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Foresters, firefighters, conservationists, and nature lovers debate active versus passive management.
The future of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, Martha’s Vineyard’s largest woodland reserve, is again under debate. Purchased by the state in 1908 to protect the now-extinct heath hen, the forest was converted into a resource for the public in 1932. The state introduced non-native white pine plantations (clusters of trees that have been planted, often for commercial purposes) to promote reforestation, biodiversity, and timber production. After decades of continued planting and spreading, those trees now cover 500 acres of forest.
In 2022, working to fulfill its obligations under a 2001 Conservation Permit issued by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP), the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) proposed removing white pines susceptible to overgrowth, wildfire, and disease. The permit requires restoring grassland and scrubland habitats to support rare species. The DCR now plans to cut 45 acres of white pines in the first phase of the project, aiming to eventually restore 175 acres to sandplain heathland and scrub oak barrens. Reports of the project, and long-term land management, have ignited responses from all over the Island, with supporters and critics alike debating its merits. Some are concerned about the scope of the project, while others are worried that there would be no follow-through from the state after the cutting. Those advocating for the project have focused on the importance of forest fire prevention, and have stated that the desired future condition of the forest will be most beneficial for the Island ecology in the long run.
‘Nobody knows for sure if this is the right move’
Dr. David Foster, West Tisbury resident and Director Emeritus of Harvard Forest, believes that the state has historically mismanaged the Correllus State Forest. “There is a long history of failure to understand the natural landscape,” he said. Foster warns against rushing decisions. “Nobody knows for sure if this is the right move.”
A 1999 study by Foster and Harvard Forest revealed that Vineyard landscapes were originally shaped by natural disturbances and Indigenous land practices but were dramatically altered by European colonists who cleared forests for farms. Later, as agriculture declined, forests regrew. Foster now advocates a hands-off approach: “Every time they actively managed it, they made poor decisions. The default should always be to do nothing rather than act impulsively.”(Here’s a conversation with Dr. Foster.)
Martha’s Vineyard Commissioner Ben Robinson agrees. He said he believes it was a mistake to plant the white pines in the State Forest, but now that population of pines has created a successful ecosystem of trees. He said that, although the white pines aren’t truly native to the Vineyard, and they might not support species that are as ecologically special as those that occur in scrub oak barrens, white pines exist in many other parts of New England and should be recognized for the environmental benefits they provide. “It’s hubristic for humans to think it’s a good idea to continue to intervene,” Robinson said.
Robinson is skeptical of continuing to rely on disturbance practices and hands-on management. “I think everyone is still learning about the long-termness of forest development, and it doesn’t seem like anyone really has a perfect solution to this,” Robinson said. “I think these bright minds on all sides of this should come together and work in a way that will be based on learning from each other and from the forest itself.”
‘It’s never good to have to cut trees,’ but sometimes it’s necessary
David Foster referenced the Phillips Preserve, a Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation property on the west side of Lake Tashmoo in Tisbury, as an example of how drastically an ecosystem can change when human beings intervene. Foster said it shocked him to see the scale of tree removal there due to a southern pine beetle outbreak. But Adam Moore, President of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, said that although the preserve looks heavily clearcut now, with large piles of felled trees and excavator tracks lining the property, new growth will soon spread.
The rapidly spreading outbreak of the southern pine beetle at the preserve was first discovered in 2023 by DCR and NHESP, and needed to be quelled before it enveloped the entire property. (See our story on the southern pine Beetles: bluedotliving.com/southern-pine-beetles.) “When I was marking trees to cut, I would buffer around them as recommended by the state,” Moore said. “Then I would come back a day later and more trees would be infected — the beetles were moving very fast, at about 10 feet per day. One day they moved 100 feet, which was pretty startling.”
Ben Robinson said he believes it was a mistake to plant the white pines in the State Forest, but now that population of pines has created a successful ecosystem of trees.
The foundation burned the treetops to mitigate wildfire risk and create biochar that, according to Moore, could be used as a natural filtering method for rain gardens, and distributed to local farmers as a soil amendment. Additionally, logs that are able to be milled will be used for Sheriff’s Meadow construction projects, and sold or donated to Island organizations that need timber. It’s currently unclear whether the timber from the State Forest clearcutting project will be milled for use on the Vineyard, or whether it will all need to be trucked away.
‘The reality of climate change is, in the bigger picture, an argument in favor of this work, not against’
Jeremy Houser, Director of Science and Policy at the Vineyard Conservation Society, believes that the State Forest needs more thoughtful management. Although white pines and other non-native tree plantations aren’t necessarily bad, Houser said that the monoculture of non-native trees, planted in an “ill-fated attempt to start a local timber industry,” is now crowding out a native ecosystem that is valuable from a conservation standpoint.
Houser acknowledged that the clearcutting project will inevitably have a significant carbon cost, and he cited a recent study by the Woodwell Climate Center comparing the carbon sequestration potential of various habitats on the Vineyard. According to the study, the white pine plantations store about 50 percent more carbon than the habitat they replaced. “Despite that,” Houser said, “I actually think the reality of climate change is, in the bigger picture, an argument in favor of this work, not against.”
While that might sound counterintuitive, Houser explains that the sandplain habitat in the State Forest exists because of the unique geological and ecological history of that part of the Island. Globally, 90% of this kind of habitat has already been lost to development and to the effects of climate change, whereas the conifers in the plantations are not threatened and not considered a conservation focus. Houser added that much of the sandplain habitat on the Vineyard lies between the State Forest and the great ponds on the south shore. As sea level rise pushes coastal habitats inland, the historical habitat of the State Forest, if restored, could be a strong receiver site for this biodiversity. “Unfortunately, right now there is a wall of tall trees standing square in its migration path,” Houser said. He said the key to the success of this project will lie in what happens after the trees are cut and the area begins to regrow — the regular monitoring and ongoing management that is included in the provisions of the permit issued by NHESP.
If a crown fire does start in the pine plantations, the only assets Island fire departments can summon are mutual aid aircraft that are designed for firefighting.
BiodiversityWorks naturalist Matt Pelikan said that, while the pines have drawn affection from the community because of their beauty, they are biologically “not very interesting.” In the dense white pine monoculture, light rarely reaches ground level, which makes for a low degree of understory complexity, according to Pelikan. Additionally, many of the unique species that live in the State Forest fare better in grasslands and scrub oak barrens, not dense pine forests.
Pelikan said that the time window during which a hands-off approach would be possible has long since passed us by. “We have totally altered the entire climate of the planet, we have introduced species in certain areas where they do not conventionally occur, and some of them have become invasive,” Pelikan said. “Not doing active management doesn’t mean that humans aren’t controlling the landscape.” Pelikan said that, while he understands the argument that it’s hubristic for humans to attempt to control nature at this scale, “nature is beleaguered by human activity,” and it’s equally naive to think that doing nothing is a viable solution.
While it’s difficult to anticipate the overall impact on biodiversity following any habitat management practice, Pelikan believes that area plant and animal species will be better off in the future because of the project. He also said that, although the clearing may look ugly to hikers and dog-walkers at first, every ecological restoration project looks ugly at first. “It doesn’t take long before you get regrowth, but a logged landscape is a logged landscape.”
‘This all started with public safety in mind’
While many on the Vineyard are interested in ecological restoration, Edgartown Fire Chief Alex Schaeffer’s main concern with the project is public safety. The Edgartown Fire Department, and every fire department on the Island, wants to see the State Forest managed more thoughtfully and consistently. Schaeffer said that this tree cutting permit is just another phase of a multi-stage, long-term management plan that will mitigate forest fire risk. “This permit issued to DCR 20 years ago all started with public safety in mind — it started with the widening of the fire lanes in the State Forest so our response assets could reach where they needed to go,” Schaeffer said.
When a dry canopy of white pines is set aflame, it can be a perilous situation. Schaeffer said local fire departments don’t have ready access to the equipment needed to extinguish this kind of fire. If a crown fire does start in the pine plantations, the only assets Island fire departments can summon are mutual aid aircraft that are designed for firefighting. During the dry months, when forests are most vulnerable to fire, the rest of the state will also be busy fighting fires, leaving those mutual aid resources indisposed. “Those aircraft that we would desperately need would already be in the air, and the priority order might leave us without any response for some time,” Schaeffer said.
Apart from the lack of a self-sufficient wildfire response plan for crown fires, fire department memberships Islandwide are dropping fast. For Schaeffer and other fire chiefs, the Island needs to take advantage of any opportunity to mitigate fuel loads in the State Forest. The anticipated future of the State Forest, according to Schaeffer, will allow firefighters to better manage the land through prescribed burns, and defend lives and property against an active fire. “Oak woodlands and grasslands do have a potential for wildfire, but we have the equipment to stop those fires, whereas a serious crown fire would exceed our local response capabilities,” he said.
The debate continues
Remember the debate that raged about the proposed roundabout at the intersection of the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road and Barnes Road? There were experts and others who made good cases for why it would ruin the Island, and still others who made equally good arguments for how it would save us. In the end, those who favored the roundabout turned out to be right. But in the debate about the fate of the pine plantations in the State Forest, we likely won't know who's right for some time, regardless of whether or not the decision to cut is approved.
The ongoing discussions around forest management on the Island illustrate how different groups of people with varying degrees of expertise can take vastly different approaches to environmental issues. The people involved in this debate — experts and advocates from the fields of forestry, conservation, forest ecology, and fire safety — all hold the future best interests of the Island in mind. Here’s hoping they can work together to make the best out of whatever decision is finally made.
