To the Editor:
I was surprised to learn recently that the agency that regulates the State Forest is intending to push forward a plan to clear-cut 32 acres of the most mature white pine trees in the forest. The trees are considered non-native, and therefore not the right sort of tree for the Island. They intend to start this winter on the southeast corner of the forest, which is the area next to the parking lot on the West Tisbury–Edgartown Road, about two miles from the village of Edgartown. They would use heavy equipment to clear the area of all white pines, and in the process rip up the soil to create disturbance which favors the sprouting of pitch pines, which are considered native, and scrub oak.
This corner of the forest contains handsome white pines that are straight and tall, taller than most trees one encounters on Martha’s Vineyard. They obviously thrive in the soils here. There are several trails, apart from the fire lanes, running both east-west and north-south that are well-used by people seeking peace and serenity in a forest environment. During the stressful years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was quite noticeable that many more people were using these trails as a refuge where they could restore and maintain their physical and mental health. Some of them may have been using the forest for years and some probably were discovering the grandeur and diversity for the first time. It is also a refuge from the continuing march of development that has tarnished our former natural places to be. For many of us, removing the forest would be a painful loss, one that we would not see healed in our lifetimes.
I urge our elected and appointed officials to let the state Department of Conservation and Recreation know that we are opposed to this plan, and urge them to carry out their experiments on a smaller scale in scattered locations, over a longer period of time. This would enable their access to environmental data with less irretrievable impacts. The money that would be used for the clear-cutting would be better applied to this cautious approach.
James A. Athearn
Edgartown
