Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Why Bird Conservation?

When Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust (MGLCT) received a small grant in 2023 for a project at Guiney Memorial Forest, selected trees were cut and girdled to promote forest resiliency and expand the diversity of bird breeding habitat at the 33-acre site, which confused some visitors and nearby landowners. “People are often leery about seeing trees being taken down, but when we bring them out into the forest and describe why we’re doing it, they begin to understand,” says Tessa Dowling, Stewardship Manager at MGLCT.

To help explain the patchwork of bird-friendly forestry methods being used at Guiney Memorial Forest, located in north central Massachusetts, MGLCT created several print and online resources for neighboring landowners and visitors. With funds from the Cornell Lab and the Ruffed Grouse Society, a YouTube video chronicling the project was created as a communications tool to highlight the connection between forestry and bird habitat and climate benefits. The land trust also hosted community hikes at the site before and after the forest management work took place, which helped participants understand the nuances of creating forest habitat for birds. “This type of forestry is not a one-size-fits all approach,” explains Dowling.

Working with a local forester, Mike Mauri, MGLCT developed a forest cutting plan for the site. Once the plan was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mauri and MGLCT implemented a variety of techniques to diversify the breeding bird habitat in the forest. A total of 12 acres were treated, with cutting intensities that ranged from the removal of individual trees up to a 3-acre early successional opening, or “patch cut.” In another stand, some common trees were girdled to free up space and resources for the less common spruce, fir, and tamarack that were suppressed in the understory. Across the whole 33-acre parcel, invasive plants were identified; removing them to support the growth of native plants is an ongoing project for MGLCT staff and volunteers.

Volunteers also helped collect information about the bird species spotted at Guiney Memorial Forest, an eBird hotspot, through checklists submitted before and after the forestry work was completed. A handout created by May Grzybowski, MGLCT’s Stewardship Engagement Associate, helped birders navigate the site and record observations on eBird.

Spotlight Resources: Bird-friendly Forestry, Community Engagement, eBird

Grant funds allowed MGLCT to focus on improving forest resilience, complexity, and habitat value for wildlife at the project site. Guiney Memorial Forest now functions as a demonstration site for bird-friendly forestry, a place for MGLCT and others to learn about the long-term impacts of the habitat management techniques implemented at the site.

Forest management activities can often be adapted to increase wildlife habitat value. For example, on about 10 acres across two forest stands, smaller trees were cut and gathered to create habitat piles for mammals and the raptors that hunt them. In another 2-acre area, trees were girdled to create snags, which will eventually provide habitat for cavity-nesting bird species.

Alongside the habitat-management goals, another aim of this project was to engage partners and volunteers from the community. The work at Guiney Memorial Forest was guided by several foresters who visited the site and provided recommendations. The project was also informed by the perspective of Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr., Founder of No Loose Braids, an Indigenous-led organization working to revitalize traditional practices.

Additionally, through outreach in newsletters and listservs, MGLCT developed relationships with local birders and volunteers. Members of the Athol Bird and Nature Club helped MGLCT survey the site for birds before the forest management work was completed, and birders continue to submit eBird checklists at the hotspot, helping MGLCT document the improved state of bird habitat at the site. So far, 65 species have been recorded in eBird, including six species of greatest conservation need from the Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan: Broad-winged Hawk, Wood Thrush, Black and White Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, and White-throated Sparrow. Several species from the Massachusetts Foresters for the Birds Focal Birds list have also been documented at Guiney Memorial Forest since 2023.

Making the Connection

Dowling hopes to inspire others with the project, and believes it has great potential for making a difference—both at the site and across the landscape. “Just because you have a small parcel doesn’t mean you can’t think about it in the landscape in a larger way,” says Dowling. Although Guiney Memorial Forest is only 33 acres, there is other protected land adjacent to it on three sides, making it a piece in a larger area of connected wildlife habitat.

Dowling sees the project as a way of showing that wildlife habitats can be managed and improved at different scales across the landscape, which is especially relevant to private landowners who own forest tracts of similar size. Managing forests for resilience and diversity also involves thinking on a temporal scale, notes Dowling. By creating a variety of forest ages classes and species composition mixes at the site, MGLCT is trying to ensure that tomorrow’s forest can sustain critical biodiversity and meet the challenges of an uncertain climate future.

Advice to Other Land Trusts

Besides thinking on multiple scales, Dowling also advises others not to limit themselves to one forest management technique. She notes that Guiney Memorial Forest shows the variety of management approaches that can be used on a small parcel to create a patchwork of habitat for birds and other wildlife.

By applying techniques thoughtfully and balancing the needs of multiple species, forest managers can accomplish more than one goal at once. For example, she says, if you’re encouraging oaks, you may also be feeding birds, because oaks host a wide variety of insects, such as butterfly and moth larvae. Taking a holistic view of landscape health can provide insights about where wildlife habitat goals align.

Next Steps

MGLCT is planning an event to connect birders at Guiney Memorial Forest in June of 2025. Birders are encouraged to visit the site year-round to see what species are passing through, but the biggest push will be in June to gather information about the birds nesting at the site. Dowling is hoping that birders will see and hear new species using the recently created habitat types, which will provide evidence that the forest management techniques are working.

Inspired by this project to start thinking many generations ahead, Dowling and the other members of MGLCT’s stewardship team are also completing a climate adaptation course, applying the lessons learned to the 2,000 acres of forests and farms that the land trust manages in north central Massachusetts.