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Black cohosh growing in the understory at Crummies Creek - Russ Richardson | | We've found tremendous income potential and interest from our clients in managing non-timber commodities, however this work has also focused our attention on the ground, where non-native plants threaten to compromise our new found opportunities. — Russ Richardson, Guild Forester at Crummies Creek Tree Farm
Tools and LinksManagement Forest Type Descriptions - World Wildlife Fund
- US Forest Service
Non-timber Forest Products Forest Health General Resources Discussion ^The Forest Guild Model Forest called Crummies Creek Tree Farm serves as an excellent casestudy for ecological forestry in the Appalachin hardwoods of West Virginia. WWF Ecoregions project provides a good general description of the forest type.
On the Crummies Creek Tree Farm, Guild forester, Russ Richardson, balances timber income and non-timber forest products including black Cohosh, American ginseng, Goldenseal and log moss. However the productive of Crummies Creek is under threat from an array of invasive species such as Japanese stiltgrass, garlic mustard, Asian honeysuckle and tree of heaven.
More than 40 timber species grow on the property including: red, chestnut, black, scarlet and white oak, yellow poplar, sugar maple, red maple, basswood, cucumbertree, hickory and white ash. Black walnut, sourwood, sassafras, red bud, elm, black gum, locust and hophornbeam occur as associated species throughout the stands. In 1990, an aggressive silvicultural improvement effort was started that has helped direct the completion of several hundred acres of grapevine and cull removal, crop tree release and the development of miles of access roads and trails. Timber has been harvested in a variety of forest improvement cuts since 1994.
The forester and landowner have worked to enhance wildlife habitat in Crummies Creek Tree Farm. Wildlife waterholes, “dugouts”, have noticeably increased amphibian population. Grape arbors have been largely eliminated but several small areas have been maintained for wildlife habitat, especially in areas surrounding ledges and rock outcrops. During thinnings and cull removal, large diameter culls with shaggy bark such as red maple and shagbark hickory have been left for the benefit of bats. Numerous pileated woodpeckers take advantage of the variety of snags created during timber stand improvement work. There is a rattlesnake den in a rocky area near the center of the property and rock ledges and overhangs are the habitat for several species of bats. One area with a high ledge and big drop is a late summer gathering spot for turkey vultures. Large game animals known to frequent the Crummies Creek woodlands include: turkey, deer, bobcat, squirrel, raccoon and black bear. |
