Pennsylvania: Enviros get Governor Dick logging to only log half gypsy moth kill

Chain saws and heavy machinery will soon disturb the winter quiet in
Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick as loggers begin the
controversial job of removing several thousand trees killed by
repeated gypsy-moth defoliation.

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The logging, which could begin tomorrow and take six to eight weeks,
will be done by O.A. Peachey & Sons of Myerstown, top bidder for the
timber, said Chuck Allwein, a member of the park’s board of directors.
Details on the bid, including the amount Peachey offered for the wood,
will be released at the next board meeting on Feb. 19, he said.
Governor Dick is a 1,105-acre county park on near Mt. Gretna. Heavily
forested, the hilly park is popular with hikers, horseback riders and
mountain bikers for its extensive trail network. Signs and tape will
warn visitors of areas that will be off limits during the harvest of
dead timber covering 67 acres, Allwein said.

But there will be access to plenty of hiking trails, the observation tower and environmental center in the 1,105-acre park, he added. The past two springs,
thousands of oak and other trees at Gov. Dick were under attack from
gypsy moth caterpillars, which ate their leaves. In the fall, the
park’s board proposed removing the dead wood from 114 acres, but the
park’s environmental committee protested. It wanted all of the trees
left to deteriorate naturally, with the exclusion of about 2,150 dead
trees that pose a hazard because they are along 3 1/4 miles of hiking
trails. The harvest was also opposed by a vocal group of park users
who favored the hands-off approach. The park’s board offered a
compromise: Allow 47 acres of trees to deteriorate naturally, but
remove the dead trees in the remaining 67 acres. That proposal was
approved by the Lebanon County Commissioners and the Clarence Schock
Foundation Board of Directors, who serve as trustees. In total, about
3,700 dead trees will be removed.

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