Moose Mountains Regional Greenways
Box 191, Union, NH 03887
603-473-2020
info@mmrg.info
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 10/31/2018
Forestry Workshops with Charlie Moreno:
Logging was Showcased; ‘Forest to Workbench’ Next
On a Friday afternoon in late October, Branch Hill Farm (BHF) and Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (MMRG) welcomed sixteen participants to a Logging Showcase workshop on Branch Hill Farm’s 500-acre sustainably managed Salmon Falls Woodland in Milton Mills, NH. People came from as far away as Boston, Durham, and Alton for this unique opportunity to learn about four different methods of timber harvesting, with on-site demonstrations of each discussed by consulting forester Charlie Moreno.
Owner and manager of Branch Hill Farm Cynthia Wyatt welcomed the group and described the guiding principles behind BHF’s forest management. “The type of demonstration harvesting implemented on these conserved forestlands, under consulting forester Charlie Moreno’s direction, fulfills our goal to sustainably manage these forests. For the trustees of our family lands, it is not just about the income; it’s more about ensuring that there is a healthy variety of species and ages restored to an historically overcut forest.”
Moreno, who manages over 30,000 acres of forests, including BHF’s Salmon Falls Woodland, presented a map of the 500-acre forest, color-coded to show locations within the forest for most appropriate use of each of the four different harvesting techniques: cut to length; bio-mass; conventional logging and micro-harvesting. Moreno explained, “My job is to carry out the vision of the landowner and hire the best crew with harvesting techniques suited to the harvest. You will see my blue paint on all the trees to be taken. Some are saw logs and some are low quality trees that need to be weeded out. The crew of Wm. Day & Sons, Inc. are able to perform both cut-to-length and biomass techniques with efficient state-of-the-art computerized logging equipment. Their crew has the expertise to sort and process the logs for the highest value, whether as saw logs, pulpwood, chips, or firewood. Independent logger Larry Hersom specializes in fine tuning or micro harvesting and timber stand improvement with a small skidder and custom outfitted 4-wheeled vehicle.”
At the end of the workshop, attendee Chris Bancroft commented, “This was a great opportunity that Charlie and Cynthia had pulled together. It is not often that you see all of the varieties of logging methodologies in one place, and are able to walk through each of them, discussing the strengths of each. It was a very informative session, and I will be able to apply it to the management of our own wood lot in Wakefield.”
MMRG and Branch Hill Farm are following up with a second forestry workshop, ‘Wood: From Forest to Workbench,’ of interest to woodworkers and wood enthusiasts, to take place on Sunday, November 4, from 9 am to noon in BHF’s Branch River West forest in Milton. Moreno’s goal is to make the connection between the wood that woodworkers love to use for woodworking and the forests it comes from. He’ll show the high quality timber that can come from the mixed-age Branch River West forest and will talk about the products and values that come from trees, the common tree species and their wood qualities for use in different projects, and the process of milling and drying your own wood.
The upcoming workshop is free and open to the public but pre-registration is required. For more information, directions, and to register, contact MMRG’s Education Coordinator Kari Lygren at (603) 978-7125 or email info@mmrg.info. Please do not bring pets to this event.
MMRG, a non-profit land trust, works to conserve and connect important water resources, farm and forest lands, wildlife habitats, and recreational land in Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Wakefield, and Wolfeboro. Throughout the year, MMRG offers many educational opportunities to inform all ages about the benefits of our region’s natural resources. For more information and a calendar of upcoming events, visit www.mmrg.info. Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust works to protect open space and working forests and to educate the public about sound forestry, conservation and agricultural practices; see www.branchillfarm.org.
Forester Charlie Moreno gets input from William A Day Jr, and Sons, Inc. logger (Photo – Kari Lygren)
Logger Larry Hersom explains conventional and ‘micro’ harvesting (Photo – Kari Lygren)
Charlie M explaining equipment used for biomass harvesting (Photo – Kari Lygren)
Forester Charlie Moreno explaines the operation of a forwarder (Photo – Kari Lygren).
