Glens Falls City board approves timber sale, moves forward with 15-year watershed forest management inventory

The Glens Falls City Water and Sewer Board on Aug. 4 approved a timber sale and moved to begin a two-year timber inventory and 15-year forest management plan for the city watershed.

The timber sale — listed in meeting materials as Sale No. 83-2025 with F and W Forestry to mark and put the cut out to bid — was approved by voice vote. Tom Dillon of F and W Forestry told the board the marked timber includes substantial volumes of dead and dying oak from a spongy moth infestation and some large-diameter white pine ready for salvage. “This proposal is for a timber inventory and a 15 year management plan,” Dillon said, describing the inventory plots and the firm’s intent to calibrate harvests to sustainable growth rates.

Board members said the harvest program aims to balance forest health and revenue. Dillon described a two-year approach to the inventory and plan: initial mapping and roughly one-third of about 350 inventory plots in the first season, followed by completion of the inventory and the written plan by about June 30 of the second year. The firm proposed a total fee of $15,000 split into $5,500 payable this fall and $9,500 at plan completion.

Proponents said the plan will produce an estimated 15-year cash-flow projection and a statutorily repeatable harvest schedule so annual cuts do not exceed forest growth. The presentation noted past pests, invasive species and small fires on the property, and said the plan would document forest health, boundary lines and invasives and make recommendations for erosion controls and culverts where needed.

Board members asked how a 15-year plan would be used over time; Dillon said the inventory would be re-done after 15 years to account for growth, mortality and new pests or market shifts. The board discussed the value of having an up-to-date, documented inventory to support future decisions about timber sales, boundary management and possible external proposals (for example, carbon-offset or habitat projects).

The board also approved putting the current marked timber onto the market for bids, citing a mix of salvage timber and mature pine that could lose value if not removed. The motion to proceed with the timber sale carried by voice vote.

The board chair said staff will try to include the $5,500 in this year’s project budget and return with a formal resolution next month to authorize the full two-year engagement.

Ending: City staff will prepare the resolution and a proposed budget entry for the management-plan work at the next meeting; the board will also receive the timber-sale bid documents when they are prepared and returned for award.