Blue Ridge Country July/August 2021 - 66

GUEST COLUMN
The Magic of these Mountains
Rosey Santerre is the Pendleton County Service
Forester with the West Virginia Division of
Forestry. Her work includes forest fire prevention
and suppression, implementing West Virginia's
Logging Sediment Control Act and assisting private
landowners with forest management. While not
working, she enjoys spending time with her family,
growing food and playing in the woods.
By ROSALIE SANTERRE
Forest management planning is an art and a science.
I
moved to West Virginia to work for the Mountain
Institute as a field instructor for youth programs. I
got to teach kids about biology, ecology, teamwork
and resilience, while on a myriad of trips, from day
adventures to overnight backpacking and canoeing
trips. I had just finished my bachelor's degree in
Forestry from Paul Smith's College, and like many
new graduates I was ambitious and ready to change the
world. I imagined West Virginia would be my first stop in
a cross-country adventure, working in the outdoors, seeing
the nations parks and forests. But here I am 11 years
later, with a family, home and career, sinking in deeper
roots by the year.
It is easy to love the Appalachian Mountains and their
diverse, lush forests. That is especially true after more
than a year where being outdoors was one of the only escapes
available from life during the pandemic. As a forester,
I am lucky to work in the woods almost daily, so even
while office and meeting protocols changed, my work
has not been too different from normal. One of the best
parts of my job is helping private landowners reach their
forest management goals. Wildlife management, timber
production and recreation are some of the goals that are
common for landowners in this area who are seeking forest
management assistance.
66 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
We collect data on the current condition of the forest
and use models and projections to guide our management
prescriptions. The art is balancing present versus
future needs from the forest, making it economically
feasible while trying to leave a better stand for future
generations. When I am trying to develop a prescription
for a stand, I try to think about how the stand would
arrive to the desired condition in nature. I think about
how I can mimic this natural process to achieve the
goals for the stand. For example, if I want to concentrate
growth in desirable trees, I can give them more sunlight
by cutting a few of the adjacent trees. This happens naturally
in forest succession; a young forest will have lots
of small trees and as they grow, the fastest growing trees
will shade out their neighbors.
After an especially harsh winter for the area, this spring
was abundant with the hopeful flowering of dogwoods,
serviceberry and redbud in contrast to the vibrant greens
of newly emerging tree leaves and lush pasture fields.
Starting around this time of year, trees are putting on the
largest amount of " early wood, " the wood in the growth
ring that is produced earlier in the growing season. When
you look at the growth rings of trees, the early wood is
usually lighter and distinctly visible.
This spring as I observed the rich reawakening of the
land, I wondered if perhaps we should think about mimicking
nature in more of our actions. Perhaps growth
comes on best after dormancy. Maybe we can come out
of this quieter time and spring forward into a more vibrant
future.
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2021

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