Supporting Forest Stewardship in the Frederick City Watershed

posted in: News | 0

Since May of 2020, WMRC&D has partnered with the Maryland Forest Service to provide the services of natural
resources technicians to support the implementation of the Forest Stewardship Plan for the Frederick City
Watershed (FCW), including forest stand data collection, invasive species treatments, recreational trail
maintenance, habitat and resource improvement projects, and wildland fire suppression/prescribed fire
assistance. The FCW contains over 7,000 acres of forest land in western Frederick County. These positions
have been instrumental in keeping the 2020 Forest Stewardship Plan on track during 2020. The following list
highlights their major accomplishments in 2020:

 

  • Completed all field data collection for the 2020 Forest Stewardship Plan.
  • Conducted Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) on approximately 12 acres.
  • Strengthened 2 miles of prescribed fire control line.
  • Opened, snagged, and strengthened 2.5 miles of access to the southern area of the Watershed.
  • Painted just over 13 miles of boundary, including all boundary north of Hamburg Road.
  • Assisted with the development of prescribed fire burn plan for stand 1.16.

 

The 1st photo depicts the forest structure of a stand in the FCW before any chainsaw work was completed. The objective for this stand was to increase regeneration and establishment of mixed oak and pitch pine by removing as much competition from species such as red maple, black birch, and black gum.

 

Countless hours of chainsaw work by WMRC&D personnel have effectively freed the oak and pine regeneration from competition..