The state’s plan to cut nearly 175 acres of pine plantations in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest was presented in a small meeting room at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission offices on Wednesday morning, with many Islanders showing up to reiterate their opposition and to call for a pause on the project to allow for further discussion.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) began considering the restoration plan some two decades ago, and it is now slated to begin the actual cutting in the fall of 2025, which is estimated to cost as much as $1 million.
Some locals feel this plan has moved forward too quickly, and that the state didn’t advertise the project well enough, with many speaking out against the project over the past few months in the form of social media posts, change.org campaigns, and letters.
The meeting on Wednesday was attended by DCR representatives primarily remotely, along with the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest Task Force, a group with representatives from local conservation groups, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, and fire department chiefs. About 20 Islanders participated.
Vineyarders who spoke Wednesday reiterated calls for more time for public comment, and some in favor of halting the project completely, citing concerns regarding carbon loss from tree cutting, and what some have deemed a misrepresentation of fire risk due to the heightened flammability of scrub oak, which will require future management from DCR.
DCR representatives also announced that a public comment period will be reopened online, which can be accessed at mass.gov/forms/dcr-public-comments, and will be closed on March 26.
Background
Manuel Correllus comprises more than 5,200 acres of state-owned forest, sandplain, native, and non-native habitat. According to DCR, the current plantations of white pines, red pines, Scotch pine, and white spruce in the forest were likely planted around the year 1914, as part of an effort to participate in the international lumber industry.
Some of these species of trees, including white pines, could have existed hundreds, or even thousands of years ago, according to a report by former Harvard Forest Director David Foster and ecologist Glenn Motzkin, but according to DCR, the State Forest currently houses only the relatively new plantations.
Sandplain barren habitats promote a variety of state and federally recognized rare species. They are globally rare, and require the specific type of sandy soil that is abundant in the State Forest. They also require long-term, consistent maintenance. According to DCR’s representatives, the State Forest contains one of the top five sandplain environments in the state of Massachusetts.
In 2001, DCR expanded the fire lanes in the State Forest, and disrupted the habitat of an endangered moth. As a result, the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program issued a mitigation plan to DCR that stated they were to restore one acre for every one disturbed in the State Forest to precolonial forest habitat.
Twenty years later, in 2022, DCR moved forward with plans for the cutting, and an official public comment period was opened and closed without any Islander comments. The project was then halted during a statewide forestry pause, which ended in 2024.
During that pause, the plan was evaluated by the Climate Solutions Initiative and the Climate Forestry Committee, which found that the project aligned with these climate reports, according to DCR. In 2024, the cutting plan of white pines was brought to public attention during a walk of the State Forest in November, conducted by DCR forester Paul Gregory.
Cutting plan
On Wednesday, DCR discussed the project in more detail, which included beginning with a total of 79 acres, eventually leading up to the total of 175 acres of the forest.
The initial 79 acres will be cut in four, three-acre increments as “research plots,” according to Gregory, who presented the plan. When asked if the cut locations would be researched for a period of time before more of the plantation would be restored, he said both would be done at the same time, in an effort to make the project more cost-effective.
There would not be time for long-term research on these areas before the projects’ conclusion, he said. The efficacy of the projects will be evaluated afterward, not at the beginning, as many Islanders have called for.
The projected cost of each acre of restoration work is between $3,000 and $6,000, not taking into account the possibility of lumber transport off-Island. DCR representative Aaron (“A.J.”) Tourigney stated they are looking at next year’s budget for this project. He said that they intend to avoid federal funding and rely primarily on the state, and they would yield no profit from the work done.
Work would be conducted between November and April this year; locations under maintenance will be closed to the public.
Wildfire risk
Outside of restoration, DCR expects that the project will help mitigate wildfire risk. As the largest forest on the Island, and close to many buildings, including public schools and homes, a fire in the forest would be devastating to locals, and poses a very real threat, according to local fire chiefs.
In the wake of wildfires across the U.S., and the notable increase due to climate change, droughts, underprotected homes, and unmanaged natural habitats, fire risk is not a question of “if” for some, but “when.”
DCR’s chief fire warden, Dave Celino, said he’s concerned with multiple locations around Massachusetts for increased wildfire risk. “I’d like to say that it’s low-frequency, folks, but we’re looking at the areas that nobody ever thought would burn,” he said, referring to wildfires in Maui and California.
DCR representatives warned the public that the sandy, dry soil that makes up the State Forest and the brush on the ground make the forest more flammable than some might think.
Celino stated white pines pose a fire risk because of their height and ability to spread embers more easily. While they are more likely to catch fire, Celino said, scrub oaks — which would not be taken down during the project — are also easier to extinguish if they do catch fire.
Edgartown Fire Chief Alex Schaeffer said he’s concerned about the lack of resources on the Island in the event of a large-scale fire. If there was another plan to mitigate fire risk, he said, he’d be looking at that too — but as of now, this is the only one.
Schaeffer said he’s in favor of thinning white pine plantations because it opens the door for prescribed fire treatments in the area going forward — which will decrease chances for a wildfire. He said the risk lies in a lack of management, and he’s looking to minimize the possibility of a wildfire that could spread to surrounding homes in the State Forest area, and he advocates for hands-on efforts in the future.
Some present at the meeting brought up concern that other fire mitigation options weren’t on the table. West Tisbury farmer Andrew Woodruff said he’s also worried about a fire in the State Forest, but that doesn’t mean he’s on board with DCR’s plan. He called for more discussion and a broader innovation of less invasive options.
Foster agreed, and said there are studies — in particular a report called “The Modern and Historic Fire Regimes of Central Martha’s Vineyard,” by Adam Mouw — that show white pines to be a particularly positive addition to forests, and a natural way of reducing fire risk. Removing trees that are “fire-tolerant” and introducing more flammable materials instead seems like a risk to him.
Carbon
Many locals brought up concerns about the carbon implications of cutting the white pines. With climate change, some have pointed out that it is counterintuitive to remove trees, which are natural carbon sinks. Environmentalists also worry that a sandplain environment would not produce the same carbon benefits to the local ecosystem as white pine trees would over time.
DCR and local researchers are currently conducting studies into the carbon capacities of biochar — which is charred wood that releases carbon into the soil. Biochar has a thousand-year carbon life, and they’re hoping to create more of it. Prescribed fire management over time would create conditions that allow for more of this research on a grander scale.
“The goal here is oak woodland, not sandplain grassland … we’re hearing this a lot, and I just wanted to set the record straight,” senior restoration ecologist for MassWildlife Chris Beulow said.
But residents pushed back.
“There’s no management plan to get to oak woodland after the clearing,” said Tisbury resident Ben Robinson, a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
DCR representatives said they believe the risk of carbon being released potentially “all at once” in the case of a wildfire is more of a concern than the carbon lost from cutting down white pines.
Robinson countered their statement, calling it “sensational.” Even a large fire, he said, wouldn’t remove all the carbon in the State Forest. “What math has DCR done to come out with the statement that [this project] balances out carbon?”
DCR forest biometrician William VanDoren said there are reports about carbon that DCR is reviewing at the moment, but will release to the public shortly. Concerns about how much time locals will have to review these documents before the comment period ended went unanswered.
“There’s not as much carbon in the aboveground, live tree components in general, but because of the more open nature of the overstory, there’s more carbon in the understory plants, and there’s typically tremendous carbon stores in the mineral-rich soil,” VanDoren clarified. The carbon in the forest that will go into the atmosphere as a result of the project has yet to be publicized in a report.
Next steps
The cutting plan will be submitted to the Edgartown conservation commission for review over the coming weeks. If the commission approves the project, the state would go out to bid.
The restoration work that’s being proposed would require regular maintenance. DCR staff said they have approved the appointment of a full-time staff member, a park manager, who will work alongside Forest Superintendent Conor Laffey in an effort to bolster day-to-day operations.
Ongoing work would include prescribed burns every five to 10 years, according to DCR. As they stated, the sandplain environments cannot sustain themselves without human intervention, and will need a dutiful presence.
