A Walk In The Woods Clarifies NFA Long-Term Management Plans

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown Forest Association (NFA) President Bob Eckenrode, NFA board member Dan Dalton, Holcomb Hill Preserve caretaker Ray Ormsbee, and Conservation Commission members Mary Gaudet-Wilson and Michelle McLeod spent close to an hour Monday morning, April 2, walking the Nettleton Preserve at the top of Castle Hill Road with Larry Rousseau, state forester for the western third of Connecticut.

Mr Rousseau was in Newtown at the invitation of the NFA to advise the nonprofit organization on long-term plans to manage the 23-acre preserve that includes one of the most photographed views of the town, that of historic Main Street, its churches, and the flagpole.

The NFA is working on a multiphase stewardship plan for the property to maximize the open space values, said Mr Eckenrode. Phase One is the current management of wildlife in the meadows, a trail system that is linked to Newtown Congregational Church property, the clearing of invasive plants along Castle Hill Road, and selective cutting and trimming of an existing orchard there.

Phase Two, said Mr Eckenrode, includes the on-site consultation with Mr Rousseau. “We are at that stage now,” Mr Eckenrode said Monday morning, “to put a long-term plan into effect. This walk-through will give us some hands-on ideas of what that [plan] will be.”

“I will look for what [the NFA’s] goals are and how resources match up to that,” said Mr Rousseau. “We want to consider how much money they have available and how much volunteer manpower can go into the effort,” he said.

The group passed through the neatly maintained upper meadow and down a trail, passing the orchard on one side and entering into a tangle of fallen trees and nuisance vines in the lower forest. Wind and storm damage was great in this area of the property, Mr Eckenrode said, with invasive plant growth abetting the decline of the forest.

“We want to try to reinvigorate the existing forest or cut down some trees to encourage that,” Mr Eckenrode offered, as well as encourage more edge habitat between the meadow and the forest to provide food and cover for wildlife. “Improving the view [from the top of Castle Hill] is an integral part of the plan,” he added.

Mr Rousseau suggested that the organization consider dropping the spring mowing of the meadow area, and mow only after July, for the benefit of ground nesting birds, and possibly consider mowing only every other year.

Timing the mowing cycles might also help with the intrusion of invasive plants, said Mr Rousseau, and asked if the NFA was opposed to chemical treatments of invasives. Herbicide treatments initially can be useful to bring those undesirable plants under control, followed by mechanical cutting right after leaf-out.

“Selectively,” responded Mr Eckenrode, “there is no opposition [to chemical treatment].”

Treating invasives with a backpack blowtorch is another option, Mr Rousseau mentioned.

Addressing the NFA’s concerns about erosion from a brook that meanders along the edge of the property, Mr Rousseau said, “Don’t take the cover [tree canopy] off the brook.” Armoring the banks to slow the flow might be another solution, he said.

As the group ventured further into the wooded section of Nettleton Preserve, Mr Rousseau noted that much of the ash tree population is in decline. “You have some red cedar, white pine, black cherry, ash, and scattered maples,” he observed, “and the cedar and pine need more sunlight. It’s a good time of year to see where the crowns of the trees are, which could be removed to improve the view [from the hilltop],” he said. A few stray black pine trees and some silver maple and oaks are part of the forest, Mr Rousseau noticed, as well as a few American elm trees “still in good shape.” More space would benefit those trees, he said.

However, cautioned the state forester, the loss of tree canopy provides more sunlight to the low-growing invasives. “Big openings in the canopy will stimulate invasive growth in areas with a preponderance of vine growth,” Mr Rousseau said. His advice is that the NFA address the undergrowth before opening up the canopy of the forest through trimming or cutting trees.

Where the preserve borders West Street is more wetlands than forest, said Mr Rousseau, and will require less work. Fewer invasives tangled the ground there and Mr Rousseau recommended that the association maintain the canopy provided by red maples.

“Put your effort into controlling the invasives and give the native plants the option to come in,” said Mr Rousseau in response to Mr Eckenrode’s question, “What big thrust should the NFA put forth to clear a whole area?”

Looking around at the expanse of Japanese barberry, blackberry vines, poison ivy, garlic mustard, and oriental bittersweet throttling nearby pines and ash trees, Mr Eckenrode commented, tongue in cheek, “Well, now I don’t feel so overwhelmed.”

In addition to the consultation with Mr Rousseau, Phase Two of the Nettleton Preserve Stewardship plan includes a comprehensive natural resource inventory of soil types and plant, animal, tree, and insect species; updating maps of existing trails; identifying future meadow, forest, and wetlands to be enhanced; selectively harvesting trees; and fine tuning the future management plan. An incorporation of the historical significance of the property into the final plan is also part of Phase Two, which will take place over a number of years.

The NFA would like to establish Nettleton Preserve as an annual Earth Day event involving the public, and Mr Eckenrode said that at some point, an educational component, such as signage, might be added along the trails.

As the assemblage returned to the top of the meadow, Mr Rousseau mentioned that it might not be necessary to do a wide clearing in order to improve the view of Main Street.

Dan Dalton walked a few feet north of where the group was gathered and then suggested a practical approach to the dilemma of removing a healthy pine to improve the view from the popular overlook. “Why not,” he asked, “just move the bench?”

“I like it,” said Mr Eckenrode. “It’s the Lorax approach.”

Most helpful was the insight into first steps that the NFA can take to implement Phase Two, Mr Eckenrode said, following the morning forest walk. “Those steps include controlling the undergrowth first and creating an access road,” he reiterated. “We realize this won’t be done overnight, but Larry put it into perspective and that’s the kind of thing we were looking for. That’s the value of the walk-through, getting input from different people,” Mr Eckenrode said.

NFA is dependent upon funds from donors and membership dues. Most of the Nettleton Preserve projects will be tailored so that the roughly 300 NFA members can help bring them to completion, said Mr Eckenrode, although professional tree services and arborists will be utilized in many instances as the project progresses.

Volunteers are always welcomed, he added. For more information on the Newtown Forest Association, visit NewtownForestAssociation.org.