Lipstick on clear-cutting pig?

To the Editor:

In a story in the July 17 MV Times (“State agency approves State Forest cutting plan”), I was quoted as stating that the idea that timber can be harvested from the clear-cut of white pines at the State Forest through local efforts “sounds like a PR stunt to soften the blow of the clear-cut by putting ‘local use’ lipstick on this clear-cut pig.” It’s true; I did say exactly that. 

Some readers might wonder: Why such harsh language? “Lipstick on a pig”?

I’ll explain. 

At 10 am on the morning of June 23, a meet-up was convened at Fire Lane 12 in the State Forest by Dan Doyle, a planner with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), which was attended by two state Department of Conservation and Recreation foresters, a group of Island builders and part-time loggers and sawyers (the Island’s “lumber industry”), and other interested parties. The meeting’s goal was for the DCR foresters to assess the ability of Island sawyers and builders to take up some of the timber that will be produced by felling all of the Eastern white pines. 

It soon became obvious that the DCR foresters had zero concept of the situation on the Island regarding the logistics of actually transforming trees into timber, and getting them into a form usable by the Vineyard’s “lumber industry.” The DCR forester Paul Gregory envisioned the following scenario: Before any trees were cut down, he would mark the trees usable for timber. Contractors could write contracts with purchasers for a number of trees. Then, after all the trees had been cut down, the contractors would pile all of the marked trees in a special place, where the “lumber industry” could come and get them and take them away. Easy-peasy!

But this is not such a simple proposition! Gregory didn’t seem to know anything about the lumber industry, whether on- or off-Island. There are quite a few ancillary challenges and costs, such as prepping the tree trunks for the sawmill; transporting, drying, storing, and inspecting them; insurance; and more. The DCR foresters seemed to think that the Islanders would make these arrangements and foot these bills. The Island group made it clear that using this timber was not an economic proposition for them, but rather that using some locally grown timber on the Island and avoiding the total waste of all the felled trees was the right thing to do. One man said, “Basically, no one wants this timber.” By now I am thinking, The Islanders are doing the DCR a favor by helping it avoid the appearance of total destruction and waste. Also, using some trees as timber reduces, slightly, the volume of wood to be turned into 2,613 tons of chips (DCR estimate) and transported off-Island. I now spoke up and said that the state should cover all operational costs incurred to save and use some timber on the Island. The “lumber industry” agreed with me. 

Eventually the group moved out of the hot sun and into the forest in order to look at some of the trees. It was shady and cool, and occasional birdsong floated to our ears. Looking around, Island resident Jon Previant, who has experience in both logging and building, said that he could see many trees that would be perfect for building log structures — houses, or bus shelters, or other uses of public benefit. Could they be extracted sustainably from the forest on a slower time frame? Here on the Island, Bruce Marshard has a team of draft horses, with which he has done exactly this type of extraction in the State Forest and elsewhere on the Island.

Paul Gregory’s answer: No. Correllus is a forest reserve, which means that no timber can be extracted from it. Furthermore, the faster the forest is clear-cut, the cheaper it is for the DCR.

So have I got this right? Extracting timber (sustainably) from a forest reserve is disallowed. But marking the trees to be used as timber, signing a contract with a subcontractor to purchase the trees, cutting down all the white pines in the forest reserve, and piling up the marked and contracted-for trees in one place, to be picked up by the purchaser, is A-OK. This is not “extracting timber” from the forest reserve. Sounds to me like “The DCR in Wonderland”! Pass the hookah!

The focus on timber to be won from the destroyed white pine forests in Correllus is a diversion from the conversation that is actually needed: What are the true costs, on every level, of obliterating healthy, maturing white pine forests that require minimal inputs and provide significant recreation to many in favor of installing a habitat that will require expensive coddling in perpetuity, and will offer recreation only for a few insectophiles? 

As for transporting the 2,613 tons of chips, Google’s AI estimates that this would require 88 chip trailers, 110 large trailers, 187 large dump trucks, or 349 smaller dump trucks. The AI didn’t hint at how long it would take to get ferry reservations for the trucks.

Readers who wish to comment on the clear-cutting plan or the status of Correllus as a forest reserve can contact Jessie Leddick (signatory of the letter approving the cutting plan) at the Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program: jessie.leddick@mass.gov, 508-389-6386. 

Katherine Scott

Tisbury