Specifications include, but are not limited to: Paint boundaries: A red paint boundary surrounds each 20-acre square replicate. Red painted trees should remain undisturbed. A yellow paint line separates each square into 10-acre parcels. The yellow painted trees are required to be masticated on second entry occurring in the summer. Leave trees: Leave and protect from damage all oak trees marked in green paint. There will be approximately 2 oak clumps left per acre (40 clumps of trees across each 20-ac block) Seasonal restrictions: Six 20-acre blocks have been divided into sections that are treated on separate timelines and different scales. Mastication occurs in 10-acre blocks and scarification occurs in 5-acre blocks. All of the 20-acre blocks are masticated, but only half of the acreage masticated receives follow-up scarification. Half of the project begins in December of 2022 and the other half begins in July of 2023. Winter mastication is required to be completed when the ground is frozen and has at least 6 inches of snow coverage. All winter replicates must be complete by March 15, 2023. Scarification in winter mastication areas is required to begin as soon as the frost is out of the ground and be completed by May 15, 2023. Four of the summer mastication blocks can begin operations on July 15, 2023. Blocks 72009 and 72235 will be surveyed for Kirtland’ warbler occupancy in June. If birds are not present, then these two blocks can also begin operations by July 15, 2023. All blocks can begin mastication by August 15, 2023. Summer mastication is required to be completed by September 15, 2023. Therefore, in the scenario that the two restricted blocks are occupied a full month is available to complete 20 acres. Scarification in summer mastication areas is required to be completed within 2 weeks of the mastication on each block. The scarifying equipment will essentially follow the masticator in the summer blocks. Operators will be necessary for both pieces of equipment during the summer months and its acceptable to have both operating in the same block at times. Operational scale block: This 139-acre area is to be masticated with the same specifications as the research blocks. It needs to be surveyed in June if there is a desire to conduct operations prior to August 15, 2023. These acres are lower priority than the research blocks. Operations can continue into the fall. They are required to be completed by the end of November 2023. Mastication: Tactics for mastication will be identical between winter and summer, but some scarification is intended to occur simply from the mastication in summer replicates. (The research is structured this way to determine if follow-up scarification is necessary if mastication is completed in the summer.) The head of the masticator should be tilted down with the bar on the top of the head forcing each tree under the machine as it advances. The head will then dip into the tree shredding branches and breaking the bole in places. This is the action that will create some scarification in the summer mastication areas. Slash will be left evenly spread across each site. Stumps can be no taller than 6 inches. Root balls can be taller than 6 inches when the action of pushing the tree over brings the stump out of the ground.
