2 days ago
Managing Laurel Hill is personal for PGC forester Tom Respet
The ridgetop and hollows of Laurel Hill are in a state of constant change.
What was once a vast swath of American chestnut, hemlock and fire-dependent pitch pine is now predominantly oak and other mixed hardwoods. Wildlife populations have ebbed and flowed with those changes regardless of human interference, but efforts by a local forester and his staff are ensuring they all have what they need to thrive.
Pennsylvania Game Commission forester Tom Respet, of Champion, has 10 game lands encompassing 50,000 acres in Somerset and Westmoreland counties in his care.
'My projects on (State Game Lands No.) 42 are geared toward forestry for wildlife,' Respet said. 'People don't like to see trees cut, but some of the species that they don't see around much more depend on that early successional and the young forest – that dynamic of tight-knit trees. There's grouse on that game lands. A lot of it is due to the habitat being provided to them by cutting trees.'
Respet has a special connection to Laurel Hill. Growing up in Smithton, he hiked on it as a young Boy Scout, shot his first buck on it, hunted bear with family on its broad summit and skied down its slopes. Now, he has the pleasure of managing its forests.
'I can honestly say it is a dream come true to be responsible for managing some of the areas that were such a meaningful part of youth into adulthood,' Respet said.
Besides chainsaws and mowers, Respet and his crew use prescribed fire and chemical application to foster conditions that will best provide food and cover for species such as grouse, woodcock, turkeys and a variety of songbirds by creating what he calls 'flush undergrowth' – that is, high-quality cover.
'We're trying to utilize forestry for wildlife,' Respet said. 'I know a lot of people in the public think that we cut trees just to make money for that almighty dollar, but that's far from the truth with regard to us. We take pride in our work.'
Although a carpet of ferns sprawling under a canopy of mature hardwoods is picturesque, it is not healthy wildlife habitat.
'We're trying to get sunlight down to the forest floor for regeneration purposes of trees,' Respet said. 'Red oak, oak of all types, maple, poplar – they're all under there, just waiting on their time. When that sunlight hits, they take off.'
What the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls 'an introduced fungal disease' caused a chestnut blight in the 1820s, which spread throughout eastern hardwood forests at a rate of 24 miles per year. By the 1950s, almost all mature American chestnuts had succumbed to it. Mixed hardwoods now reign on the ridge.
'On our ridge over here, it's really difficult to regenerate the oak stands the way they were,' Respet said. 'We're having the birch take over.'
That birch, as well as red maple and ferns, block sunlight from reaching the more desirable oaks that feed wildlife with their acorns. Since ferns and birch are not preferred browse for deer, they can quickly choke out the more beneficial species.
'Hopefully there is some oak re-gen under there, and when we eliminate that (interference), it will have time to shoot up and outcompete the birch,' Respet said.
Fenced-in sections of woods, called deer exclosures, remain a vital tool for him. There are four on Laurel Hill.
'We're just trying to prevent deer from browsing down all our preferred re-gen,' Respet said.
The exclosures need to remain for roughly 10 years to have any desired results, but fallen trees and branches destroy fencing and allow deer to enter and feast. Respet said that people have cut the fences as well.
'Our main objective is providing wildlife habitat – good, quality wildlife habitat,' Respet said.
'Hunters benefit from that along the way. We definitely want the hunters because they help us out. There's too many deer. They're over-browsing our regeneration that we're trying to keep, so we're working for both purposes – wildlife and hunters.
'We're trying to create young forests – it's the habitat that's been missing across the landscape.'
His projects benefit bird species and mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and black bears. Standing dead trees, called snags, and mast-producers are spared the chainsaw's blade during clear-cutting. Photosynthesis allows blackberry, huckleberry, laurel, scrub oak and witch hazel to flourish as well.
Respet has even begun managing areas for timber rattlesnakes on the ridge.
'My goal is to go into some of these rocky areas and just open them up to sunlight,' Respet said.
He said the technique will also draw insects, which in turn will attract bats.
Current oak and cherry stand projects he and his crews are working on are expected to yield positive results decades into the future.
'As those stands get from, say, 10 to 20 to 30 (years old), there's stem exclusion,' Respet said. 'They're competing with each other. We're just helping that along.'
Playing such a pivotal role in Laurel Hill's future is an assignment that is very personal to Respet.
'I love the Laurel Highlands,' he said. 'I've grown up here. Anytime I'm on it, I'm happy.'
John Rucosky is a photographer for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5055. Follow him on Twitter @JohnRucosky.
