Important Timberlands

Much of Antrim’s landscape is heavily wooded. A  large portion of this is located in the Rural and Rural Conservation Zoning Districts of town. These two districts occupy over 70% of Antrim’s land mass. There are hundreds of undeveloped acres in Town under single title ownership. These woodlands are viewed as a renewable resource and are logged on a regular basis. A typical woodlot cut frequency is between 25 and 50 years. What is important for the purposes of this document is the recognition of the potential environmental problems that can occur if care is not taken during woodlot harvesting.

Timber harvesting, if proper erosion control management practices are not utilized, can expose soils to severe erosion. Severe erosion can occur during the construction of skid roads, haul roads, landings, and the cutting of timber on steep slopes. Without proper erosion control mechanisms in place, severe soil erosion may also cause harmful and unlawful sedimentation of wetlands and water bodies, negatively impacting aquatic life by adding nutrient and sediment loads to nearby water bodies.

There are techniques, known as “ Best Management Practices” to control erosion during timber harvesting. The main goal of these practices is to control the water and reduce its effect on the exposed soils. This may be accomplished through the use of proper road ditching, construction of water bars and dips, and proper placement of culverts. Additional erosion control is accomplished through the utilization of silt fences and hay bales, which are placed between exposed soils and water bodies.