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Residents urge committee to halt logging and redesignate preserve as natural area
Summary
Public commenters asked the Conservation Management Committee to stop planned timber harvest in the town preserve and to redesignate it a natural‑area preserve, citing carbon storage, rare species and vernal pools; staff said studies and outreach remain in progress and an operations plan will be circulated before any timber sale.
Paul Nan read a letter from Casey Constable of Old Sabbrook (Old Saybrook) urging the Conservation Management Committee to oppose Connecticut Forestry’s planned logging and to redesignate the preserve as a permanent ‘‘natural area preserve.’’ The letter argued that logging would release sequestered carbon, damage soils and habitat, and undermine the preserve’s value for research, education and species protection.
Committee members asked agency staff for the scientific and management rationale for harvesting in the relatively small, intact preserve. Staff responded that the draft forest‑management plan is the result of roughly 10 years of compiled research and interdisciplinary input and that a site‑specific operations plan (for ‘‘stand 10’’) and supporting survey data will be circulated to the committee and ad hoc groups for review before any action proceeds.
Forestry staff told the committee that acoustic monitoring has detected northern long‑eared bats (a federally endangered species) and other species in the preserve, which imposes seasonal restrictions on any silvicultural activity (roughly Nov. 1–Apr. 15). Staff said the operation plan will include the bat survey and NDDB (Natural Diversity Database) materials, be reviewed internally at DEP, be shared with the ad hoc committee and be subject to public outreach before a deputy commissioner approves any timber sale or contract.
Members of the public also raised vernal‑pool values and asked why the preserve — described in public remarks as the last intact 1,000‑acre forest between Boston and New York in the immediate area — could not remain unmanaged. Staff invited further, focused discussion at a follow‑up meeting and emphasized that the plan will not move forward without committee review and public outreach.
Next steps: staff said they will finish the inventory and operation plan, circulate the reports and schedule outreach events prior to any contract approval. The committee did not vote on the management plan at the meeting.
