pawtuckaway timber harvest
January 2020 Update
The timbersale at Pawtuckaway State Park has been completed. During the spring, some log yard close out work will occur, during which time some equipment will be active within the park area. We appreciate your cooperation and patience as the timbersale was occurring.
September 16, 2019 Update
The Red Pine salvage job has resumed in Pawtuckaway State Park and will continue for the next several weeks. The logging crew is currently working off of Tower Road. and they will be crossing the road in one area. When entering the park on Reservation Road, please be aware of the increased log truck activity on the road and yield the right of way to log trucks on the dirt road.
March 13, 2019 Update
The timber harvest on Round Pond Road has been completed for this winter. Round Pond Road and the surrounding trails are open for hiking and recreation. This spring there will be some equipment working on closing out the log yards using Best Management Practices. Please be considerate if you see working equipment and give them plenty of space to work safely. The timber harvest will continue next winter when conditions are right, in order to complete the red pine sanitation harvest.
December 5, 2018 Update
The Red Pine salvage job has started in Pawtuckaway State Park and will continue for the next several weeks. The logging crew is currently working off of Round Pond Road. Due to the proximity of harvesting equipment to the road, and a heavy presence of log trucks, Round Pond Road has been closed to vehicle and foot traffic for your protection. If you wish to hike one of the mountains, please use either No. Mountain Trail, or Tower Road. When entering the park on Reservation Road, please be aware of the increased log truck activity on the road and yield the right of way to log trucks on the dirt road. In the future, Tower road will be temporarily closed as an area of red pine is salvaged from that area of the park. Please check for updates on road closures.
Finished areas of the timber sale have white pine or hardwood species left to grow where possible. After the project is over, the forest should have good regeneration of young trees due to the large increase in sunlight reaching the forest floor to encourage growth.
On the log yard, the logging crew processes the trees, cutting out different products such as logs, pulp wood and firewood, and they utilize the tops for whole tree chips which are used for renewable power generation.
Round Pond road has been closed to vehicle and foot traffic. For your safety, please heed the signs and use other trails to access the mountains, fire tower or Boulder Field for hiking.
The feller buncher cuts the red pine or other trees species that have been marked by state foresters, and lays them in hitches for the skidder to pull out to the log yard.
Red pine trees infected with red pine scale that are marked to be cut. Presence of the scale will first cause dieback of the live branches of the tree, eventually resulting in mortality.
Sanitation Timber Harvest Planned at Pawtuckaway State Park
The New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands will be harvesting several red pine plantations on 208 acres of Pawtuckaway State Park. This will be a sanitation harvest to remove trees that are infested with red pine scale, an exotic insect that has caused swift decline and mortality in red pine stands throughout RI, CT and MA. The first documented case in New Hampshire occurred in 2012 at Bear Brook State Park and the Division of Forests and Lands implemented a similar harvest in an attempt to minimize the spread of this devastating insect, and to provide a safe environment for park visitors. For more information please visit click here.
Harvesting at Pawtuckaway State Park is expected to begin in the winter of 2018 and will be concentrated in red pine stands along Reservation Road, Round Pond Road and Tower Road.
For additional information regarding red pine scale or if you have a red pine stand that you suspect may be infected contact Forest Health Program Coordinator Kyle Lombard at (603) 464-3016.
For additional information regarding the sanitation harvest at Bear Brook contact Regional Forester Scott Rolfe at (603) 227-8741.
