Gallatin’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) recently discussed ways to preserve potentially ancient forests discovered in the town. During its meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, members focused on how to protect these forests while reviewing the Gallatin Town Board’s proposed zoning update.
The zoning update outlines plans for development, affordable housing, and environmental conservation. CAC members spent much of the meeting brainstorming revisions to strengthen protections for the suspected ancient forests.
The Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program found the nearly 5,000 acres of potentially ancient forests as part of its ongoing, countywide mapping effort, using modern and historical aerial photography as well as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) images to detect if forested land has ever been tilled. The Hawthorne Valley team plans to conduct on-the-ground spot checks to confirm its discovery.
Ancient forests stand out due their different soil life and ground ecological communities as compared with post-agricultural forests. “These areas that have never been touched except for logging and have special properties that deserve protection,” said Jim Nordgren, an environmental consultant who has been working with the CAC.
Beginning last spring, the CAC has worked with the Town Board to establish a Forest Core Protection Overlay District, covering much of the corridor running through Gallatin that connects the Berkshires and Hudson River Valley for migratory species. If enacted, the overlay could impose CAC-recommended restrictions such as limits on tree harvesting, clear-cutting, and building on steep slopes, as well as establish a buffer for watercourses.
While most of the newly discovered ancient forest lies within this corridor, a map produced by Farmscape Ecology shows patches to the east and west that are outside the proposed overlay district. At its meeting, the CAC discussed the possibility of more protections for the district to safeguard the potential ancient forest, either by expanding the current overlay or by creating a separate clause.Â
The CAC planned to put out a formal response to the Town Board’s zoning update, praising the Town Board’s collaboration, advocating for the CAC’s specific restriction recommendations, and bringing the importance of ancient forests to the Town Board’s attention.
The CAC formed a subcommittee to draft the response consisting of CAC members Eli Arnow, Stixx D’Armento, Harry Franklin, Nancy Kuster, Ben Maron, Alysia Pascaris, Tara Silberberg, Carol Smillie.
Both the Town Board and the CAC are in agreement about preserving Gallatin’s character as a “forest town,” but they also want to strike a balance between conservation and property owners’ rights.
Public comments are welcome on the Town Board’s Zoning Notes until Feb. 28.
Other items the CAC discussed included the Amphibian Migration and Road Crossing Project. This group of volunteers, led by Pascaris, aids wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and other amphibians as they traverse roads and driveways en route to vernal pools for breeding on roughly the first rainy day of spring. This migration is often called “Big Night.”
A group training in preparation for the migration will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 19 at Town Hall. (Participants can also attend virtually.) Volunteers will learn how to identify the creatures, handle them, and locate the vernal pools.
“This is about data collection and documentation for the purpose of really understanding these creatures and where they cross the roads, because if we know where they’re crossing the roads, we kind of know where the vernal pools are,” said Pascaris.
The CAC also discussed upcoming events, focusing on a springtime public education event that aims to spotlight its developing Natural Resource Inventory. This ongoing database serves to document the town’s forests, wildlife, and waterways, acting as a way to connect with the nature of the town and to understand how to best advocate for its preservation.
With knowledge of potential ancient forests in Gallatin, the group proposed to lead a hike through the unique woodlands, setting a tentative date of April 26, the weekend following Earth Day.
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