.Subcommittee - Forestry

Oak Hemlock at Rines Forest

Cumberland's Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee (FS) of the Lands and Conservation Commission (LCC) makes recommendations to the LCC on all matters pertaining to the use, preservation, management and maintenance of the Town forests and other natural resources.  Town forests now total 975 acres consisting of four large properties and eight smaller ones.  The large forests are: Rines  (272 acres), Knights Pond (203 acres), Twin Brook (129 acres) and Town Forest (109 acres).

The principal duties of the FS are to develop and execute forest management plans for each of the four large properties, ensure conservation and sustainability of the forests, mitigate invasive species, identify wildlife habitat and, lastly, create  programs to promote public awareness and appreciation of the forests.

To supports its work, the FS has retained Paul Larrivee, Licensed Maine Forester.

The FS has established a set of Guiding Principles to inform its work.  These were approved by the Town Council in December 2020.  Some key features of the Guiding Principles are:

  • Protect the special ecological features intrinsic to each forest.  For example, the Knights Pond forest has one of the few shagbark hickory/oak stands in Maine.  It is managed as a preservation area of about 14 acres, in which silviculture will be limited to occasional thinning to release the hickory from competition.
  • Conduct all timber harvests to  high silvicultural standards consistent with those established by the Forestry Stewardship Council.  Such harvests will be renewable, meaning any timber renewals will be replaced within 10 years through natural regrowth.
  • Ensure that all harvests minimize impacts to soil, water and fish and wildlife.  For example, the FS has established a no-cut buffer of 100 feet around Knights Pond to eliminate soil erosion into the pond.
  • Make reasonable effort to control invasive species.  For example, following the advice of our Forester and the Maine Forest Service, in the winter of 2021 we brush hogged several acres of buckthorn and other invasives in the mid-section of the Town Forest.  Any and all trees and saplings were retained for regrowth.  To many, this procedure looked like a clear cut, but the trees per acre that withstood the invasives had evolved to very small numbers.  The plan in the coming years is to replant spruces and other native species that can tolerate the relatively wet soils in this part of the forest.
  • Lastly, the FS reviews new proposals that come forward under Cumberland's new Conservation Subdivision ordinance.  This ordinance requires that 50 percent of the net residential acreage is set aside as open space in perpetuity.  Much of this space will likely be forested and the FS works with the developer to establish management plans consistent with the Guiding Principles.