Project Area
The Elm Hill Forest Management Project is the implementation of the 2017 Forest Stewardship Plan for Mass Audubon's 1,100-acre Elm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in central Massachusetts. The project's main goal is to demonstrate sustainable forestry practices that increase habitat quality for bird species of conservation concern, manage invasive species, and enhance the forest's structural and compositional diversity.
The sanctuary’s landscape consists of a series of hills—a drumlin cluster—that are topped by fields and former orchards. The majority of the forest at Elm Hill is transitional hardwood forest dominated by red oak and including maples and birches, while local farmers lease many fields. Elm Hill supports populations of many wide-ranging animals, including black bear, fisher, and eastern coyote. The sanctuary’s early-successional habitats also support songbird species of conservation concern.
The sanctuary’s landscape consists of a series of hills—a drumlin cluster—that are topped by fields and former orchards. The majority of the forest at Elm Hill is transitional hardwood forest dominated by red oak and including maples and birches, while local farmers lease many fields. Elm Hill supports populations of many wide-ranging animals, including black bear, fisher, and eastern coyote. The sanctuary’s early-successional habitats also support songbird species of conservation concern.
Management Goals
Across the Elm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Mass Audubon is using sustainable forest management and timber harvesting to improve forest resilience and wildlife habitat, as well as generate high quality forest products over the long term. Specific management goals for the decade ending in 2030 include the following:
- Implement a timber harvest across 605 acres of forest using a variety of silvicultural techniques—including irregular shelterwood, clearcuts, patch cuts, shelterwood preparation, and group selection— to improve forest resilience and wildlife habitat. (The first of these harvests was implemented in 2021.)
- Create features typical of late-successional forests through silvicultural activities on 30 to 80 acres of mature forest. (Several such features were created during the 2021 harvest.)
- Manage priority nonnative plant infestations in and near timber harvest sites through appropriate techniques, including mechanical and chemical methods. (These control activities started before the 2021 harvest and follow up treatments are on-going.)
- Map and prioritize invasive plant infestations throughout the wildlife sanctuary. (Forest stands, fields, and wetlands were assessed for severity of nonnative plant invasions across the entire wildlife sanctuary in 2023. Separately, an ecological management prioritization was conducted for the entire Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary network in 2025. Several priority habitats occur in Elm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and can be focal points for invasive plant management going forward.)
- Create 105 acres of young forest habitat through clearcut or patch cut treatments. (These areas are adjacent to several hayfields and were cleared in 2021. By removing the strips of forest separating these hayfields the area of open habitat was enlarged to support a larger population of grassland and shrubland birds that are declining in the region.)
- Maintain appropriate no- or low-management buffers near sensitive areas to protect these ecosystems. (Wetlands and streams were mapped prior to the 2021 harvest and excluded from activities to minimize the impacts on these sensitive ecosystems.)
Climate Change Impacts
Elm Hill contains transitional hardwood stands with a variety of tree species; these forests are expected to be moderately vulnerable to climate change. Managers of the site expect that the greatest negative impacts from climate change will be from to increased threats from invasive species, pests, and pathogens, all of which have the potential to reduce or eliminate important tree species from the forest.
For this project, the most important anticipated climate change impacts include:
For this project, the most important anticipated climate change impacts include:
Invasive plant populations may disproportionally benefit from the longer growing season and canopy openings created by tree morality events associated with climate change, threatening forest integrity in the areas of the site.
Nonnative pests and diseases are likely to increase in spread and cause damage to native tree species. Emerald ash borer will likely eliminate white ash, which is a common species on site, and hemlock woolly adelgid threatens hemlock.
Southern pine beetle may spread further in Massachusetts, causing problems for white pine at Elm Hill.
The forest is moderately diverse and includes some southern-associated tree species like hickories and oaks, which should provide some buffer against wholesale climate-related forest loss.
The site has a large amount of topographical complexity, which should offer some additional thermal buffering. North-facing slopes and narrow valleys are likely to warm less.
Southern exposures and hilltops are likely warm more. Droughty hilltops may become even drier, potentially favoring oaks or pines, or even driving a reduction in forest cover in the driest areas.
Much of the site is headwaters, limiting the effects of severe precipitation events; however, Dunn Brook along the site's southeastern boundary could become flashier, increasing erosion.
Isolated wetlands are likely to have a reduced hydroperiod, potentially shifting vegetation composition toward upland-associated species. Vernal pool processes will likely be earlier in the season.
While many of the native oak species could benefit from a warmer climate, it is still unclear how climate change might affect outbreaks of spongy moth, which can cause substantial oak mortality periodically.
Increased deer herbivory is occuring due to milder winters with less snow accumulation which increases deer winter survival. Increased herbivory could alter forest composition and structure, with the shrub layer especially impacted.
Challenges and Opportunities
Climate change will present challenges and opportunities for accomplishing the management objectives of this project, including:
Challenges
Warmer winter climate conditions may limit window of harvest operations on stable soil.
Removing forest canopy trees might further exacerbate invasive plant performance, on top of climate-related enhancement.
Any declines of northern hardwood species will reduce site's tree species diversity. Other species are currently being lost or have been lost in the past due to introduced pests and diseases, reducing the site's resilience to future disturbances..
Current specifications for buffers around sensitive areas may be inadequate under changed future climate conditions.
Opportunities
Increased frequency of high-intensity storm events might create a more variable forest structure including ample deadwood and canopy gaps of a range of sizes and stages of regrowth.
Overall forest productivity may increase with longer growing seasons.
Adaptation Actions
The primary focus of management at Elm Hill is to maintain and enhance species and structural diversity, which will help to demonstrate progressive forestry for the benefit of bird species on conservation concern. These actions will help improve the overall health and function of the forest and increase its resilience to future stress and disturbance.
The Adaptation Workbook helped identify some potential adaptation actions for this project, including:
Area/Topic
Approach
Tactics
Elm Hill
1.1 Reduce impacts to soils and nutrient cycling.
1.2. Maintain or restore hydrology.
1.3. Maintain or restore riparian areas.
1.2. Maintain or restore hydrology.
1.3. Maintain or restore riparian areas.
Follow best management practices with respect to soils, hydrology, and wetland and waterways when conducting forestry activities.
Control invasive species mechanical and chemical methods, including multiflora rose, Japanese barberry, Japanese knotweed, common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, burningbush, honeysuckle, goutweed, and Oriental bittersweet.
Monitor the effects of herbivory on the vegetation and consider steps to control deer as necessary.
4.1. Prioritize and maintain unique sites.
4.2. Prioritize and maintain sensitive or at-risk species or communities.
4.2. Prioritize and maintain sensitive or at-risk species or communities.
Limit active management in sensitive areas to protect rare plant populations and wetland structure and function.
5.1. Promote diverse age classes.
5.2. Maintain and restore diversity of native species.
5.3. Retain biological legacies.
5.4. Establish reserves to maintain ecosystem diversity.
5.2. Maintain and restore diversity of native species.
5.3. Retain biological legacies.
5.4. Establish reserves to maintain ecosystem diversity.
Create areas of young forest habitat.
Enhance the structure of the closed canopy forests.
Restore red pine plantations to a more natural state.
9.1. Favor or restore native species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
9.2. Establish or encourage new mixes of native species.
9.2. Establish or encourage new mixes of native species.
Purposefully retain future-adapted tree species during forestry operations to provide a seed source and encourage a transition to a new species mix.
Monitoring
Mass Audubon's standard inventory and monitoring program will provide long-term monitoring of forest composition and structure. Vegetation monitoring is being conducted annually during the growing season for three years following active management and compared to pre-treatment levels to ensure that the percent cover of invasive plant species within managed forest communities remains low. Site managers will also evaluate whether actions to use best management practices, create late-seral features, and avoid sensitive areas were successfully implemented.
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Keywords
Diseases
Insect pests
Invasive species
Management plan
Restoration
Upland conifers
Upland hardwoods
Wildlife habitat