FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN For City of Cumberland & Evitts Creek Water Company 57 N Liberty Street Cumberland, MD 21502 301-759-6424 Location Bedford County, PA Surrounding Lakes Gordon and Koon, off of Route 220 Approximately 10 miles Northeast of Cumberland GPS Coordinates N 39.748249 W 78.674371 Watershed Evitts Creek On Approximately 3,623 +/- acres total Including 3,552 +/- acres forest 70 +/- acres open areas 200 acres lakes Prepared by Paul Eriksson, Natural Resources Specialist (Forester’s License # 664), City of Cumberland _______________________________ Donnelle Keech, Project Director – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Adam Miller, Forester – Maryland Forest Service (MD FS) Andrew Ireland, Chesapeake Conservation Corp Volunteer – TNC Megan Mckewen, Forest Technician – MD FS Seth Clapper, Forest Technician – MD FS July 19, 2017 0 This forest management plan was undertaken by a collection of interested partners, including The City of Cumberland (the owner of Evitts Creek Water Company), The Nature Conservancy, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Allegany College of Maryland, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Funding for this plan was provided by a US Forest Service Grant. The City of Cumberland and the Evitts Creek Water Company would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance with the preparation of the plan: Donnelle Keech-TNC Michael C. Eckley-TNC Fran Price - TNC Josh Parrish - TNC Melissa Stevens Nash - MD FS Anne Hairston-Strang - MD FS Melissa McKewan - MD FS Seth Clapper - MD FS Adam Miller - MD FS George Eberling - MD FS Dave Scamardella- PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry Christopher Tracey - Western PA Conservancy (WPC) Michael Knoop - WPC Steve Resh - Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) Marie Perrin Miller - ACM Andrew Ireland – TNC Jesse Wise-MD FS Dylan Mitch Stumbaugh 1 Table of Contents Statement of Purpose .......................................................................................................... 5 Forest Management Goals .................................................................................................. 5 Forest Management Guiding Principles.............................................................................. 5 Certification and Working Woodlands ............................................................................... 7 General Properties Description ........................................................................................... 7 Legal Description ................................................................................................................ 8 Topography ......................................................................................................................... 8 Roads................................................................................................................................... 8 Regional Context ................................................................................................................ 8 Adjacent Landownership and Surrounding Area ................................................................ 8 Socio-economic Setting ...................................................................................................... 9 Physiographic Province ...................................................................................................... 9 Eco-regional Description .................................................................................................... 9 Watershed Description ...................................................................................................... 10 Ownership ......................................................................................................................... 10 Community Relations ....................................................................................................... 11 Public Access for Hunting & Fishing, and Other Recreation ........................................... 12 History: Cumberland and its Water Supply System ......................................................... 12 Current Forest Condition and Management ...................................................................... 15 Inventory Methods .................................................................................................... 15 Inventory Results ...................................................................................................... 15 Compartment Delineation ................................................................................................. 18 Stand Delineation ...................................................................................................... 18 Desired Future Forest Condition and Management .......................................................... 19 Natural Resources ............................................................................................................. 19 Soils................................................................................................................................... 19 Soils: Description...................................................................................................... 19 Soils: Management.................................................................................................... 20 Water Resources/Riparian Zones ..................................................................................... 21 Water Resources/Riparian Zones: Description ......................................................... 22 Water Resources/Riparian Areas: Management ....................................................... 23 Wildlife .............................................................................................................................. 24 Wildlife: Description ................................................................................................ 24 2 Wildlife: Management .............................................................................................. 24 Rare Species and Communities ........................................................................................ 26 Rare Species and Communities: Description ............................................................ 26 Rare Species and Communities: Management ......................................................... 26 Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) ............................................................................. 27 NTFP: Description .................................................................................................... 27 NTFP: Management .................................................................................................. 27 Historical and Cultural Resources of the Region .............................................................. 28 Historical and Cultural Resources of the Region: Description ................................. 28 Historical and Cultural Resources of the Region: Management ............................... 28 Recreational Opportunities ............................................................................................... 29 High Conservation Value Areas ....................................................................................... 29 White-tailed Deer .............................................................................................................. 33 Competing Vegetation (Woody & Herbaceous) ............................................................... 33 Native and Non-Native Pests ............................................................................................ 33 Additional Forest Stressors ............................................................................................... 34 Wildfire ............................................................................................................................. 34 Forest Management Practices ........................................................................................... 35 Management Zones ........................................................................................................... 35 Silviculture ........................................................................................................................ 36 Overview ................................................................................................................... 36 Silvicultural Treatments ............................................................................................ 36 Salvage Operations ................................................................................................... 36 Pesticides and Herbicides ......................................................................................... 37 Prescribed Fire .......................................................................................................... 37 Annual Allowable Cut ...................................................................................................... 38 Harvest Administration Procedures .................................................................................. 38 Monitoring ........................................................................................................................ 40 Water Monitoring...................................................................................................... 40 Ecological Monitoring .............................................................................................