Your Stories Q&A: Why are thousands of trees being removed in Fabius?

FABIUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – You ask, we answer!

Viewer Cindy Miller emailed the Your Stories Team curious about all the activity near Spruce Pond in Fabius.

Spruce Pond is in the Morgan Hill State Forest off of Herlihy Road, near Route 91 in Fabius.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation told the Your Stories Team an active timber management project is underway.

“On State forests, timber management is used as a tool to enhance biodiversity, create habitat features, and harvest wood for products such as lumber, pulp, poles, and even baseball bats. Other portions are managed to protect and enhance rare, threatened or endangered species,” The NYSDEC wrote in an email.

The NYSDEC said 4,700 trees are being removed near Spruce Pond. It said harvesting began earlier this month and could be completed this fall if weather conditions remained ideal.

“Enhancement of biodiversity, habitat, and overall ecosystem services are goals of every forest management project. The harvested trees may be utilized for a range of wood products. In this case, many of the red pine and Scots pine trees are slated for use as utility poles,” The NYSDEC added an in email to the YS Team.

The DEC described a timber harvest as a mult-year process that requires considerable planning.

“DEC marks saleable timber and sells it to the highest responsible bidder through a public, competitive bidding process,” the NYSDEC wrote.