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forest. During this 5-year period, more than 1/3 of the forest (2.3 square miles) was removed, and more than 3 square miles of developed areas were created. Almost half of the forest removed was evergreen, likely from pine plantations or old fields. Landcover on Town Property For property currently owned by the town, forest was the dominant landcover in both 2001 and 2006 (Figure 5). About 6% of forested land (37 acres) was converted to developed prop- erty. Using digital aerial photos taken in 2010, it is estimated that the town currently owns approximately 630 acres of forested land (0.98 square miles). Upland deciduous forests are the most common type of forest on town property (Figure 6). town forests Currently, there is no written plan for the management of the town’s significant holdings of forested land. However, the following general issues have been identified: • Overly thick stands of loblolly pines need to be thinned to reduce the threat of wildfires, pests, and disease. • Invasive exotic plant species such as kudzu, Chinese privet, Japanese stiltgrass, Callery pear, and Chinaberry have infested town property and should be controlled.
RECOMMENDATION: Create management plans for all town forests, describing these resources and detailing how they are to be managed. Create a wildfire risk management plan.
AQUATIC
MIXED FOREST 9%
AQUATIC
2% DEVELOPED 20%
2% DEVELOPED 15%
EVERGREEN FOREST 19%
DECIDUOUS FOREST 47%
LOW GROWTH 17%
FOREST 62%
LOW GROWTH 16%
FOREST 66%
WOODY WETLANDS 25%
NON-CANOPY 54%
2001
2006
FIGURE 6: Forest Types on Town Property, 2006 National Land Cover Dataset
FIGURE 5: Landcover of Town Property, 2001 and 2006
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