Storm Damage Rehabilitation Through Conservation

Background

The Kindt family has owned an extensive forested property near Maiden Lake north of Mountain, Wisconsin for 5 generations. “[The property] has been graciously passed on through the years with a legacy of stewardship to the natural environment and commitment not to sell or develop it for personal gain,” said the current land heir and manager, Sarah Slavin. Sarah has been coming to the property for much of her life and has a deep tie to the land, actively managing it under the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Managed Forest Law (MFL) program. 

In late July 2019, a derecho, often referred to as an “inland hurricane” due to the windspeeds of this type of storm, ripped through northeast Wisconsin, jackhammering forests with intense downdrafts caused by a passing stormfront, known as microbursts. This powerful storm system damaged over 250,000 acres in northeast Wisconsin. While much of the Kindt family property was spared, they suffered a total loss of approximately 8 acres of pine plantation.

Highlights

After consulting with the county DNR forester, Sarah and her husband Eric contacted their local U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field office and spoke with District Conservationist, Jeff Maroszek, who organized a site visit with former Ruffed Grouse Society Forest Wildlife Specialist and current NRCS Resource Conservationist, Dan Hoff. 

“We put together a four-step plan that would reforest the site and keep the property in compliance with the stocking rates required by the MFL program. This would entail a prompt harvest to salvage any timber products prior to blue stain fungal damage, managing the woody residue and slash created by the storm, spraying to control competing vegetation and planting new seedlings,” explained Dan.

After having their application selected for the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding, the Slavins began that fall with a salvage harvest to remove any trees of value. Using EQIP funding, they continued work on the property by implementing several Conservation Practice Standards (CPS) such as root raking (CPS 384 – Woody Residue Treatment), where a dozer blade attachment is used to remove and pile the upturned roots for later burning, and additional site prep and spraying (CPS 490 – Site Preparation) preemergent herbicide to control competing vegetation. This preparatory work was completed in 2020, prior to planting 4A containerized seedlings typically called “plugs,” which look like a started tomato plant (CPS 612 – Tree & Shrub Establishment) in spring 2021. Survival checks in the summer of 2022 indicated a successful planting. 

Challenges along the way included the large number of unvaluable trees and upturned stumps that were unable to be removed in the salvage harvest. Difficulty hiring contractors to complete the work on schedule also inhibited further forestry work during this time.

 

“Witnessing the devastation of the derecho immediately post-storm was difficult, especially given that our pine stand had been planted by family members in 1950. The concept of re-planting seemed almost impossible given the enormity of the damage. We are deeply grateful to our partners at NRCS who guided us seamlessly through every step in the process of reforestation. 

It is tremendously gratifying to observe the new seedlings that are thriving in the healthy environment that was carefully prepared for them,” said Sarah.

Future Plans

Maintenance on this planting in the future will be minimal, the excellent site prep gave the pine seedlings a head start on the competition. Within a year, the seedlings were taller than most of the herbaceous vegetation on the site, many of them growing up to a foot near the end of the second growing season. Seedling survival will be monitored as the planting matures and any issues will be addressed as needed. Next timber management steps will be a 1st thinning to remove every third row and reduce competition among remaining trees at 25–30 years of age around the year 2050. Sarah and her family look forward to watching the rehabilitated site grow and regenerate for the next generation of land caretakers.