Forest Stewardship

The Northborough Conservation Commission is responsible for protecting, promoting, and developing the natural resources and water resources of the Town as provided for under MGL Ch. 40, Section 8C, as amended.  The Commission manages the town’s Conservation Land for the long-term benefit of the community. 

In accordance with State requirements, the Commission worked with a licensed forester, held public hearings, and through the MA Forest Stewardship Program prepared and obtained approval for Forest Management Plans at Mount Pisgah and Edmund Hill Conservation Areas in August 2022.  Links to the approved Forest Management Plans are provided here:

Mount Pisgah Forest Management Plan

Edmund Hill Forest Management Plan

The conditions documented in the Forest Management Plans at both Edmund Hill and Mt Pisgah are such that there are many dangerous standing dead trees near the trails and along the boundaries with abutters, as well as exotic invasive plants impacting the health of the forest.  The Conservation Commission’s forest management objectives are: to increase forest resiliency, promote plant and animal diversity, protect water quality, reduce hazard trees, control terrestrial invasive species, and sequester/store carbon. 

The Commission is implementing the recommendations of the approved Forest Management Plans beginning with Edmund Hill Conservation Area.  The first step that has been completed was to hire a licensed forester to prepare a Forest Harvest and Invasives Management Plan that includes the specifics of the cutting as well as the invasive plant treatment methods and locations.  Background information on what a Forester does is explained in the following link:  (https://www.mass.gov/doc/foresters-and-the-care-for-your-lands/download)  The Commission selected Wigmore Forest Resource Management (Wigmore) to prepare and implement the plan to accomplish the Forest Management Plan objectives at as low a cost to the town as possible.  The Commission does not intend to make any money on the work, but simply to pay for the necessary work to protect the public use values.  There is no contract at this time, but the accepted Wigmore proposal (the last two pages references costs that have yet to be finalized).

The Commission did not intend to conduct any work at Mount Pisgah until after Edmund Hill, but there may be an opportunity to improve the regeneration at the burned areas through appropriate forestry techniques.  There is no accepted schedule for work at Edmund Hill Conservation Area but anticipate activity in the forest no sooner than the Fall of 2024, to implement the following sequence:

  • Update the Forest Management Plans to incorporate climate adaptation and forest resilience aspects and meet State Forest Climate Management Plans so that additional funding might become available and reduce the need to supplement the costs through harvesting healthy trees. (Fall 2023)
  • Prepare a DRAFT Harvest Cutting Practice Plan for the application to MA DCR to harvest wood products and an Invasive Plant Management Plan which will be posted to the Commission’s website for public comment. (Winter 2023-24)
  • Open meeting for review and presentation of the silvicultural philosophy basis for the Harvest Cutting/Invasives Management Plan presentation and public input. (Winter 2024)
  • Revise the Harvest Cutting/Invasives Management Plan as needed for Commission approval. (Spring-Summer 2024)
  • Prepare field markings, conduct a field tour with interested community members and the Commission. (Fall 2024)
  • Selection and contracting with a Timber Harvester and licensed Invasive Plant Manager. (Fall 2024)
  • Begin work with a minimum of twice-weekly inspections by Wigmore and the Conservation Agent.  Document with harvest supervision reports, images, and videos for an archive of project operations. (Fall 2024)
  • Final inspection/approval inspection by Wigmore and the Commission.(Winter-Spring 2025)