Cascades West Forest Management Plan

Forest Stewardship Management Plan

Produced by Broad Arrow Forestry
Roger Plourde

Cascades West is 122.90 acres of land on the Paxton, Worcester, and Holden lines.

Objectives:
"To have the Cascades West Property remain the city's wildest tract of land through active forest stewardship which aims to create biological diversity, sustainably produce wood products, and to invite passive recreational use of this unique property without promoting its degradation. Public participation in the stewardship of this forest will be a key means of ensuring the long term integrity of the ecosystem."

Regional Context

1. LOCAL PATTERN OF LAND USE This property lies right at Worcester's urban edge. Rather than making a transition into suburbia as is generally the case, this section of Worcester is unique in that it abruptly changes into an extensive area of protected woodland. Paxton and Holden, both situated to the north, are typical suburban communities where most of the remaining open space is woodland rather than active agricultural land. Because of this lack of "open" open space, there is not a great deal of habitat diversity and this is particularly noticeable in the area immediately surrounding the parcel.
2. WATERSHEDThis property is located at virtually the northwesterly edge of the Blackstone River Basin. Runoff from this property runs easterly into Tatnuck Brook just south of Holden Reservoir. Tatnuck Brook flows southerly through a number of ponds before merging with Beaver Brook and Kettle Brook in Webster Square where it then becomes the Middle River. The Middle River continues to flow south till it merges with the Blackstone River at Quinsigamond Village in Worcester. Most residents of Paxton obtain their water from nearby Asnebumskit Pond and Worcester residents depend on city water which comes from a number of Reservoirs including the Holden Reservoirs.
3. ADJACENT & NEARBY LANDS WITH LONG TERM PROTECTION This property is virtually surrounded by protected lands and as a result provides an important link between these other public parcels. To the north are over 400 acres owned by the city of Worcester as watershed protection. To the southwest is about 75 acres of city owned park land (Boynton Park). To the southeast are two additional tracts of land owned by the city. One is the school grounds for West Tatnuck School and the other is Cascades Park. Not far to the west of Boynton Park is Southwick Pond Nature Preserve, also owned by this land trust.

Management Practices

The management objective for these two stands is to actively manage them through timber harvesting for the dual purpose of creating habitat diversity and growing high quality timber on these prime forest soils. Group shelterwood is a modification of the shelterwood system which takes into account the varying density of advanced regeneration which, in these stands, has resulted from prior harvesting patterns. The intent of this cut is twofold: 1) to release existing hardwood reproduction by removing overtopping mature trees (There is a small aspen grove in stand 3 that will be harvested this way in order to encourage coppice regeneration of this species as grouse habitat) and 2) to encourage the establishment and growth of hardwood seedlings elsewhere by leaving healthy seed trees and creating small openings in the canopy.

With the heavier overstory removal cuts, they will also serve to create temporary forest openings for wildlife habitat. These cuts should take the form of 1-3 acre patch clearcuts, ideally in close proximity to one another, and separated by strips of mature forest 50-100' wide. The overstory should be completely removed in these cuts with the exception leaving good mast (oak, hickory, beech, apple), perch, and cavity/den trees where present and evenly distributed if possible for wildlife purposes. If cost sharing is available under SIP-8 skid roads running within and between patch cuts can be reseeded to improve brood habitat for turkey and ruffed grouse. The total area of these cuts between the two stands will be about 15 acres.

In the areas where the goal is to encourage regeneration where it is presently inadequate or undeveloped, the harvest should reduce stand density by roughly 1/3 leaving healthy seed producing white ash, sugar maple, and red oak in the residual stand.. The cut should take place during a good oak seed year if possible as it would be desirable to increase this species because of its value for both timber and mast production. Skid roads should be flagged in advance to minimize damage to existing regeneration and avoid steep slopes.

Wildlife Clearing

The management objective for these two stands is to actively manage them to increase their value as wildlife habitat. Three small clearcuts (1.5-2.5 ac.) of irregular shape will be created to increase the amount of herbaceous and associated insect food resources which are currently rare in this extensively forested area. These sites are areas of low timber value and on relative flat terrain. Clearings should be relatively close to one another and separated by strips of mature forest 50-100' wide. Additionally, they could be located in areas where black locust is present as this may be an effective way of controlling this invasive species. Ideally, these areas should be maintained as permanent openings which would require stump removal, seeding, fertilizer, and bi-annual mowing. This would only be possible if stewardship funds are available to defray most of the cost. As a minimum, a clearing that would double as a landing site would be a logical use of limited funds. In this case, the other clearings may be allowed to revert to early succession forest. If these areas are maintained as permanent openings, planting of native mast producing shrubs will further increase habitat value.

Other Stewardship Practices

• Logging RoadsWoods roads should be laid out prior to logging so that they follow the contours as much as possible. Sections along steep slopes may require cut and fill. Stream crossings should be kept to a minimum and crossed at right angles when necessary. Portable bridges are recommended where stream banks are unstable. Install water bars or seed slopes (depending on the grade) to control erosion following logging.
• Boundaries Blaze and paint boundaries as necessary. Install land trust tags every 200'+/- along boundaries and road frontage, and at trail crossings.
• Hiking Trails Carry out design changes and relocation of trails according to the design concepts set forth in this plan. The actual extent of this work will be determined following a closer field examination and dependent upon volunteer efforts. Trail relocation may involve clearing to improve scenic vistas as well.
• Aesthetics (Howard Street) Perform aesthetic thinning and mend some stone walls along Howard Street as a way of creating a more positive and inviting first impression of the property. Thinning should aim to highlight specimen trees and retain non-hazardous cavity trees. By demonstrating good stewardship practices along this highly visible roadway, it is possible that this will also help curb the illegal dumping problem by letting people know that this is not just another vacant lot. Installing informational signs at trail heads will also help contribute to the public stewardship of this property. Creating barriers at road heads to keep out vehicles and reduce dumping.

• Worcester County: Route 110, Box 155, Clinton MA 01510; 508-368-0126
  
• Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Plymouth: Myles Standish State Forest, Cranberry Road, Box 66, South Carver MA 02366; 508-866-2580
  
• Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk: 817 Lowell Road, P.O. Box 829, Carlisle MA 01741; 508-369-3351
  
• Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire: Box 484, Amherst MA 01004: 413-545-5993
  
• Berkshire: 740 South Street, Box 1433, Pittsfield MA 01202; 413-442-8928