Timber harvest at the Bird Farm

    A small timber harvest was recently completed on the Houlton High School woodlot (aka. the Bird Farm) to remove hazardous trees near the newly constructed sugarhouse. The harvest covered a very small area and was used to remove over-mature balsam fir and aspen, and diseased beech. The income generated from the sale of wood will help finance construction of the sugarhouse.
    The harvest was performed by forestry students from the Region Two School of Applied Technology.  The forestry program, led by instructor Dave Libby and teaching assistant Ted Wright, is composed of students from four high schools in southern Aroostook and northern Penobscot counties. Students in the program include those with some logging experience and those getting their first taste of working in the Maine woods.
Contributed photograph
ASSISTING — Bill Fitzpatrick Jr. and Region Two instructor Dave Libby assist a Region Two forestry student felling a tree. The two students in the picture are Josh Carmichael and Dan Toby.
    A great amount of assistance was provided by Bill Fitzpatrick Jr. and Bill Fitzpatrick Sr. The Fitzpatricks generously donated three days of their time and their John Deere skidder for the harvest operation. This was a great savings and help to the Region Two program which is currently working on a large harvest at Katahdin Elementary School.
    The local Maine Forest Service forester assisted with harvest planning, layout and periodic inspections.  As planned, the harvest will benefit the high school in three ways. First, it will make the sugarhouse site safer for students and the public. Second, it will provide a small amount of capital to help complete the sugarhouse. Finally, it will help establish a new crop of trees near the sugarhouse.
    If you have any questions about the harvest or the sugarhouse project, call Dan Jacobs at 441-4128.