The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has started a timber harvest at Hemlock-Canadice State Forest and advises visitors to use caution in the area. The harvest includes 77 acres of tree plantation of primarily Norway spruce, red pine, and Scott’s pine that were planted in the mid-1930s and are now declining in health. The removal of the softwood overstory will allow for the vigorous growth of trees in the understory, which will establish a healthier, more resilient forest. Harvest operations will continue for several months. Visitors are advised to use caution when traveling this area.
To ensure public safety, trails, some parking areas, and harvest areas will be temporarily closed to public use. Signs will be posted where necessary to inform visitors of locations temporarily closed. There will be increased truck traffic along Canadice Lake Road, Ontario County.
The 6,849-acre Hemlock-Canadice State Forest surrounds Hemlock and Canadice Lakes, which have provided drinking water for the city of Rochester and adjacent communities for more than 100 years. Over the decades, the land was planted and/or naturally reverted to forest, with few remaining traces of its former uses except for stone walls.
This forest is managed according to the internationally recognized sustainability standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®), which include measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, threatened and endangered species, and forests with exceptional conservation value.
The harvest is authorized by Section 9-0505 of the Environmental Conservation Law and complies with the New York State Strategic Plan for State Forest Management and the Hemlock-Canadice Lake Unit Management plan. A copy of the UMP and a map of the state forest are available.
For questions, comments, or concerns please contact Jonathan Cleveland, Senior Forester by email: [email protected] or by phone: 607-622-8289.
