Study Title:
Winooski Valley View II Timber Sale at Camel's Hump State Park

Case Study Type: Forest type, Management type
Management Subcategory: forest adaptation, wildlife habitat
Site Photo:
https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/87/Patch%207-P%281%29.JPG

Lay Summary:
The primary goal for this site is to effectively regenerate and diversify the northern hardwood forest, while reducing the prevalence of American beech. The various harvesting and planting treatments developed for this study are intended to increase age class diversity, structural complexity, and diversify species composition. This harvest is specifically testing the ability of gap- and patch-based silvicultural strategies to increase compositional, structural, and functional diversity of northern hardwood forests with a significant beech component.

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-------- Site Location -------------------------------------------------------

Location:
Duxbury, Vermont

Location Description:
The project area is in the northern area of Camel’s Hump State Park. The State Park straddles the Northern Green Mountains and is bounded by Vermont Route 17 to the South and the Winooski River to the North. 

Latitude:
44.3183910000

Longitude:
-72.8709290000

Directions:
From the intersection of River Road and Camel’s Hump Road in Duxbury, travel up Camel’s Hump Road 1.3 miles and turn sharp right onto Marshall Road. Proceed uphill on Marshall Road for approximately .3 miles. When Marshall Road takes hard left turn, veer right onto woods road. Park in opening on right. Proceed on foot past boulders to landing. 

Accessibility:
Access by foot from parking area off Marshall Road. 

Landowner Name:
State of Vermont

Landowner phone:
+1 802-373-2173

Landowner email: Michael.johnson@vermont.gov
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-------- Stand Information ---------------------------------------------------

Stand Area with Units:
90 ac

Cover Type:
Northern Hardwoods

Natural Community Classification:
Northern Hardwood Forest

Plant Community/Habitat Class Growth Stage:
Mid-successional

Primary Forest Health Threat:
beech scale

Soils:
All Soils underlying the stand are typical glacial till-derived upland forest soils below 2,500’ elevation in the Northern Green Mountains biophysical region of Vermont: Tunbridge-Lyman complex, Berkshire fine sandy loam, Peru fine sandy loam.

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-------- Pre-treatment Conditions --------------------------------------------

Start date: Fri, 12/01/2023 - 00:00
End date: Sat, 02/28/2026 - 00:00
Stand History:
This parcel was purchased by the State of Vermont from Laird Properties N.E. Land Syndicate and added to Camel’s Hump State Park in 1971. At the time of acquisition, Laird Properties reserved the right to harvest timber for 3 years after the sale, according to a harvesting regime to be negotiated with FPR. Anecdotally, during those 3 years, Laird Properties conducted a 14” diameter limit cut on most of the parcel, including this stand. Very old stumps noted within the stand corroborate this treatment history. In 1998, FPR conducted a Thinning / Cleaning / Crop Tree Release treatment in this stand, removing damaged and diseased trees, reducing the overstory Basal Area to 70-80 sq. ft. of the best available examples of all Northern Hardwood tree species. Currently, the basal area of the featured stand has returned to over 120 sq. ft. per acre, but American beech regeneration has dominated the understory. Past silvicultural treatments and current conditions have favored the proliferation of the very shade tolerant beech. The beech is largely infested with beech bark disease and few stems will grow into long-lived, healthy, overstory trees.

Species 1:
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)

Species 1 Percent(%):
43.4

Species 2:
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)

Species 2 Percent(%):
10.3

Species 3:
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

Species 3 Percent(%):
27.9

Pre-Treatment Growth Stocking:
121 BA/Acre

Pre-Treatment Forest Health Issues:
A large proportion of overstory American beech is affected by cankers caused by the Beech Scale, causing sprouting. The only regeneration present is American beech. 

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-------- Silviculture Prescription -------------------------------------------

Case Overview:
This harvest is part of a series of forest adaptation experiments co-produced by managers and scientists in Vermont and New Hampshire for testing strategies to address the impacts of climate change and invasive insects and diseases.
The work at the Winooski Valley View Sale is specifically testing the ability of gap- and patch-based silvicultural strategies to increase compositional, structural, and functional diversity of northern hardwood forests with a significant beech component. Specific research questions being examined include: the response of interior and shrubland birds to different silvicultural opening sizes and within-patch retention; regeneration response of northern hardwood species across a range of gap sizes and retention; the survival and development of tree species planted in anticipation of future climate and disturbance impacts; and the identification of tradeoffs between biodiversity, adaptation, and mitigation objectives at this site.

Silviculture Objectives:
-	Regenerate 20% of the stand area (18 of 90 Acres) in 2 to 3-acre patches and ¼ to ½-acre groups.
-	The 90-acre stand has been divided into nine 10-acre “Blocks.” Three of the blocks will remain untreated as “Controls.” The remaining six blocks will each receive one 2 to 3-acre patch cut and several ¼ to ½-acre groups, to total 18 acres of openings over the six treated blocks


Landowner Objectives:
-	Effectively regenerate and diversify the northern hardwood community while improving future forest health by reducing the prevalence of American beech. Subsequent entries to be made at 10 to 30-year intervals depending on stand condition. 
-	Increase age class diversity, structural complexity, and diversify species composition, all of which will enhance the resilience of the stand to disturbance and climate change impacts
-	Maintain softwood component 
-	Enhance wildlife habitat, especially young forest conditions (contribute to Vermont Conservation Design goal of 4-10% in young forest habitat) 
-	Maintain water quality, including improving the condition, siting, and resilience of the forest road system 
-	Prevent/reduce the incidence and impact of invasive plants and insects. 
-	Produce quality hardwood timber


Silviculture Prescription:
-	This harvest will be a “Patch/Group Uneven-aged” silvicultural treatment on 20% of the 90-acre stand. Patches shall be between 2 and 3 acres in size and groups between ¼ and ½ acre in size. The six “non-control” 10-acre blocks within the stand shall each receive one 2 to 3-acre patch cut and several ¼ to ½-acre group selection cuts for a total of 18 harvested acres within the stand. 
-	Patches and groups shall be placed in areas where: a.) The overstory is predominately poor-quality hardwood (e.g., diseased or dying beech), b.) areas where there is pre-existing desirable seedling / small sapling regeneration, and c.) areas where little to no regeneration exists beneath groups of sufficiently merchantable trees. 
-	3-5 hardwood retention trees shall be left in three of the 2+ acre patch cuts. The other three patches shall contain no hardwood residuals. Residual trees should be sugar maple, yellow birch, black cherry, red oak, white ash, or softwoods. Retention trees shall be healthy trees with resistant crown forms. All softwoods will be retained. 
-	Where hemlock is available, situate hemlock on the edge of the patches or groups rather than leave as a residual tree within a larger opening. Sudden full release of hemlock can cause “Sun-shock” mortality. 
-	Within patches, 5-8 whole, large, low-value trees per acre shall be marked for contour felling and left as downed dead wood. 
-	Existing snags shall be retained. 
-	After completion of the harvest, portions of openings will be planted with bare-root seedlings of future-adapted northern hardwood species.


Regeneration Method:
Patch Cuts and Group Selection

Factors Influencing Prescription Choice:
- forest health
- climate change
- wildlife habitat

Climate Adaptation Considerations:
The treatment aimed to increase age class diversity, structural complexity, and diversify species composition, which will enhance the resilience of the stand to disturbance and climate change impacts.

Planted seedlings consisted of future-adapted northern hardwood species currently found near site in low abundance (red oak, black cherry) or nearby northern hardwood species expected to gain suitable habitat in the region under climate change (bitternut hickory, American chestnut). See detailed planting plan in attached documents.

More info about climate adaptation considerations for this project: https://forestadaptation.org/adapt/demonstration-projects/winooski-valley-view


Equipment used:
Hand felling and cable skidding

Additional Resources / External Links: https://forestadaptation.org/adapt/demonstration-projects/winooski-valley-view
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-------- Post-treatment ------------------------------------------------------

Post-Treatment Assessment Expected:
yes

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-------- Miscellaneous -------------------------------------------------------

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-------- Statistics ----------------------------------------------------------

Basal Area Pre-Harvest:
121.3

Basal Area Units:
- feet squared per acre

Trees Per Acre:
244.2

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-------- Contact Information -------------------------------------------------

Primary Contact:
Mike Johnson

Contact Title:
State Lands Forester

Contact Organization:
Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation

Contact Email: Michael.johnson@vermont.gov
Contact Phone: +1 802-373-2173
Contact Address:
VT Dept. of Forests, Parks & Recreation 111 West St.
Essex Junction, Vermont. 05452

Biography:
Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in Forest Science from Penn State University and has worked for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation – Forests Division as a State Lands Forester in northwest Vermont since 1992.

Contact Photo:
https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/87/M_Johnson.jpg

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-------- Supplementary Content -----------------------------------------------

Additional files:
- https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/87/WVV2%20Planting%20Plan.pdf

Additional Photo 1: https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/87/Patch_4-P_Planted.jpg
Additional Photo 2: https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/87/WVV2%20Planting%20Plan%20Map.pdf%20%281%29.png
Caption 2: Planting Plan Map