Forest Management Plan
Plan Goals
Promote forest health
Promote climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience benefits
Support safe passive recreation and public education
Support wildlife habitat quality
NOTICE
Initial invasive treatment is currently scheduled to occur on July 9-11. Specific areas of treatment will be clearly marked prior to treatment.
Plan Overview
In 2024, the Woodbridge Park Association (WPA) established forest management goals and hired Ferrucci & Walicki, LLC to create a forest management plan for Alice Newton Street Memorial Park in Woodbridge, CT. This ten-year plan outlines the current forest conditions, WPA’s stewardship goals, and data-driven strategies for improving the health and diversity of the park’s ecosystems.
The forest contains a variety of hardwood trees like oaks, maples, hickories, and birches, but is experiencing stress due to pests and diseases, particularly Emerald Ash Borer and Beech Leaf Disease. There are also some softwood trees like white pine and hemlock, which are important for biodiversity and climate resilience, though they are limited in number.
Invasive plants are a significant issue across the Park. The plan recommends increasing native plant diversity and diversity of forest structure (the size, spacing, and arrangement of live & dead vegetation). One recommendation, for example, is to create more young forest conditions that support wildlife and reduce risks from wind damage.
The forest’s strengths include its size (95 acres), its connection to other conserved lands, healthy mature trees, well-maintained trails, water courses and wetlands, and an open meadow that supports pollinators and birds. Management recommendations include thinning certain areas to create gaps for new growth, promoting forest health by removing diseased trees, protecting young trees from deer, enhancing trails for accessibility, and promoting public education through signage and events.
The plan also encourages passive management in some stands to compare outcomes with more active approaches and recommends seasonal changes to meadow mowing for better wildlife habitat. Ongoing monitoring, especially of beech trees and invasive species, will guide adaptive management.
By combining habitat restoration, climate resilience strategies, and public outreach, WPA aims to preserve Alice Newton Street Memorial Park as a vibrant and healthy woodlands for current and future generations.
Learn More About the Plan
General Forest Conditions
Most of the trees in the park are healthy hardwoods, with many different types of trees in the upper canopy. These include:
- White, red, and black oaks
- Hickories (especially shagbark, which are good for bat habitats)
- Sugar and red maples
- Yellow and black birch
- American beech
- Yellow poplar (also called tulip poplar)
Unfortunately, two major tree types are struggling:
- Ash trees have mostly died because of a pest called the Emerald Ash Borer, which showed up around 2016.
- Beech trees are starting to die early due to a disease called Beech Leaf Disease (BLD). The WPA is starting to test treatment methods for beech trees, which are explained on this page.
Some softwood trees, like white pine and hemlock, are present, especially in Stands 1 and 3, but there aren’t many of them overall. Hemlocks have a pest called the hemlock woolly adelgid, though it hasn’t caused major damage yet. The white pines are doing fairly well and are important for wildlife and future climate resilience.
The forest’s lower levels (like the understory) have fewer species and are often taken over by invasive plants, which are plants not native to the area. Some parts of the forest have very little plant growth underneath the tall trees. While this is somewhat normal, it’s happening more than it should. These empty layers make the forest less resilient to storms and pests. A big goal of the plan is to help native plants grow in these lower levels.
Strengths of the Park
The park has many positives, including:
- A large forest area in a developed town
- Connection to other protected forests nearby
- A wide variety of large, healthy trees
- Well-kept trails that protect water and soil
- Educational signs and kiosks that teach visitors about nature
- Fallen logs and standing dead trees (called “snags”) that provide wildlife habitat and help make the forest feel more like an old-growth forest
- Some young softwood trees (especially white pine) that may grow well in the future
- Some new growth of shade-loving trees like sugar maple and eastern hemlock
- A central meadow (Stand 6) that is healthy and supports pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as animals that need open areas like bats and birds
Challenges Ahead
The park faces several problems:
- Invasive plants are outcompeting native plants
- The loss of ash and beech trees leaves gaps in the forest
- There are not many areas with young forest growth
- Most of the forest could be damaged by strong winds because there aren’t enough young trees to replace old ones
- Young trees lack diversity in species
- Softwood trees are missing from lower layers
- The edges between open spaces and forest are too sudden, not gradual, which limits the variety of habitats
- Some forest work may need to be done by entering from nearby town land
- People using the park for recreation may be concerned about the look or impact of forest work
Recommendations
Here are the key things the WPA and foresters recommend:
- Promote the park as a top example of forest stewardship:
- Use management projects as a way to teach the public about protecting forests.
- Keep trails accessible, and consider new features for visitors with visual impairments.
- Mark and protect “legacy trees”:
- These are strong, healthy trees that will be left standing to provide seeds and structure for future forests.
- Continue monitoring beech trees:
- Adjust management as the impact of Beech Leaf Disease becomes clearer.
- Protect young trees from deer:
- Use fences or cages around new native tree growth to stop deer from eating them.
- Create gaps in the canopy to support new growth:
- In Stand 1, thin out unhealthy trees to let in light and help young trees grow.
- In Stand 2, create different-sized gaps to encourage a variety of new trees to grow.
- Support specific tree species:
- In Stand 3, help healthy hemlocks by removing unhealthy black birch trees that block sunlight.
- In Stand 4, let new trees grow while protecting the wetland soils.
- In Stand 5, manage this area passively to see how it changes over time compared to more active areas.
- Modify mowing in the meadow (Stand 6):
- Mow only half of the field at a time and alternate seasons. This keeps some grass tall through winter and allows for better food and shelter for wildlife.