• Start-up
  • Planning
  • Action
  • Evaluation
Vermont Land Trust (VLT) worked with Audubon Vermont and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science to update the forest management plan for the 72.5-acre Jerusalem Skyline property in Starksboro, VT. VLT implemented the management plan during the winter of 2020-2021 to achieve their management objectives, including improving forest bird habitat, increasing the forest’s resilience to climate change, and conserving white ash.
Eastern newt in the red eft stage. Photo by Cara Gauthier.
Bee tree on the Hill-Robert lot.
Large coarse woody debris. Photo by Dan Kilborn
Logging harvest equipment
A gap in the forest canopy in the winter
Large tree in the winter
An acorn starting to sprout
A person injecting insecticide in the base of a tree

Project Area

A seepage wetland on the Hill-Robert lot. Photo by Allaire Diamond.
The Jerusalem Skyline property is 72.5 acres in central Vermont in the town of Starksboro. Situated just west of Mt Ellen and the spine of the Green Mountains, the site is moderately steep with a few flat to gently sloping areas. The composition of the forest is largely northern hardwoods with a smaller mixedwood stand that is transitioning to northern hardwoods.

Management Goals

A map of a forested parcel

The primary goal of the landowner is to maintain a healthy and productive forest ecosystem that promotes opportunities for growing high-quality sawtimber and other non-timber forest products, such as maple sap, and promotes forest bird habitat. Other goals include: conserving forest health, including maintaining tree species diversity and excluding non-native plant species; protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, forest soils, and rare plant and animal communities; conserving ash; and maintaining scenic qualities and non-motorized and non-mechanized recreational opportunities.

Climate Change Impacts

Climate change is expected to impact forest ecosystems in central Vermont into the future. These include warming of 3.5 to 8.5 ⁰F by the end of the century, with fewer days below freezing and an increase in the growing season by three weeks. On average, the climate is projected to get wetter with more frequent and damaging extreme storms, including intense rainfall that may cause soil erosion. Timing of precipitation is expected to change, with longer periods between rain events increasing the risk of moisture deficits and drought during the growing season. These changes may affect invasive plant and pest and disease pressure on forests in addition to limiting opportunities for winter harvesting. Northern species such as sugar maple, yellow birch, and white birch that comprise much of the canopy on the site are predicted to decline in the region. Northward migration of future-adapted species may be slower than the expected changes in climate that would create suitable habitat for these species, resulting in declining forest health and productivity over time.

Challenges and Opportunities

Some of the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents to meeting management goals include:

Challenges

Loss of dominant species may result in difficulty maintaining species diversity
Sugar maple may be replaced with red maple
White ash may be eliminated by emerald ash borer
Increase in extreme storm frequency may reduce number of snags which are necessary quality wildlife habitat

Opportunities

Microclimates can be utilized to maintain current species
Root sprouting species (aspen, beech) may be maintained in the short-term through regeneration by harvesting
Longer growing seasons may help in maintaining beech and faster growth of desired species
More frequent stressors (ice damage, insect pests) may increase snags for wildlife habitat

Adaptation Actions

Project participants used the Adaptation Workbook to develop several adaptation actions for this project, including:

 

Area/Topic
Approach
Tactics
4.2. Prioritize and maintain sensitive or at-risk species or communities.
Maintain spruce and fir in seepage areas by releasing advanced regeneration and retaining legacy trees for seed
5.2. Maintain and restore diversity of native species.
Small group selection to encourage yellow and paper birch; cut mature aspen to encourage coppice growth
5.1. Promote diverse age classes.
Crop tree release of sugar maple
1.1 Reduce impacts to soils and nutrient cycling.
Move skid trail outside of 50’ buffer around seepage area or use in frozen winter conditions only if relocation is not feasible
4.1. Prioritize and maintain unique sites.
Retain basswood and legacy sugar maples; single tree or small group selection to regenerate sugar maple & ash
3.3. Alter forest structure to reduce severity or extent of wind and ice damage.
Position gaps to limit edge exposure & retain trees on field edges to protect from prevailing winds
5.3. Retain biological legacies.
Mark legacy trees, protect course woody material and snags, leave tops following harvest
2.1. Maintain or improve the ability of forests to resist pests and pathogens.
Leave ash in a range of ages and sizes and in the regeneration.
Monitor ash trees for signs of EAB.
Use biocontrol or insecticide treatments of small groups of seed trees to preserve genetic diversity and protect seed trees for future ash regeneration.
9.7. Introduce species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
Plant red oak (not currently present on site) in the two of the largest canopy gaps.

Monitoring

Project participants identified several monitoring items that could help inform future management, including:
Percentage of basal area of tree species
Age-class diversity within stands
Presence/ absence of non-native invasive plant species
Standing and downed dead wood
Public use for non-motorized and non-mechanized recreation
Signs/symptoms of EAB on 40 ash trees and presence of lingering ash

Project Documents

2018-FMP-Map.pdf (5.28 MB)

Next Steps

In June 2019, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was detected 5 miles from the Jerusalem Skyline property prompting the planning of additional management tactics to preserve ash on site.

VLT implemented their management plan by conducting a timber harvest during the winter of 2020-2021. Single tree and small group selection was used to increase species and age class diversity and encourage regeneration of sugar maple, red spruce, yellow birch, and white ash. Legacy trees were retained to promote late-successional forest structure and red oaks were planted in gaps as an assisted migration strategy.

To preserve genetic diversity and ensure there is a reproducing population of white ash trees on the property, 20 white ash trees were treated with a systemic trunk injection of emamectin benzoate during the summer of 2021-2022 and treated again in 2025. They will be treated every 3 years for the next 10 years. This is one of many ash preservation patches around the state.

Managers learned through this project the importance of planning a couple years ahead to more easily sex the ash trees during a seed year prior to treatment.

Learn More

Keywords

Management plan
Recreation
Upland hardwoods
Wildlife habitat

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