Management

In 1981, the Holt Research Forest Team developed two complimentary plans for forest management and research.  Our management goals reflect those of many non-industrial forestland owners in southern Maine:

• Maximize the production of high-quality timber.

• Enhance wildlife diversity and abundance.

• Maintain the forest's aesthetic qualities.

However, most of the stands at the Holt Research Forest were single-storied or two-storied, even-aged stands arising from old field succession. Thus our forest management objectives were to 

• 1) Increase structural habitat diversity by adding a new vertical layer of vegetation. 
  
• 2) Arrive at a balanced age-class distribution to generate a more even flow of forest products over time. 

 These objectives have framed the harvest design for this forest.  A forest with a wider range of vertical structure can support a more diverse array of plants and animals, occupying different niches that are created by vertical separation (Hunter 1990).  In a regional context, our management strategy is consistent with landscape-level conservation across southern Maine, which is under strong development pressure.