BERLIN– State officials are currently seeking public input on a work plan for the Pocomoke State Forest.
Berlin resident Joan Maloof is urging area residents to review the plan and share their comments. She’s concerned because the plans calls for the removal of several of the older trees along a popular Furnace Town trail.
“Here on the Eastern Shore we don’t have many publicly accessible hiking trails,” she said. “The ones we do have are very important to us, especially the trails through the Pocomoke State Forest. I was very disappointed to read in the Department of Forestry’s work plan for the coming year, that they were planning to cut some of the oldest forest along the Yellow Trail at Furnace Town.”
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is currently seeking public comment on the proposed fiscal year 2024 annual work plans for various state forests, including the Chesapeake Forest and the Pocomoke State Forests.
“Annual work plans help the department identify priorities within the scope of the forests’ long-range management,” DNR’s website reads. “They address composition, establishment, growth, health, and quality along with construction and maintenance projects.”
The work plans are available at dnr.maryland.gov/forests/pages.workplans.aspx. The public comment period concludes April 21. Comments can be emailed to [email protected].
According to DNR the comment period is the final part of a three-step process.
“The first step includes an internal review by natural resource professionals with expertise in wildlife and fishery habitats, recreation, forest management, water quality, and ecologically significant species,” the website reads. “The second includes a review by a local citizens advisory committee. Following the conclusion of the public comment period, each forest manager will review, revise and finalize their specific plan.”
Maloof, founder of the Old-Growth Forest Network, believes local residents should be aware that the workplan includes a cut proposed along the yellow trail at Furnace Town.
“They have already cut much of it over the past years and the result is a tight tangle of young trees and shrubs we call ‘dog hair,’” she said. “It is not very aesthetically pleasing to hike along that type of forest. The Old-Growth Forest Network is asking the state not to cut that forest. Recreational uses should be considered as important as selling wood fiber, or maybe even more important. These older trees are also important for wildlife and carbon storage too.”
She said the proposed cutting is at the top of the yellow loop at Furnace Town.
“This is public land that belongs to the citizens of the state,” she said. “Please let the Department of Natural Resources know how you feel.”
