sawcutmill
06-21-2006, 09:03 PM
Hurricane-Downed Trees Hauled in Refuge
By SONJA BARISIC
Associated Press Writer
June 20, 2006, 4:13 AM EDT
SUFFOLK, Va. -- In the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, helicopters have been carting away trees downed in Hurricane Isabel in an attempt to save the swamp's rare Atlantic white cedar population.
In September 2003, the storm leveled 3,600 acres of mature Atlantic white cedar trees in 24 hours. The population was one of the last significant stands of the species, also known as juniper.
A logging project to clear 1,100 of those acres began in May 2005 and is about half done, refuge officials told reporters Monday. The project in the refuge, located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
"There is, I think, a strong possibility that we're going to put cedar back where cedar was," refuge forester Bryan Poovey said.
Removing damaged and dead trees exposes the swamp's soil to sunlight, allowing cedar seeds in the soil to germinate in as quickly as a few weeks. Seedlings that sprouted this spring are now about the size of a fingernail.
The project also reduces debris, which can be a fire hazard. An estimated 150,000 tons of fallen and dead trees could fuel wildfires if there are lightning strikes.
Atlantic white cedar trees, which grow close together and have trunks that can reach 100 feet, once thrived in a narrow band along the Atlantic coastal plain from Maine to Mississippi.
Extensive logging, poor forestry practices and draining of wetlands diminished the population to about 2 percent of its historic range, Poovey said.
Several species of migratory birds nest in the Atlantic white cedar forests, and some species of rare butterflies and moths also live there.
Until Isabel, the largest remaining stands of mature Atlantic white cedar were in the Dismal Swamp. The swamp has about 12,000 acres with cedar trees but the acres felled by Isabel were the only pure cedar stands, Poovey said.
Clearing by helicopter is more sensitive to the environment than using conventional equipment with monster-truck-sized tires that agitate the spongy, peat-filled soil, Poovey said.
The helicopter hovers and neatly lowers a half-dozen logs dangling from a line beneath it onto a large stack of wood, then disappears back into the forest about a half-mile away.
Workers in orange hard hats rush in to remove a cable encircling the logs before the helicopter returns in a minute with another load of up to 10,000 pounds and the process starts all over again.
Carson Helicopters Inc. of Pennsylvania is removing the logs for free in exchange for the right to sell the timber, said Suzanne C. Baird, the refuge's manager. International Paper also is playing a role in the restoration. Using seed harvested from the refuge, the company is growing seedlings at a nursery in Georgia that will be planted in the refuge, Poovey said.
It will take decades for trees to grow enough to make the swamp look like it did before Isabel, Poovey said, because many of the toppled trees were 60 to 80 years old.
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On the Net:
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/
Carson Helicopters: http://www.carsonhelicopters.com
By SONJA BARISIC
Associated Press Writer
June 20, 2006, 4:13 AM EDT
SUFFOLK, Va. -- In the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, helicopters have been carting away trees downed in Hurricane Isabel in an attempt to save the swamp's rare Atlantic white cedar population.
In September 2003, the storm leveled 3,600 acres of mature Atlantic white cedar trees in 24 hours. The population was one of the last significant stands of the species, also known as juniper.
A logging project to clear 1,100 of those acres began in May 2005 and is about half done, refuge officials told reporters Monday. The project in the refuge, located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
"There is, I think, a strong possibility that we're going to put cedar back where cedar was," refuge forester Bryan Poovey said.
Removing damaged and dead trees exposes the swamp's soil to sunlight, allowing cedar seeds in the soil to germinate in as quickly as a few weeks. Seedlings that sprouted this spring are now about the size of a fingernail.
The project also reduces debris, which can be a fire hazard. An estimated 150,000 tons of fallen and dead trees could fuel wildfires if there are lightning strikes.
Atlantic white cedar trees, which grow close together and have trunks that can reach 100 feet, once thrived in a narrow band along the Atlantic coastal plain from Maine to Mississippi.
Extensive logging, poor forestry practices and draining of wetlands diminished the population to about 2 percent of its historic range, Poovey said.
Several species of migratory birds nest in the Atlantic white cedar forests, and some species of rare butterflies and moths also live there.
Until Isabel, the largest remaining stands of mature Atlantic white cedar were in the Dismal Swamp. The swamp has about 12,000 acres with cedar trees but the acres felled by Isabel were the only pure cedar stands, Poovey said.
Clearing by helicopter is more sensitive to the environment than using conventional equipment with monster-truck-sized tires that agitate the spongy, peat-filled soil, Poovey said.
The helicopter hovers and neatly lowers a half-dozen logs dangling from a line beneath it onto a large stack of wood, then disappears back into the forest about a half-mile away.
Workers in orange hard hats rush in to remove a cable encircling the logs before the helicopter returns in a minute with another load of up to 10,000 pounds and the process starts all over again.
Carson Helicopters Inc. of Pennsylvania is removing the logs for free in exchange for the right to sell the timber, said Suzanne C. Baird, the refuge's manager. International Paper also is playing a role in the restoration. Using seed harvested from the refuge, the company is growing seedlings at a nursery in Georgia that will be planted in the refuge, Poovey said.
It will take decades for trees to grow enough to make the swamp look like it did before Isabel, Poovey said, because many of the toppled trees were 60 to 80 years old.
* __
On the Net:
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/
Carson Helicopters: http://www.carsonhelicopters.com