Vermont officials plan to harvest several types of timber at the Sandbar Wildlife Management Area in Milton in an effort to restore a rare natural sandplain forest.
The harvest will remove red pine and non-native Japanese larch and black locust trees, the latter of which is very invasive, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife said in a press release. That will help restore the area’s native pitch pine and oak habitat, the agency said, benefiting local wildlife and many plant species.
Sandplain forests are becoming increasingly rare in Vermont, and the Sandbar Wildlife Management Area has one of the largest remaining examples of one in the state, Chris Herrick, the fish and wildlife commissioner, said in the press release.
“Sandplain forests have been lost primarily to development, and there are only a few examples left of this size in Chittenden County,” Herrick said.
According to the Lake Champlain Land Trust, sandplains are easy to build on because they’re flat and drain quickly. The organization has estimated only 500 acres of sandplain forests remain today in pockets that are surrounded by development.
John Gobeille, a state wildlife biologist, said in the release the forest restoration is expected to lead to regrowth where deer can browse and to new feeding areas for wild turkeys.
New shrub development could create nesting areas for songbirds such as indigo bunting and eastern towhee, he said, and forest raptors would benefit from new hunting areas.
After the logging has been finished, officials plan to conduct a prescribed burn of red pine plantations to help establish the pitch pine and oak.
“There should be a very good response by wildlife once the project is completed,” Gobeille said.
The Sandbar Wildlife Management Area borders Lake Champlain at the mouth of the Lamoille River. Route 2 runs through the middle, connecting Milton and South Hero.
Most of the management area’s 1,560 acres are a wildlife refuge with no public access, though an inland portion is publicly accessible.
