This work will provide important woody fuel reduction for future facilitation of prescribed fire within the pine barrens to promote restoration of this rare natural community. This treatment will also help reduce the severity of future Southern Pine Beetle infestation. The principal objective of this project is to restore an open canopy pitch pine and oak woodland above a shrub layer of heath, scrub oak, and herbaceous species to benefit native songbirds, game birds, and state-listed and declining plants, butterflies, moths, and other animals. This work will help mitigate wildfire hazards associated with potential crown fire among the dense pine trees. Future prescribed fire, along with mowing and mulching, will be used to restore and maintain these communities. The removal of dense pine and other woody fuels within the woodland is needed to facilitate the safe and effective use of prescribed fire. Thinning pitch pine to a density of approximately 30’ between trees will enable this area to withstand some of the pressures associated with Southern Pine Beetle infestation, reduce fuel loads, and release suppressed oak and understory shrubs to benefit wildlife, including game and vulnerable non-game species.
