Silvics - the study of forest trees and stands.
Silviculture - the art and science of producing and managing a forest using the theory and knowledge of silvics.
Harvest - to cut and move trees to a landing.
Landing - the area where logs and pulp are processed and piled for trucking.
Regeneration - seedlings produced by natural seeding.