Signs of New Life: How our ”slash wall” is helping regenerate a young forest

“They’ll try to go over it and they'll try to go under it. Either way, they won’t succeed.”

That’s what our Stewardship team said after witnessing a deer’s failed attempt to get into a 7-acre forest regeneration site that Mount Grace has protected using an innovative forest management technique called a “slash wall.”

The Song Memorial Forest slash wall project is the second of its kind in Massachusetts, but what exactly is it? Constructed from remnant logging slash – the timber materials left over after a forestry operation – a slash wall is a physical barrier that’s designed to protect recently logged areas from deer browsing in order to help them regenerate into young forests after a harvest.

The slash wall we’ve constructed, which measures 8 ft tall and 20 ft wide at its base, blocks herbivores, such as deer and moose, from entering the area and allows the forest to naturally regenerate. 

Our goal is to protect the young forest so that it can provide important and suitable habitat for migratory birds. In doing so, we’re able to collect valuable data on the viability of this innovative forest management practice.

Encouraging Signs

So far, there’s no indication of deer activity within the slash wall. A number of muddied deer tracks can be found criss-crossing the surrounding area, but none have been found within the wall.

Without the presence of deer, we’re happy to report that a number of 1 inch tall pine seedlings have come up inside the wall. Over time, these young trees will create understory structure which is critical for bird habitat. Already, we’ve identified scarlet tanagers, pine warblers, dark-eyed juncos and an Eastern wood-pewee within the logged area. 

By enhancing understory structure, our slash wall will continue to create valuable bird habitat. Over the course of roughly 5 years, the slash will naturally break-down and compress, allowing deer activity to resume within the wall. By then, the wall will have already served its purpose by giving trees the chance to grow from seedlings into saplings.

This newly completed forest management project is located at Song Memorial Forest in Warwick, MA.