Beech Tree Grant
BEECH TREATMENT FOR FOREST RESILIENCE
BEECH TREE GRANT UPDATE:
Nov 13, 2025: the major tree work portion of the Beech Tree Grant has been completed and the trails have been reopened. Thank you all for your patience.
There will be some additional trail rehab that needs to be completed to restore functionality, but trails are safe to traverse. A second invasive treatment will be done in the Spring as well as deer exclusion areas installed to minimize deer browse. Please look at the remainder of the descriptions to familiarize yourself with the expected long term outcomes if you have questions about what has been done.
May 13, 2026: As part of the ongoing experimental Beech Treatment in ANS Park, members from the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station have chosen three plots where they will be conducting additional Beech tree treatments of a Phosphite Bark Spray.
For resources related to these treatments check out the following websites:
Promoting Forest Health In New Haven Parks Impacted By Beech Leaf Disease
Updated Beech Leaf Disease Biology and Management
The Park Association has been awarded a Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant from the Connecticut Land Conservation Council for an experimental Beech Tree treatment and public demonstration project. As many of you have seen over the past few years many, most of the beech trees in Alice Newton Street Memorial Park (and throughout Connecticut) have been affected by beech bark disease and most recently, beech leaf disease. Its presence has reduced beech survival, carbon storage capacity, biodiversity, leading to other ecological concerns like reduced water filtration capacity and increased invasive species populations.
With the goal of increasing forest health and resilience to climate change, this grant will fund the implementation of experimental methods to manage diseased beech trees. Within about 8 acres of ANSMP’s approximately 100 acres, the project will employ a variety of silvicultural techniques to increase species diversity and structural complexity, enhancing carbon storage and habitat quality. Educational components like guided hikes and interpretive signage will help disseminate findings with other stewards and the public. The project represents WPA’s first step in implementing its ten-year Climate Smart Forest Management Plan.
In spring of 2025, the project will commence with pre-harvest invasive plant treatment in many areas of the park where beech is present. Climate-smart forestry practices will follow in differing areas to facilitate long term forest regeneration of healthier species. Some practices will specifically target diseased beech removals and protecting planted and naturally regenerated species from deer browse. We will retain a wooded area within the project area as a control. Since little is currently known about beech leaf disease control, this project is designed to inform the best approaches for diseased beech management. Post harvest invasive species treatments will also be employed, as well as a long-term monitoring plan. Though subject to change, the project is scheduled to conclude by winter of 2026.
We will have more detailed information at a later date and will plan public information events, but want to keep those who use the park informed of our plans.
Learn More About the Beech Tree Grant
Treatment Timeline
The timeline for our Beech Tree Grant is as follows. Please understand this is subject to change based on many factors, least of which is weather:
| Spring/Summer 2025 | First round of invasive treatment |
| Summer/Fall 2025 | Trees marked for harvest |
| Fall/Winter 2025 | Mechanical and hand felling of trees |
| Spring/Summer 2026 | Second round of invasive treatment |
| Spring/Summer 2026 | Installation of temporary deer fencing |
| Summer 2026 and on | Monitor for forest regeneration and goal achievement. Mechanically control new invasive sprouts in the treatment areas. |
Invasive Treatments
As depicted in the map on this page, approximately 20 acres of forest understory are scheduled for invasive species management. To ensure forest health goals are met, it is critical to control invasive species before and after resilient forest practices are employed. By doing so, we significantly reduce the likelihood of the spread of invasives where canopy gaps are created. This gives native shrubs and trees, which better serve wildlife and have better carbon-capturing abilities, a much better chance of establishing maturing.
Primary target species include Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergia), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), and Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Both mechanical and chemical control methods will be employed to ensure success.
All herbicide applications will be conducted by commercial herbicide applicators licensed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Pesticide Management Program and in possession OSHA 10 certification. This work is being done by a highly reputable company, All Habitat Services, LLC in accordance with State statute.
Our contractor will use spot spray application of a thin invert emulsion comprised of 7% Aquamaster® (Glyphosate), 1% Polaris® (Imazapyr), and 4 oz per 100 gallons Escort XP® (Metsulfuron methyl) at a rate of five gallons per acre to the target vegetation.
In areas with poorly drained soils, our contractor will use a thin invert emulsion mixture containing the aquatic labelled herbicides Imazapyr 4SL® (Imazapyr) and Roundup Custom® (Glyphosate) at the manufacturer’s label rates. The label is the law, and the law will be diligently followed to ensure environmental and human safety precautions.
These herbicides will be absorbed through the foliage and translocate into the root system of the plant where it where it disrupts plant growth cycles. Glyphosate adsorbs strongly to soil and is not expected to move vertically below the six inch soil layer; residues are expected to be immobile in soil. Glyphosate is readily degraded by soil microbes to AMPA, which is degraded to carbon dioxide.
Resilient Forest Practices
Resilient forestry is a general term referring to forest management that has a goal of promoting forest health and sustainability. Through various silvicultural treatments, this goal is achieved by enabling forests to adapt to various disturbances, such as climate change, pests, and diseases. A resilient forest is one that can withstand said disturbances or recover quickly from their impacts. Resilient forestry therefore reduces vulnerability to disturbances and improves ecosystem services.
Key aspects of resilient forestry are:
- Adaptability – forests managed to be adaptable to range of stressors and to be able to function in changing climatic conditions.
- Lower-density stands – depending on the initial condition of the wooded area, reducing tree density to minimize competition for resources (like sun, water and space) improves a forest’s ability to withstand stress.
- Structural complexity – a forest structure is defined by the size (height & diameter), spacing, and arrangement of live and dead vegetation. Resilience and adaptability is enhanced by maintaining a variety of tree sizes, ages, densities, and decay stages, resilience. This allows the forest to provide a wider range of ecological function and withstand a range of disturbances.
- Species diversity – controlling invasive species and creating better conditions to grow native species promotes species diversity, a critical component of adaptability and resilience.
- Habitat connectivity – forests managed in consideration of connectivity of forest ecosystems, ensuring wildlife can move freely, access necessary resources, and benefit from nutrient-rich native vegetation.
Please see our Glossary of Terms on this page to learn more about the specific resilient forestry treatments being employed through our Beech Tree Grant.
Impact on Park Usage
To minimize disruption and inconvenience to our beloved Park users, all will be advised when different aspects of the project are being done.
Signs stating “Habitat Restoration in Progress” will be placed by trail entries when invasive treatments are actively being conducted.
The trails leading to or abutting the treatment areas will be marked with obvious signs indicating a 24-hour restricted use after the date of treatment application. Like always, it will remain important to comply with Park rules and keep dogs leashed.
Some trails will be widened to accommodate forestry operating equipment.
Other access “roads” will be established during the mechanical beech tree treatment harvesting. The latter is important to avoid ecologically sensitive areas. Please keep in mind that despite their size, forestry operating equipment is intentionally designed to minimize soil compaction and used by highly skilled licensed professionals. Overseen by our forester, Eric Hansen of Ferrucci & Walicki, LLC, Maple Ridge Forestry and Land Services, LLC is operating the resilient forestry treatments. Maple Ridge is a vetted service provider by the CT Land Conservation Council.
Signs will be posted to keep Park users clear of harvest areas during operations.
Be advised that sounds of saws and equipment may be apparent during harvests, but this work will only occur during normal working hours.
As ecological best practice, the tops of removed trees will remain on-site.
This helps retain soil moisture when sunlight hitting the forest floor increases. It also stabilizes soils, protects regenerating trees from deer browse, provides cover for birds and small mammals, and recycles nutrients into the soil over time.
Deer fencing will be placed in areas where tree regeneration would otherwise prove unsuccessful.
They will be monitored to determine effectiveness of treatments and will be removed when trees are tall enough to avoid deer browse (approximately 6’-8’ tall).
Glossary of Terms
Control
A no-treatment area, prescribed for stand 5 for comparison with treatments in other stands with similar characteristics. Invasive species control and deer exclusion practices (e.g., temporary fencing) will allow development free of contemporary forest health stressors that are predicted to compound with climate change.
Hand-Fell Midstory
A targeted removal of mid‑canopy trees to prepare lower forest layers for potential beech decline. This treatment promotes establishment of shade‑tolerant species such as sugar maple and yellow birch, which may develop into future canopy trees if beech continues to deteriorate.
Hand-Fell All Beech
A focused removal of all beech stems in the treatment area to free growing space, sunlight, and nutrients for other species. This accelerates growth of existing regeneration—particularly sugar maple and yellow‑poplar—and reduces future beech dominance. Beech sprouts are expected to persist but at lower proportions within the canopy.
Patch Clearcut
A regeneration treatment prescribed for areas dominated by diseased beech and black birch. Most overstory trees are removed to create full-sun conditions that favor a diverse mix of young species. This approach limits black birch seed input—preventing monoculture conditions—and encourages establishment of tulip poplar, hickory, maple, oak, pine, and retained edge trees that provide seed and long-term structure.
Seed tree
A silvicultural treatment in which a few scattered trees are left in the area to provide seed for superior regeneration. Prescribed in the northern portion of stand 2 and the southeastern portion of stand 4; healthy beech will be retained, and legacy trees will be selected for permanent retention, promoting old-growth forest characteristics and diversity over time. Selection of seed trees is based on several factors, including species, growth rate, form, seeding ability, tolerances and adaptability, habitat value, and high quality, long-lived forest products.
Selection treatment
A silvicultural method involving the removal of individual trees or groups of trees at varying intervals to promote uneven-aged forests. It is prescribed in the southern portion of stand 2 to remove diseased beech from all levels of the forest to promote a diverse mix of species and complex old-forest characteristics.
Shelterwood
a silvicultural method that establishes regeneration with strong root systems through a series of two or more treatments. This creates a new generation of trees under the protection of the remaining mature trees. This is prescribed in the western part of stand 2 to establish a dense understory of seedlings of mid-tolerant tree species (oaks, hickories, pine, sassafras). This treatment will also retain and create growing space above well-formed midstory sugar maples, fostering their advancement to more prominent positions in the canopy.
Silviculture
The science, art, and practice of establishing, tending, and reproducing forest stands of desired characteristics.
Stand
A defined area of a forest that is relatively uniform in tree species composition or age and can be managed as single unit. Alice Newton Street Memorial Park is currently composed of six stands.
Thinning from above
A silvicultural method that reduces tree density and competition between trees,
thereby increasing the growth potential of remaining trees. This is prescribed in stages in the eastern area of stand 4 to foster a more mature ecological condition of tangible size and age class diversity.
