State Forest subject of state listening session

A heightened wildfire risk, not enough resources diverted for forest management, neglected bike paths, poor coordination prior to the cleanup of a homeless encampment: These are some of the complaints that have been aired publicly recently at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and its management of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

The complaints have landed on the desk of the Vineyard’s state lawmakers, who say that they have been persistent in bringing attention to the complaints on the Island.

“We need DCR to be an active and consistently engaged presence here on the Island, whether it relates to forest fire risk, unhoused individuals, or other issues,” state Senator Julian Cyr told The Times. “I think they have a spotty record at best, notwithstanding the efforts of one staffer here.”

In response to the circling complaints, state officials announced on Monday a highly anticipated “public listening session” to gather public feedback on the State Forest, a more than 5,000-acre conservation area in the middle of the Island.

The highest-ranking office in the DCR, Commissioner Brian Arrigo, is expected to be in attendance. The meeting is planned for Thursday, Oct. 10.

For some Island officials, the meeting has been a long time coming.

“We have tremendous habitat here, and a lot of species that thrive that are not necessarily in other parts of New England,” said Dan Doyle, a special projects planner at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. “This is a chance to remind them of that.”

But it’s also a chance to get some attention for needed work.

Doyle is part of a working group including state and local officials that is crafting a management plan for the forest. For Doyle, there are several issues that all filter down to the need for more resources and attention from the state; there is a superintendent who oversees the forest, but other than that, involvement from the state has been limited. 

“We have a fantastic superintendent, but he’s one guy, and the forest is 5,300 acres,” Doyle said.

The MVC planner said that fire risk is one of the more important issues on his radar. A report from the commission released in 2021 lists areas of the Vineyard — Edgartown, Chilmark, and West Tisbury — that are at especially extreme risk of wildfire. Doyle said that part of the increased fire risk is due to non-native trees that were planted in the State Forest as part of a timber industry in the 20th century. Combined with sandy and fast-draining soils, the forest is at an increased risk for wildfire — particularly concerning for residents who live just outside the State Forest. 

Christine Todd, chair of the Dukes County Commission, also notes that with climate change, there have been more and more invasive insects and other blights, which have hit trees within the forest particularly hard. When those trees ultimately fall down, if left unmanaged, the timber becomes fuel for wildfire. Todd said the state isn’t doing enough to remove the debris and mitigate those hazards.

“There are a lot of trees that have been killed off,” Todd said. “These trees just haven’t been removed.”

The county board this summer voiced their concerns about the management of the State Forest in a letter to the conservation department. Their complaints came on the heels of the state’s involvement in clearing a homeless encampment in the forest, which commissioners and other Island officials said took place without proper warning. While commissioners criticized the conservation department’s handling of the encampment clearing, they also pushed for more resources to be diverted to the Island. 

In particular, commissioners also emphasized the need for a full-time ranger living on-Island to address fire risks; and they requested that a ranger live in a dwelling currently sitting empty within the forest.

“We share DCR’s stated concern about the fire hazard in the State Forest,” the August 9 letter reads. “We have, in fact, advocated multiple times over many years to ask the state to leverage the existing housing/watch station in the forest by assigning a full-time person to live there and thereby regularly monitor for fires and to serve as the agency’s eyes and ears on the Island. We have never received so much as a response. In light of recent actions, we are asking again, and that DCR do so immediately.”

A bill at the State House that would allow a state employee to take up residency in the existing house has languished for years. Housing is not currently permitted in state forests, but the bill is an effort to make an exception for the Island.

Meanwhile, it isn’t only management of fire risk or coordinating efforts to remove homeless encampments in the forest; there are also concerns over proper maintenance of bike paths. Sections of an eight-mile stretch of a shared-use path on Barnes Road have not been repaved in several years, leading to disrepair, Doyle said.

Next week’s meeting is open to the public, and is expected to be attended by several stakeholders. 

“Everyone will come with their own concerns,” Doyle said. “Some issues come up here and there, but the long term management of the forest is what we care about.”

If you want to attend or submit a comment:

The listening session will be held from 5 to 6:30 pm at the Performing Arts Center at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. The department is also welcoming written feedback from the public; an online portal is open until Oct. 17.