Fall is Approaching!

With fall approaching, so are hunting seasons including the October 1 opening of pheasant season, which is very popular hunting activity on the Bellamy WMA. Visitors to the WMA are encouraged to put on a bright orange article of clothing when they head afield this fall. Wearing a fluorescent orange hat, vest or jacket makes you highly visible, one of several key safety precautions for hunters, hikers and others enjoying the autumn woods.

For details on hunting seasons and dates click here.

Enhancing Shrubland and Young Forest Habitat

• New Plantings Slated for Spring 2018
• Prep for Plantings Starts September 29!

We are planning on planting shrubs on another 4.5 acres next spring in the area identified on the map below. We plan on getting this area prepped for planting on Friday, September 29.  The first growing season is an important one for new shrub seedlings.  They require optimal growing conditions to get their roots well established.  To assist them, we plan on herbiciding the grasses and forbs in this locations prior to planting as we have done with prior plantings.  I’ll be posting a notice at the gate the morning of the application.
 
If you venture into this area, you can enter as soon as the herbicide has dried on the leaf surface – typically a few minutes after application.  However, please do not enter an area where contractors are actively working.
 
All of the habitat work conducted on WMAs, including the work described above, is reviewed by several staff within Fish & Game and other resource agencies before implementation to ensure there are no negative impacts on other important resources.  Review and input is provided by the Nongame & Endangered Species Program at Fish & Game who looks out for rare wildlife, the Natural Heritage Bureau who looks out for rare plants, the Dept of Environmental Services who looks out for wetlands, the Division of Historic Resources who looks out for archaeological resources, and others.  This work was cleared by those agencies.

These plantings will contribute to our goal of providing nearly 200 acres of shrubland and young forest habitat on the Bellamy WMA to support a variety of wildlife who rely on that type of habitat but whose populations have declined substantially.  Most notable of those is the New England cottontail, but also American woodcock, yellow warbler, blue-winged warbler and a host of others.  We’ve been working towards that goal primarily through cutting and mowing trees and shrubs to stimulate stump sprouting and root suckering, and planting shrubs.  Our planting efforts to date have included 20,000 shrubs on 8 acres in each of 2012 and 2015, and over 10,000 on another five acres last year. Eight-seven volunteers and Department staff dedicated 236 hours to plant the shrubs last spring including the folks pictured above.  Those plantings are coming along slowly but surely, which provides the impotence for moving forward with more plantings.

Field Mowing