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Collins - Trees W SpLWATE8v RTY E 394 SCHROON RIVER ROAD, WARRENSBURG, NY, 12885 PHONE: 518-623-3119 ;Y FAX: 518-623-3519 JIM99@NYCAP.RR.00M WWW.WARRENSWCD.ORG CONSERVATION DISTRICT April 19, 2017 Carol Collins Assembly Point Queensbury NY 12084 Dear Carol, After speaking with you the other day in regards to tree reestablishment/planting on Assembly Point, I have developed some basic information. The general site of interest is located between Sunset Lane and Knox Road, and from your description this area was initially impacted by Tropical Storm Irene. I am not totally clear on the recent history, but I understand that there is a house that has been approved by the Queensbury Planning Board. The information was derived through the USDA Websoil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/Home Page.htm) as I do not have formal knowledge of this site. From today's discussion you were primarily interested in the stormwater treatment in the area where the new house will be built. As you know we are not a regulatory agency but I am happy to provide you with general recommendations. The soil survey indicated that this site is made of 2 soil series— Massena and Charlton. The Massena soil is generally poorly drained and in this case 0-3% slope. Typical species that should survive in this soil would be those adapted to a higher groundwater and perhaps saturated soils —eastern white cedar, white spruce, swamp white oak, green ash, red maple, balsam fir, eastern hemlock, highbush cranberry, etc. The Charlton series is a fine sandy loam with slopes 15-25%. This type of soil can handle most of the native tree and shrub species that are found in the county —eastern white pine, northern red oak, white oak, sugar maple, shadbush, etc. along with most that I mentioned with the Massena series. You asked me how many trees should be planted. That number is primarily dependent on the existing site conditions and the goals of the project. I would evaluate the current vegetation growth at the ground to canopy level and determine what the overhead canopy cover is (for shade tolerance). If there is good regenerative growth, then you may not want to have much planted. A site that was impacted as this one was will likely take 5-10 years to start looking "normal". The succession from minor groundcover to raspberry's, mixed seedlings, then a sapling stage is dependent on the growing conditions and the species. From the blowdown and subsequent salvage harvest there appears to be a considerable increase in sun on the soil. This may alter the site to favor more drought tolerant species, which possibly were not prevalent in the seed bank. Even a tree seedling that has been transplanted from a nursery takes 2-3 years to really start growing, as the roots need to establish and the plant acclimates to the soil chemistry. A landowner may be better off managing the native regrowth of the site and selectively managing for certain species or regimes. "Working with communities to benefit the natural resources of Warren County" W SpLWATE8v RTY E 394 SCHROON RIVER ROAD, WARRENSBURG, NY, 12885 PHONE: 518-623-3119 ;Y FAX: 518-623-3519 JIM99@NYCAP.RR.00M WWW.WARRENSWCD.ORG CONSERVATION DISTRICT If stormwater runoff from the developed location is a concern, I would assume that the Town and LGPC storm water requirements are known and the plan meets the requirements. I am not aware of the best management practices (BMP's) that are called for, but you had mentioned an infiltration trench that would be capturing water. I believe that shrubs can be incorporated into most stormwater treatment systems, and would enhance the practice at low cost. Obviously the plants would need to be correctly selected, but in general smaller, native shrubs with a good root mass would be preferred —dogwoods (various species), High Bush Cranberry and Winterberry Holly are several that could be looked at for any site in the area. Again, this is intended to provide some general information, based on the available resources I have in the office. I stated earlier identifying the goals of each site and evaluating the site constraints for planting is critical. In dealing with a natural system such as this conditions change over time, i.e. — amount of sunlight reaching floor with the removal of trees, sunlight decreasing with successional growth, change in water availability (is that beaver dam in or out), is there a species decline due to an insect, and so on. Once the goals are established, an evaluation of potential corrective actions can proceed. If that review takes a long time, you may need to look at the site conditions again to make sure the recommendation is current to the conditions. Remember too that no action is also a basic management strategy. It is one that is not generally looked upon highly because it suggests a lack of effort, but it should not be immediately dismissed. In some cases a potential corrective actions can produce negative impacts to a site, especially to one that has been dormant for several years. Hopefully this provides some useful info to your questions, and please let me know if you would like any further info. I am cc:ing the Town of Queensbury in case they would like additional information. Sincerely, Jim Lieberum, CPESC District Manager Cc: Laura Moore "Working with communities to benefit the natural resources of Warren County"