The illegal clearcut presented a major challenge for the Trust.\u00a0\u00a0For 20 years, the Trust has been diligent in its stewardship of the Prudden easement and performed formal inspections each year to ensure that the required land protections were being adhered to.\u00a0 During those years, the land remained protected, provided environmental benefits, and added to the rural character of our town.\u00a0 Needless to say, it was a shock to find that a large forested area of our eastern easement had been completely leveled by heavy land clearing equipment within a single day (Oct. 19, 2017) .\u00a0 All of this was done without the knowledge of the land owner or the Land Trust.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Location of the forested area prior to clearcuting.<\/p>\n
The Trust\u2019s Board of Directors convened immediately after the event to determine a course of action.\u00a0 We understood the importance of this property and were committed to restoring the area.\u00a0 Our first steps were to hire a surveyor and to consult with a certified forester to begin the process of defining an approach to remediation.<\/p>\n The surveyor determined the clearcut to be even larger (~2 acres) than first estimated (~1 acre).\u00a0 Thus, work to restore the area would be even more difficult than originally thought.\u00a0 The certified forester indicated that reforestation was possible, but that long-term efforts would be necessary to prevent invasives (multiflora rose and bittersweet vines) from overwhelming any trees that were planted or had sprouted from stumps.\u00a0 Given that the Trust does not actually own the land, it could not make a long-term commitment for controlling invasives through the use of herbicides or continual brush cutting.\u00a0\u00a0 Because of the invasive plants, the clearcut area would likely turn into old field habitat.\u00a0 Although old field habitat (generally a thicket of pricker bushes)\u00a0 may be good for cottontail rabbits and song birds, it would be unsightly and not conform to the rural character of the area.\u00a0 Reforestation was given strong consideration by the Trust’s Board of Directors, since the easement requirements led it in that direction.\u00a0 However, reforestation appeared problematic given the long-term management needs.<\/p>\n The Trust then considered other options, including conversion to agricultural use, as agriculture is allowed under the conservation easement.\u00a0 Possible agricultural conversions included an apple orchard, a vineyard, and a hay field.\u00a0 Also considered was a pollinator meadow, which would provide environmental benefits, especially for the threatened Monarch butterfly. \u00a0 All of these uses would require long term management and would pose unreasonable burdens on current and future land owners.\u00a0 As with reforestation, these options did not seem feasible.<\/p>\n The Land Trust then met with the land owner and the person who did the clearcutting.\u00a0 The person who did the clearcutting acknowledged that he made a serious mistake and indicated that he would commit to renovating the land at his cost.\u00a0 Reforestation and the agricultural\/environmental options were discussed, but dismissed as not being feasible.\u00a0 Discussions then led to the option of creating and maintaining the area as a pasture.\u00a0 It should be noted that the clearcut area had previously been a pasture into the 1960s, and that the Pruddens occasionally had cows there.<\/p>\n Some specific procedures needed to be followed in order to create a pasture.\u00a0 The owner of the land clearing business agreed to use his equipment and staff to remove all wood chips and stumps, then grade the soil and plant seed.\u00a0 He also agreed to plant staggered rows of large evergreens along the road and a large maple tree or small cluster of hardwood trees in the center of the pasture.\u00a0 Both the land owner and the owner of the land clearing business\u00a0 agreed to share mowing responsibilities.\u00a0 While the pasture option would not replace the environmental benefits of the previous forest, at least it would renovate the land and retain the rural character of the area.\u00a0 Eventually, more trees could be planted to create a semblance of woodland.\u00a0 The Land Trust recognized that none of the options were ideal, but a maintained pasture seemed to be the best possible option.\u00a0 All parties agreed to proceed along those lines.<\/p>\n Time Line<\/strong>:\u00a0 The next spring (May 2018), no sprouting of trees was observed.\u00a0 Multiflora rose was the only woody vegetation growing up through the thick covering of wood chips.\u00a0 As suspected, reforestation under these conditions would be difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n Clearcut blanketed in wood chips, with no small trees sprouting from buried stumps (photo: May 26, 2018).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Work to renovate the clearcut began in May. 2018.\u00a0 Clearing started at the top of the clearcut, where the soil was drier and less likely to erode.\u00a0 Wood chips and stumps were removed in an approximate 50-swath along the entire upper (north) border of the clearcut.<\/p>\n Land clearing equipment on-site, May 26, 2018 (notice clump of multiflora at bottom left)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Swath of cleared land at the upper section of the clearcut, May 26, 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n By June 4, wood chips and stumps within the entire clearcut area had been removed.\u00a0 By June 9, the entire area was seeded.\u00a0 At this point, the owner of the land clearing business completed this phase of work as he had agreed to do with the Land Trust.<\/p>\n The clearcut was graded (June 4, 2018) and then seeded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n The entire area, above and below the partial rock wall, had been cleared of wood chips, stumps and was graded as of June 4, 2018.\u00a0 Note the silt fence at the lower right of cleared area and the pile of stumps in the lower left.\u00a0 Photo taken at the top NE corner of clearcut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n By Sept. 2018, the area has grown into a rough pasture.\u00a0 Some areas would need more grading and reseeding, but no multiflora rose or bittersweet vines were present.\u00a0 The area had taken on a more aesthetic appearance.\u00a0 Piles of chips, stumps, boulders piled next to the road would still needed to be removed.<\/p>\n Clearcut area a rough pasture (9\/17\/18).\u00a0 Compare with photo above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Nov. 15, 2018 a pile of mulch that had been deposited on a neighboring property was graded into a swale that\u00a0 resolved drainage issues onto Leadmine Brook Rd.\u00a0 The town highway supervisor had recommended drainage improvements, and was satisfied with the completed work.\u00a0\u00a0 The stumps piled along the road were removed, and the pile of boulders were moved from roadside to existing stone walls.\u00a0\u00a0 The area looked\u00a0 better with the piles having been taken care of.<\/p>\n Stumps piled alongside the road were removed from the clearcut site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On March 13, 2019, some additional improvements were made, including regrading and removing large boulders from the lower pasture, adding some top soil to an area of the lower pasture, and adding a row of fresh bark mulch at the bottom edge of the lower pasture to contain runoff.\u00a0 Plans for spring 2019 had called for large hemlocks to be planted along the road, and a group of several hardwoods to be planted in the middle of the pasture.\u00a0 However, those plantings could not be completed due to heavy spring rains.\u00a0 Those rains also caused some erosion where regrading had previously occurred in March.\u00a0 In July, the eroded area had a compost\/soil mixture blown-in, which was then followed by spreading a layer of topsoil in September.\u00a0 As of November 2019, the pasture was fully restored, but large evergreens still need to be planted along the roadside.<\/p>\n In January 2020, the Trust met with the owner of the property and the person who did the clearcut to discuss progress and future plans.\u00a0\u00a0 Discussion led to agreement that the new pasture conformed to the rural character of the area, but that large hemlocks along the road would not likely be appropriate.\u00a0 Large hardwood trees planted along all the stone walls might might be more typical of the surrounding area and more visually appealing.\u00a0 Discussions will continue.\u00a0 In May 2020, land trust directors met with the person who clearcut and staked out locations where the hardwoods would be planted.\u00a0 As agreed, four maple trees (2″ dia. trunk) were planted along Leadmine Brook Rd. in October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Prudden Conservation Easement was donated to the Land Trust in 1999 by Betsy and Peter Prudden.\u00a0 They both were\u00a0 founding members of the Trust.\u00a0 The Prudden’s entire property totaled approximately 99 acres.\u00a0 Of those 99 acres, 92 acres were donated to the Trust (two private house lots were not included).\u00a0 The conservation easement stipulates … Continue reading Prudden Easement<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/harwintonlandtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/After-clearcut-4-18.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Same area, but clearcut (photo: April, 2018).\u00a0 Two separate areas are split by a rock wall<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n