Ulster town officials last week approved the issuance of a special timber harvest permit for a 26-acre property at 2150 Ulster Avenue in Lake Katrine.
Town Supervisor James E. Quigley, III said that after reviewing the comments made during a February 1 public hearing, he reached out to different organizations, including the New York State Forestry College at Cornell, and plans to report back on the pros and cons of forestry, as well as the responsibility of municipal governments when it comes to logging in their communities.
“We are researching the matter and we will be reporting back to our constituents as the information develops,” said Quigley during a town board meeting held on Thursday, February 15.
Deputy Supervisor Clayton Van Kleeck also expressed support for the harvest permit, submitted by siblings Valerie and Wayne Marquino, the owners of the property. Van Kleeck said he believed the timber harvest would be done responsibly and with care for the future of the property.
“A few of us have discussed it and feel comfortable and confident that the contractor that will be doing the work and the property owner have a long-term plan to keep that property as it is, and that this is more of a maintenance than it is an attempt to make it a sellable property,” Van Kleeck said. “It’s something of a wild area.”
Three vacation bungalows and one year-round residence on the property were demolished several years ago, with 2,000 pounds of asbestos remediated during their removal. The site is primarily covered by pine and hardwood trees.
The Marquinos plan to harvest 345 trees across 18 acres, roughly 20 percent of all the trees on the land. The species planned for removal include white pine, red and black oak and hemlock, and the trees have been marked by a certified harvester. The property has also received a determination from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
In a presentation made by the property owners during the February 1 public hearing, the benefits of selective logging include allowing sunlight to more completely penetrate the understory of trees, regenerating the forest faster while killing fungi they say has decimated some of the mature trees on the land. They added that the process promotes biodiversity of tree species, lowers the risk of a forest fire and encourages the remaining trees to naturally seed the area where trees are removed.
At the February 1 public hearing, Valerie Marquino said the timber harvest was important for the health of the land as well as their ability to keep and maintain it.
“The reason we’re looking to do the selective logging is to improve the health and sustainability of the forest and the intent is to use any funds we approve to continue to pay our taxes and the insurance on the property,” she said, adding that the property was first bought by their grandfather in the 1940’s.
Though the buildings were demolished several years ago, they hadn’t been occupied for around a decade previously.
“The property has been vacant since 2007 because the property deteriorated and we really didn’t build it up,” said Valerie Marquino. “So in 2017, the buildings were demolished and one of the property, all of that refuse was taken away and now the property is just covered by pine and hardwood trees.”
The Marquinos said they expected 21 truckloads of trees to exit the property at Old Stage Road and four at 9W.
““If the 9W north driveway is used, a flagman can be positioned there when the truck is leaving,” Wayne Marquino said.
Due to state regulations, logging cannot occur between April and November to protect bats. The plan is for five weeks of removal and longer for cutting during the four months where logging is allowed.
The public hearing yielded questions and comments with little in the way of opposition. Local resident Laura Hartmann said she would like town officials to require replanting after timber harvesting.
“I understand why you’re doing this and the good benefits to it, but we have asked in the past, this is not a new request for any projects where trees are brought down, that the town have a policy about replacing trees,” Hartmann said. “And I know that this will make money or bring in money and I understand why you’re also needing perhaps the money to pay the taxes. I’m not insensitive to that at all. But if there’s a portion of that money could go to replanting trees, I’m just going to put that out there and see if that’s possible.”
Victoria Lucarini said she would like assurances that timber harvesting projects took into consideration the impact on bird habitats.
“According to the research by the Cornell Lab of Orinthology and published in the Journal of Science, one in four birds in the United States and Canada have disappeared since 1970,” Lucarini said. “To put it another way, this is 2.9 billion birds. I said billion. Most of it due to habitat loss. This loss was recorded over 529 species…This loss demonstrates the human altered landscape has lost the ability to support bird life. We must do everything we can to protect and even restore habitats for bird, and we don’t. Can you imagine a world without birds and the consequences of that loss?”
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