Lamson Woods reopens after tree harvest

FAIRFIELD — Lamson Woods Steve Preserve on the southeast part of Fairfield is open to the public after a logging company completed its harvest of 102 trees earlier this month.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources District Forester Cassidy Robinson said she inspected the park during the five-day logging operation and again within a week after the harvest, and found no major ruts from the skid trails left by the equipment and minimal damage to residual trees. She said the few damaged trees will be removed during the post-harvest Site Prep for Natural Regeneration (SPNR), which is the next phase of restoring Lamson Woods.

During the recent tree harvest, Lamson Woods was closed to the public because brush from the harvest blocked parts of the trail and made walking unsafe. The trail has since been cleared and is now safe to use. Robinson said those who use the trail can see that the trail leads into the neighboring private property owner to the east of the park. That landowner allowed loggers to use their land to access Lamson Woods to avoid having to cross waterways.

Robinson painted the top of the fence posts bright pink that separate Lamson Woods from the private property to make the boundary clearer, so trail users know not to enter that area.

Those who use the park will notice brush piles and fallen trees in the woods. Those were left behind on purpose to benefit wildlife. Many woodland birds and animals will use the brush and fallen trees for cover and nesting.

“The loggers can’t use the whole tree anyway, since the top of the tree is too small to run in their mills,” Robinson said. “But these [fallen] trees are beneficial to wildlife, and they’re beneficial for regenerating trees.”

Robinson said trees that grow in a bushy area have a better chance of not being eaten by deer.

Clearing 102 trees from Lamson Woods was the first phase in a project to promote the growth of oak and hickory trees, instead of the less desirable plants such as hackberries, elms and buckeyes. Those 102 trees were selected because they were either poorly formed or too close to another mature tree.

Oaks are shade intolerant, so they need sunlight to grow, but they weren’t getting it because too many other plants were in the way. Robinson said the next step in the process is removing those undesirable plants from the forest floor. There’s no timeline for that yet, though the city has hired a consulting forester who won the bid for that job.

“I’m hoping that Lamson Woods will become a poster child for managing other state preserves and public lands,” Robinson said. “Lamson Woods hosted the first harvest ever done on a state preserve, and the public has been very supportive of it. As the years go on, we will see the benefits of the awesome stuff we did for wildlife habitat.”

Robinson said other improvements planned for Lamson Woods include a crop tree release on the non-harvested acres, a controlled burn, and invasive species control throughout the property.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com