Partnerships in Action: Forest Regeneration Strategies at Ashokan
Written by: Meredith Taylor, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Invasive Species and Restoration Supervisor
On Wednesday, June 11th, DEP and the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership hosted an event at the Ashokan Station Trailhead of the Ashokan Rail Trail in Shokan, NY to celebrate New York’s 12th annual Invasive Species Awareness Week and share information on the challenges to forest regeneration in the Ashokan basin related to invasive species and high deer densities. The event featured presentations on projects designed to restore a diversity of tree species to the canopy.
The first stop was an area just east of the trailhead. John Thompson of the Catskill Center pointed toward a sea of hundreds of caged tree seedlings and discussed their work with DEP to restore an area that was hard-hit by the emerald ash borer in the early 2010s. Volunteers with the Catskill Center learn about the invasive shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants that appeared when the ash trees were lost and the native trees they are planting to replace them.
The next stop was a large deer exclusion fence a half mile down Plank Rd. where Chris Zimmerman of The Nature Conservancy discussed their work with DEP to assess tree seedlings and saplings that emerged within the fence and outside of it. Participants saw tree species like oak, tulip poplar, and maple within the fence that would be nipped off immediately by deer outside. They also took note of the reduced cover of many invasive plants. Without the deer’s preference for eating native plants over the invasive plants, many invasives were greatly reduced since the fence went in.
Beyond the deer fence, DEP Ashokan Forester, Tom Foulkrod, took the participants to see the early stages of a planned project that will pile woody materials into a pile 20 feet wide to fence in a four-acre area. This method of deer exclusion is called a slash wall and will be a demonstration of the technique for the region in partnership with Cornell University. Tom pointed out trees marked with blue paint were chosen to be part of this “time-lapse” fence that will degrade as the trees it is designed to protect reach a height safe from deer browse.
Once back to the trailhead, the last stop of the tour was an update on the newly emerging invasive forest pest, beech leaf disease, from DEP Restoration Planting Specialist, Shannon Jenkins. Shannon explained that there are still a lot of unknowns about this disease, but there are no large-scale treatment options. Beech trees are already dying quickly within the watershed so DEP is working with a coalition of other organizations to implement and study the success of a quick and easy, small-scale deer fence that can protect the other species in the understory.
Participants left the event with a greater understanding of the critical role deer, invasive forest pests, and invasive plants play in shaping our future forest. We face many challenges in maintaining a healthy and diverse forest canopy, but through research, partnerships, and demonstrations of innovative techniques, we can ensure that the forests are there to support our needs, like clean water, for the next century.