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City warns of invasive red pine scale; Parks & Recreation proposes pilot harvest and restoration work
Summary
Keene parks staff and forestry experts warned the Municipal Services committee that red pine scale — identified nearby — threatens red pine stands in several city parks; staff proposed an FY26 pilot harvest, educational workshops and replanting strategies to increase biodiversity.
Cara Fitzkenesi, director of Parks & Recreation, joined by Bill Davidson (New Hampshire Forest Health Program) and Joe Savage (UNH Cooperative Extension), presented evidence that an invasive pest known as red pine scale has been detected near Keene and poses a high risk to red pine monocultures in city parks. Fitzkenesi said red pines planted after the 1938 hurricane are reaching the end of their natural lifespan (about 85 years) and that infected stands historically have not recovered.
Staff identified Wheelock Park and Dinsmore Woods as the most heavily red‑pine‑populated sites and proposed a limited FY26 pilot to harvest a tract of red pine for educational demonstration, use a portable mill to capture wood value, employ a forest mulcher to prepare soil and then replant using mixed native species or pocket‑forest designs such as hugelkultur to improve biodiversity and stormwater capture.
Experts told the committee that red pine scale can disperse roughly two miles in a year by wind and animals and that once symptoms appear in a stand, widespread mortality can develop within two to three years. Committee members thanked staff for the proactive approach; the presentation was accepted as informational and staff said workshops with UNH Cooperative Extension and the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands will be scheduled in January and March.
