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UID:322@northcountylandtrust.org
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220122T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220122T120000
DTSTAMP:20220106T173648Z
URL:https://northcountylandtrust.org/events/forestry-walk-flat-rock/
SUMMARY:Forestry Walk - Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary
DESCRIPTION:You're invited to a free public site walk for the project\, hos
 ted by Mass Audubon\, North County Land Trust (NCLT)\, and the Worcester C
 ounty Conservation District (WCCD)\, on Saturday\, January 22 at 10 am at 
 Crocker Conservation Area.  In addition to visiting the heathland site\, 
 the walk will pass through a portion of NCLT’s Crocker Conservation Area
 \, where a timber harvest was completed in 2012. NCLT will talk about the 
 goals around the cut and the benefits that they’ve seen from careful for
 estry.\n\nBelow is Mass Audubon's Press Release on the project:\n\n2022 Pi
 tch Pine Heathland Restoration Project - Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary\n\nM
 ass Audubon is planning to conduct forest cutting activities at the Flat R
 ock Wildlife Sanctuary in Fitchburg in early 2022 to support the persisten
 ce of the sanctuary’s distinctive ridgetop pitch pine heathland. The pro
 ject will remove red maple\, white pine\, and other competing tree species
  from 20 acres of the approximately 40-acre heathland community while reta
 ining oaks and pitch pine\, resulting in an open woodland structure. Loggi
 ng debris will be chipped and removed from the site to decrease fuel loads
  for wildfire.\n\nActive forest management on a Mass Audubon wildlife sanc
 tuary may come as a surprise to many\, as we manage most of our forested a
 cres more passively\, such as for carbon sequestration and other benefits 
 of mature/maturing forest. However\, in this case\, forest succession thre
 atens to degrade an unusual and vulnerable ridgetop heathland community\, 
 and an active approach can improve the habitat’s ability to support popu
 lations of uncommon birds\, butterflies\, and other wildlife.\n\nClimate c
 hange is an important consideration for this project. The site\, a ridgeto
 p with shallow soils\, is susceptible to drought\, and climate projections
  indicate that droughts will become both more frequent and intense in the 
 coming decades. Dry conditions increase the site’s vulnerability to fire
 . Reducing fuel loads on the site will enable periodic\, controlled\, low-
 intensity burns in the future to prevent a major fire episode that could e
 ndanger the surrounding mature forest or nearby neighborhoods.\n\nWork is 
 anticipated to take approximately three weeks and will involve temporary d
 isruption of access along the sanctuary’s Flat Rock Road Path and other 
 nearby trails along the Flat Rock ridgeline.\n\nThe project is being plann
 ed in coordination with a Massachusetts-licensed consulting forester\, fol
 lowing Best Management Practices as mandated by the Massachusetts Forest C
 utting Practices Act. The project is funded in part through the MassWildli
 fe Habitat Management Grant Program\, and project planning has benefitted 
 from guidance provided by MassWildlife staff and other experts.\n\nIf you 
 have any questions about the proposed heathland management project\, conta
 ct Senior Conservation Ecologist Tom Lautzenheiser at tlautzenheiser@massa
 udubon.org.\n\nMass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organ
 ization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the pr
 otection of birds\, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on th
 e greatest challenges facing the environment today: the loss of biodiversi
 ty\, inequitable access to nature\, and climate change.\n\nWith the help o
 f our 140\,000 members and supporters\, we protect wildlife\, conserve and
  restore resilient land\, advocate for impactful environmental policies\, 
 offer nationally recognized education programs for adults and children\, a
 nd provide endless opportunities to experience the outdoors at our wildlif
 e sanctuaries. Explore\, find inspiration\, and take action at massaudubon
 .org.
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://northcountylandtrust.org/wp-content/uplo
 ads/2022/01/trail-map-flat-rock.png
CATEGORIES:Conservation Walks,Education
LOCATION:Crocker Conservation Area\, 215 Flat Rock Rd\, Fitchburg\, MA\, Un
 ited States
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=215 Flat Rock Rd\, Fitchbur
 g\, MA\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Crocker Conservation Are
 a:geo:0,0
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