The forests of New England are disappearing too quickly, experts say

Suburban sprawl, such as this development in upstate Connecticut, are causing a significant decline in the state’s forests, according to the Wildlands and Woodlands report released in May by Yale and Harvard universities

The forests of southern New England are being chopped down to make room for subdivisions, strip malls and highways, and this loss of natural landscape has been particularly rapid in the last 30 years, according to the report, "Wildlands and Woodlands," the work of nearly 20 pre-eminent professors from Yale, Harvard, Brandeis, Cornell and other prominent schools in the Northeast.

Released last week, "Wildlands and Woodlands" is intended to be a "vision for the New England landscape," which advocates that at least 70 percent of New England remain forested, while at the same time, some development would actually be encouraged. (A PDF file of the report is provided at the website for downloading or further reading. Adobe Acrobat will be required to read it; the Adobe Reader is free to download and use.)

"Sprawl has become even more of a factor than it was even in the 1950s because of our appetite for larger home lots, bigger malls and wider highways," said Yale professor Lloyd Irland, a senior research scientist with the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Strip malls, parking lots, big box stores and other features of our motor vehicle-centered society have taken their toll on the landscape, too, he said.

"This is not an anti-development proposal -- rather, it's in favor of rational development," said Irland, who said that he hopes that the Wildland and Woodlands report will be seen as a "manifesto' that guides future land use decisions.

He notes that development that has taken place since the 1950s has been mostly in the form of high-cost housing that was built with little regard for mass transit routes and existing infrastructure, resulting in a huge cost to society for many

Suburban sprawl, such as this development in Martha’s Vinyard, is causing a significant decline in the forests of New England, according to the Wildlands and Woodlands report released in May by Yale and Harvard universities

decades to come. "Roads, sewer lines, water lines and other utilities were extended largely to benefit the wealthy," he notes. "Development has taken big gouges out of the forest. We have huge lots for rich people and slums for poor ones," Irland said.

The authors said that, unlike the development seen in the mid-1800s, in which thousands of acres were cleared for farms, today's sprawl is "hard" development, meaning it won't revert to woodland anytime soon.

"A lot of the pastures in the 1800s were turning back into forest even before the cows left," notes Brandeis professor Brian Donohue.

Forestry experts note that there is, in fact, more forested lands in the state than there was in mid-19th century. In 1600, when European colonists first began arriving, it's estimated that about 90 percent of the state was carpeted with trees. By 1860, only about 30 percent of Connecticut had forest cover, as land was cleared for farms, and timber was needed for construction and iron smelting operations.

But by 1950, as agriculture and timber operations moved to the West and Midwest, the forests rebounded -- with about 70 percent of the state covered by woodlands in the mid-20th century.

Since then, sprawl and development has taken its toll, and now just about 50 percent of the state is forested.

"We were given a second chance," said Bill Toomey, director of the Redding woodland preserve Highstead. "But now, it will be a lot harder for forests to recover from the loss that we're seeing today."

There's also been a meteoric rise in the number of people. New England's population in 1800 was a little more than 1 million; now it's 14 million.

Experts note that the hardwood and conifer forests of the Northeast are of global importance, as they act as a "sink" for carbon -- converting the global-warming gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into cellulose -- the long-chain sugar molecule that wood is made out of -- and also free oxygen, which is a cooling gas.

"If current trends continue, the effectiveness of that carbon sink will gradually decline," said Cornell University's Timothy J. Fahey. "The Northeastern forest is a stronger sink for carbon than most other forests, such as the mature forests of the Northwest."

The authors note that development can take place without taking down stands of trees. Instead, construction can take place on so-called brownfields -- previously developed land that has been abandoned.

"Brownfield development is more costly, but maybe society needs to think about `buying down' the cost of close-in brownfield development as opposed to extending sewer and water lines for greenfield development," Irland said. "When you think about it, planning and zoning laws have made efficient use of land illegal."

Harvard's Davis Foster, one of the report's principal authors, said that one solution is to take a second look at New England's post-industrial landscape. "A lot of old industrial towns are actually very attractive because rivers run through them."

All of the authors stress that some woodland development is advantageous. Logging, for example, can have some real ecological benefits if it's done properly.

"When you realize that 95 percent of the lumber we use comes from other parts of the world, and also that it's harvested in such a way that's much more destructive than the way we would do it here," Foster said. "You really have to look at the big picture. And, if people see the forest as a valuable resource, there'll be a greater incentive to take care of it."

There are aesthetic considerations, too.

"Another thing that won't come back is the long tradition of being able to freely walk across undeveloped land," Irland said. "As Connecticut loses its forest, the opportunity to take that walk in the woods -- which is a big part of the quality of life -- will disappear. It's a heritage that we shouldn't just fritter away."

Source:
Newstimes.com,"The forests of New England are disappearing too quickly, experts say", accessed June 7, 2010