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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
City of Williamsburg, Virginia

Showcases:
Catlett Farm
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Fort Story Forestry Inventory

Williamsburg Environmental Group, Inc. (WEG) was selected by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CWF) to plan, coordinate, execute, and manage a 25-acre timber harvest and site preparation project that will become a new pasture located within the heart of the City of Williamsburg.  In addition to overseeing the harvest and site preparation, WEG will also coordinate all of the permitting for this project.  WEG met with CWF personnel early on in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of their project and to help them determine the easiest and most cost-effective means for obtaining their vision of the new pasture.  After it was determined that the property would be harvested and chipped rather than conventionally cleared, WEG worked with CWF personnel to select the appropriate timber harvester (contractor) for the project.  Once a finalized pasture plan had been drafted, WEG forestry staff delineated the harvest boundaries.  This was done by focusing on how the pasture would be designed or utilized as well as the location of any jurisdictionally protected buffers or environmentally sensitive areas.  Once the harvest boundaries were delineated, and it was determined that no impacts would be made, the timber within the pasture property was selectively harvested. Upon completion of the timber harvest, the site was then cleared of all residual logging debris.

The logging debris was not to be removed from the site, but rather chipped in place using a "forwarding chipper".  This chipper is a low-ground pressure peice of equipment that drives over the residual debris, pulverizing it into a finely shreded material akin to finely shredded mulch.  This equipment only treats material that is above ground, thus proving to be non-vasive to the soil structure.  This is not only important for erosion prevention, but also protects any cultural or historic artifacts that may be located below the surface on the site.  The residual chip material was then evenly scattered across the pasture as a soil amendment, greatly increasing the organic composition of the soil there-by helping to increase its fertility.  Upon completion of the logging and chipping, a soil test was taken to determine if any chemical amendments will be needed such as phosphorous, nitrogen, or lime to increase the fertility of the site. Once the results of this test are received, WEG will oversaw the application of any potential soil amendments as well as the seeding of the site.  The pasture was seeded using a hydro-seeder with a mulch tacifier in the early fall and then overseeded in the spring of 2010 using a seed drill.

As a result of these sustainable practices, WEG has been able to assist the CWF in accomplishing a much-needed goal with minimal environmental impacts.

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