EASTERN REGION STATE FOREST LANDS ANNUAL WORK PLAN FISCAL YEAR 2021 Prepared: ______________________________________________ ___________________ (Forest Manager)DRAFT Date Reviewed: ______________________________________________ ___________________ (Regional Manager) Date Approved: ______________________________________________ ___________________ (Environmental Specialist) Date Prepared By: Michael G. Schofield, MFS – Chesapeake Forest Manager Alexander Clark, MFS – Assistant Forest Manager Contributors: Skip Jones, Parker Forestry Services Inc. DNR Interdisciplinary Team Citizens Advisory Committee CONTENTS A. Forest Overview ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Chesapeake Forest and Pocomoke State Forest ....................................................................................................... 5 Historic Forest Conditions and the Role of Fire ......................................................................................................... 5 Forest Types and Size Classes .................................................................................................................................... 6 Unique Community Types ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Soils ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 B. Annual Work Plan Summary .................................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Networking with DNR and other agencies .............................................................................................................. 11 C. Maintenance Projects .............................................................................................................................................. 12 D. Recreation Projects ................................................................................................................................................. 12 E. Special Projects ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 F. Watershed Improvement Projects ........................................................................................................................... 13 G. Special Wildlife Habitat Projects ............................................................................................................................. 13 H. Ecosystem Restoration Projects .............................................................................................................................. 13 Xeric Habitat Treatment and Monitoring Plan (Abstract) ....................................................................................... 14 Site Name: ............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Contact Information: ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 Experimental Design: ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 Monitoring plan: ................................................................................................................................................................... 15 I. Monitoring Projects .................................................................................................................................................. 19 J. Review Process ......................................................................................................................................................... 19 Interdisciplinary Team Comments .......................................................................................................................... 19 Citizen’s Advisory Committee Comments ............................................................................................................... 19 Public Comments ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 K. Silvicultural Projects ................................................................................................................................................ 19 Silvicultural Activity Overview ................................................................................................................................. 19 Definitions of Silvicultural Activities ........................................................................................................................ 19 Silvicultural Prescriptions & Stand Data .................................................................................................................. 21 Caroline County ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Dorchester County ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Somerset County ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Wicomico County .................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Worcester County ................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Pocomoke State Forest ......................................................................................................................................................... 28 Silvicultural Site Maps ............................................................................................................................................. 29 L. Budget ...................................................................................................................................................................... 63 Appendix A – Soil Series Management Groups, Abbreviations, and Symbols ............................................................. 65 Chesapeake Forest/Pocomoke State Forest: Soil Management Groups................................................................. 67 Appendix B – Audit Summaries – 2018 ....................................................................................................................... 69 Appendix C – Silvilcultural Activity Summaries ............................................................................................................ 69 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................................. 72 Eastern Region - FY2021 Annual Work Plan - DRAFT - 2019-07-15 A. FOREST OVERVIEW CHESAPEAKE FOREST AND POCOMOKE STATE FOREST The Chesapeake Forest which is owned by the State of Maryland and managed by the Maryland Forest Service through the Department of Natural Resources originally consisted of 58,000 acres of forest land. These lands were part of a 1999 divestment by the Chesapeake Forest Products Corporation. At that time, a partnership between the State of Maryland, The Conservation Fund, and Hancock Timber Resources Group moved to purchase the forests. The original 1999 plan was prepared by a 10-person technical team assembled by The Sampson Group, Inc. Oversight and decision making for the technical team was provided by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, The Conservation Fund, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the local forest industry. The Chesapeake Forest currently consists of 73,724 acres divided into 186 Management Units distributed across six counties. Chesapeake Forest also includes the Seth Demonstration Forest in Talbot County, Wicomico Demonstration Forest in Wicomico County, and Fred W. Besley Demonstration Forest in Dorchester County. In spite of this scattered character, the forests include some of the last large segments of unbroken forest in a region that is largely agricultural in nature. Chesapeake Forest Lands include more than 6,000 acres of wetlands or swamps and comprise portions of 23 separate watersheds, many of which have been given a high priority for conservation action under the Maryland Clean Water Action Plan. They contain established populations of threatened and endangered species, including the Delmarva fox squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus), bald eagle, and some 150 other species that have been identified as rare, threatened, or endangered in the region. Abundant populations of deer, turkey,