To the Editor:
Thirty years ago, I moved out to the end of Skiffs Lane in West Tisbury, bordering the State Forest. I remember asking then Superintendent Jon Vakonda what his plans were for a grove of white pine trees that I enjoyed walking in. He said that their only purpose was as a forestry resource, to be harvested as timber. At that time, swaths of scrub oaks were being harrowed to create firebreaks in order to protect the residential neighborhoods along Old County Road, not for any particular ecological purpose but for fire suppression. Over time, they have naturalized into native meadows resembling rare sandplain habitat, originally created by frequent fires. The white pine plantations have matured into forests well acclimated within their native range. Ironically, the management policy of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has changed over from forestry management to habitat restoration and recreation.
On a hot summer day, I still enjoy walking into one of these groves, over a soft bed of pine needles into the cool shade of the colonnade of dark, massive tree trunks. Unobstructed by undergrowth, silent and majestic, in no way foreign or invasive. As far as fire danger is concerned, if a fast-moving brush fire spreads toward a mature white pine forest, there is very little undergrowth to catch fire, and no branches near the ground, only thick trunks spread widely apart.
It seems to me that the limited resources of the DCR should be focused on managing the rare sandplain habitat, including controlled burns and tree thinning. There should be an official mechanism for community involvement in determining policy decisions. Please don’t butcher these lovely groves.
Robert Macgregor
West Tisbury
