One hundred acres of trees killed recently by gypsy moths at Governor Dick park are edging closer to the logger's saw.
Or maybe not.
A forester was told last week to continue marking trees on the west side of the 1,105-acre Lebanon County woodland for possible cutting.
But the board of trustees of Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick has yet to decide whether to authorize the timbering, said board member Thomas P. Harlan.
"That's the issue and that has not been resolved yet," he said. "We're seeking information and opinions on that."
The trees were discussed during a regular meeting of the six-member board Thursday night.
Everyone agrees that potentially dangerous dead trees that lean over recreation paths in the park should be cut, Harlan said. But he added that those trees pose no immediate threat and will not be taken down before the board's next meeting in November.
The cluster of dead trees stands roughly in the area bounded by the Governor Dick observation tower and the trailhead parking lot and environmental center along Pinch Road.
Logging opponents have spoken out against various tree-cutting proposals since 2001, when a large-scale logging plan was suggested.
Susan Wheeler, a Lebanon resident and volunteer naturalist at the environmental center, said she helped to plant 80 young trees at the park a week ago.
"These dead trees are just as important to the health of the forest as the ones we just planted, maybe even more so," she said.
Bill Knapp, a forest advocate from Lititz, said standing dead trees provide habitat for wildlife, such as pileated woodpeckers, while fallen "nurse" logs nourish young plants in a regenerating forest.
Knapp and Wheeler said they oppose as well cutting down the successional black birch saplings that are springing up near the moth-killed trees.
Driving heavy logging machinery through the woods would harm native plants and speed colonization by invasive species, Knapp contends.
According to Knapp and Wheeler, consulting forester Barry Rose has surveyed 17 acres in the kill area and determined that 266 trees could be removed and sold for $14,000.
"There is a time constraint on [the logging plan] because to get the most dollar value from the trees they'll have to be cut by next spring," before they start rotting, Knapp added.
"What did forests do before man came along to manage them with chain saws?"
Jon Rutter is a staff writer for the Sunday News. His e-mail address is jrutter@lnpnews.com.
