Loring forest management plan seen as model

LIMESTONE – A plan to manage the forests at the Loring Commerce Centre has the potential to become a state model for the concept of community forestry, a new idea being developed in some parts of the state.

The Loring Development Authority of Maine, which controls the center’s forests, plans to work with the Maine Forest Service to develop a plan for a sustainable urban forest that can be used in other areas where industry meets the trees.

“It’s forest management right up to the streets,” LDA President Brian N. Hamel said Friday. “Trees on the corner are just as important as trees in the forest.”

The concept of community forestry is acknowledged as a means to establish environmentally friendly developments with a focus on the benefits of trees. It’s also a vehicle for increasing residents’ awareness as to how trees and small forests are an integral part of the community.

The commerce center has an estimated 600 to 900 acres of forest included on the 3,600 acres controlled by the LDA. According to Hamel, the forests have not been managed for 20 years.

The LDA applied for a state grant to hire a forester this year to manage the forests, but was unsuccessful. The LDA and the forest service, however, are working on an agreement whereby state officials would provide 450 man-hours to help the reuse agency develop a management plan.

The plan would consider how a forest can be managed and be part of an urban industry development.

“You just don’t go in to cut every tree down to create a business park,” said Hamel.

The management plan also would provide a harvest schedule that would yield revenue for the LDA, according to Hamel. The plots are in need of systematic thinning to allow the younger, smaller trees to mature.

“You’re not going to see clear-cutting of Loring to create development lots,” said Hamel.

Another part of the agreement is to develop local expertise in community forestry and educate residents about the benefits of trees in the community.

According to Hamel, the LDA plans to hire a forester to help manage the forests on the commerce center.

The composition of the forest will be inventoried as part of the 14-month partnership between the Maine Forest Service and the LDA.

If nothing is done to manage the resources, a possibility exists that the forest could die, according to the LDA executive.

“The smaller trees are not allowed to grow,” Hamel said.