Last year was a great year for Regenerate NY-DEC’s cost-share grant program that helps landowners promote and/or establish forest regeneration on privately owned land. Forestry practices in this grant program include planting trees, restoring the health of forest stands, controlling invasive species and other competing vegetation, and using fencing to reduce deer browse. There have been three rounds of Regenerate NY grants so far, totaling 55 awards throughout New York state.
Highlights from 2023 include the start of Round 3 of the grant program as well as major progress on projects from Rounds 1 and 2, with some projects being completed.
A Round 1 project located in Delaware County aims to restore a healthy forest and promote forest regeneration. The property had a degraded understory that lacked diversity and was primarily made up of American beech, striped-maple, and hay-scented fern. The overstory had a large number of poorly formed, low quality trees. These conditions can hinder natural regeneration and reduce a forests’ resilience to pests and diseases. The consulting forester prescribed competing vegetation control followed by forest stand restoration; a cutting system that removed many of the trees. Scattered trees were left throughout the site to allow for seed dispersal and assist with natural forest regeneration. This type of harvest creates multiple openings in the forest which benefits wildlife and promotes plant diversity. It is expected that with larger trees and competing vegetation removed, more sunlight will reach the forest floor, spurring natural regeneration that will grow into a healthy future forest.
A Round 2 project located in Schenectady County is working to grow forests in a former agriculture field. Over 2,000 trees were planted over five acres including red oak, white oak, hickory, and black walnut. Tree tubes are being utilized to protect the bare root seedlings from wildlife browse.
In Round 3, 19 grants were awarded, totaling $850,000. These new grant projects will span throughout the state including Central New York, Western New York, the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley, the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes Region, the Catskills and the Adirondacks.
Stay tuned in 2024 for more project updates and the next round of Regenerate NY grants.
