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The Town of Washington currently owns
7 parcels of land greater than 10 acres in size. Six are forested:
the Camp Morgan Lot, Back Mountain Lot, Barrett Pond Lot,
Farnsworth Hill Lot, Huntley Mountain Lot and New Road Lot.
The seventh, the Old Meadow Lot, is a complex of wetlands
that are mostly non-forested. Together, these 7 properties
total 720 acres, or 2.3% of all land in the Town of Washington.
Click on each town forest name on the list to the
left to find out more about that particular forest lot.
The Washington Town Forests are good long-term investments
for the Town to hold onto. An estimated gross profit of $105,868
can be realized by the Town through sustainable timber harvests
in the next ten years, with perhaps as much to be gained in
the following decade. Further, the forests that would remain
following the harvests will actually increase in value, as
the best stems would be left to take advantage of the additional
growing space. By maximizing quality, the Town can eventually
develop a very valuable forest base that will yield high profits
on a consistent and perpetual basis.
There are also costs associated with forest management. Most
of the Town properties require surveys to determine where
certain bounds are located. The Town would be unwise to continue
harvesting its land without blazed bounds, as this opens the
door for problems with abutting neighbors that could be costly
and embarrassing. Other necessary costs include road maintenance
and pre-commercial activities such as thinning sapling stands
when needed. Ideally, some revenue from timber harvests would
be cycled back into the properties, allowing them to effectively
"take care of themselves".
A careful management strategy aimed at improving quality and
cultivating large diameter crop trees of high value will result
in Town Forests that are both increasingly valuable and enjoyable
to visit. Washington has an impressive collection of Town
Forests that promise to benefit the Town in many ways.
All information on these pages found
in:
Management Plan for the Town of Washington Forest
Lands
Prepared by Lionel Chute and Garret Dubois, 1999
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