This story appeared in the June 2000 issue of Delaware Today.Deforestation continues unabated in Delaware
By Terry Plowman
Somewhere in White Clay Creek State Park, a tiny warbler forages for insects in trees that soar up to 100 feet tall. The bird hops limb to limb, oblivious to the fact that it is one of only six or seven of its kind in the state.
Among the last cerulean warblers in Delaware, a species now found only in White Clay, the tiny bird's existence depends on something that is disappearing all across the state: large unbroken tracts of forest.
As Delaware's population continues to grow so rapidly -- more than 12 percent through 2020, according to projections -- habitat for people is taking priority over habitat for wildlife. Forestland is making way for housing and other human development at a pace of about 2,000 acres a year.
Which may be why U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Rick McCorkle from Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge frowns as he looks over the list of Delaware's endangered species, many of which are falling victim to the relentless fragmentation of the state's woodlands.
"Upland forests are the most imperiled habitat in the state," McCorkle says. "Because of continued suburban sprawl, we have mostly fragments too small to support the requirements of these species. The trends that we're seeing are not too optimistic."
McCorkle points out that although farmland preservation programs and wetlands regulations are good ideas, they push development toward the course of least resistance -- forests, for which there is virtually no regulatory protection.
Studies by the University of Delaware and others have shown that between 1984 and 1997 the state lost 12 percent of its forestlands, or about 47,000 acres. Sussex County saw the largest loss of forest acreage, but Kent County and the portion of New Castle County below the C&D Canal showed larger losses as a percentage. And the loss continues.
But that's only part of the problem. Because so many animals depend on large, unbroken tracts of forests, experts are far more concerned about fragmentation of remaining forests than by the number of acres lost. More than 20 species in Delaware are threatened by forest fragmentation, including the Delmarva fox squirrel, the spotted salamander, the barking treefrog and numerous birds, including the American redstart, pileated woodpecker, wood thrush and the cerulean warbler.
Fragmentation of forests makes life more difficult for such species in several ways: Increased light penetration affects temperature and humidity, which are critical for amphibians, and increased "edge" areas allow predators access to formerly protected interiors. Fragmentation also alters the plant communities that feed and shelter many species and allows non-native plants to compete with important indigenous plants.
Rare plants such as American ginseng and wild columbine are also threatened by Delaware's loss of forestlands, according to Bill McAvoy, botanist for the Delaware Natural Heritage Program. He notes that 48 percent of the state's rare plants live in forests, which he calls Delaware's most threatened natural habitat.
Some people may not care about saving a little-known plant, but for McAvoy the issue is biological diversity. Healthy old-growth forests are ecosystems "that have evolved over thousands of years," McAvoy says. "They have much more diversity of wild species from the top of the canopy to the soil layer."
That diversity, according to a 1999 report titled "Protecting Delaware's Natural Heritage: Tools for Biodiversity Conservation," has numerous economic, social and environmental benefits beyond the preservation of a few rare salamanders and songbirds. Ecologically healthy forests, for example, provide jobs, recreational opportunities and such critical natural functions as water filtration, air purification and erosion control. And, as any real estate agent who has advertised a "wooded lot" knows, trees increase property value.
Mike Valenti, a senior forester for Delaware, is standing in the state's biggest "wooded lot" -- the 8,870-acre Redden State Forest in Sussex County. Scanning a carpet of pine seedlings that have sprung up around dead trees that were burned in a 1995 fire, Valenti says, "It would be nice if we had some other way to value forests than by their timber value or land value, like by their diversity or how much oxygen trees produce."
The biodiversity report notes that protecting Delaware's natural areas, despite their value, runs counter to a practice that began in colonial times -- the clearing of natural areas for human uses. And that practice is increasing.
Lord Baltimore described in detail the variety of trees that nearly covered the state in 1633: "The country is, for the most part, thickly wooded. There are many hickory trees and oaks so straight and tall that beams 60 feet long and two-and-a-half-feet wide can be made of them. The cypress trees also grow to a height of 80 feet before they have any branches, and three men with arms extended can barely reach round their trunks. Pine, laurel, fir, sassafras and walnuts are plentiful. There are plenty of mulberry trees, alder, ash and chestnut trees, as large as those which grow in Spain, Italy and France; and cedars equalling those which Libanus boasts of."
About a third of Delaware remains forested, but no one knows precisely how many acres of forest there are. An inventory by the U.S. Forest Service from 1986 estimated about 390,000 acres. Its latest survey, completed in the fall, has yet to be released, but state forester Austin Short guesses that it will show significantly less. The University of Delaware reported that in 1992 the state had about 346,000 forested acres, and Short estimates that the state continues to lose about 2,000 acres every year.
But there are a few bright spots in Delaware's deforestation story: acquisitions that have enlarged state forests and reforestation efforts.
Two large reforestation projects are ongoing--one in Milford Neck Preserve near Milford and another in Middle Run Valley, near one of the most highly developed areas of New Castle County.
Both projects are attempting to re-establish hardwood forests, which are considered far better habitat than the fast-growing timber pine "plantations" -- as McAvoy calls them -- where trees are planted as a "crop."
The Milford project, managed by the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, will eventually reforest 82 of the 370 acres of farmland it owns there. (The preserve comprises 2,800 acres.) About 54 acres have been planted with more than 20,000 oak, black gum, persimmon, tulip tree and other seedlings over the past two years. The remaining acreage will be planted next year.
The Nature Conservancy hopes to repair some forest fragmentation in that area and to restore forests that border waterways (called "riparian" forests). "Many unusual plants and animals depend on this habitat," says Mark Zankel, director of science and stewardship for the chapter. Its studies have shown that some species of amphibians spend 90 percent of their time on land, often venturing into adjacent forests more than 500 feet from their aquatic habitat.
Restoring habitat is also a priority in Middle Run Valley, an 850-acre oasis of parkland surrounded by housing developments in the congested Pike Creek area. In a joint project between New Castle County and the Delaware Nature Society, more than 60 acres of former farmland have been reforested since 1992.
More than 30,000 seedlings, saplings and trees have been planted so far, and annual plantings will continue as long as there is funding, according to Polly Gill of the nature society.
Because of reforestation, many types of wildlife have returned to Middle Run Valley, according to Linda Gould of the New Castle County Department of Special Services. She says butterflies, foxes, deer, groundhogs and "birds, birds, birds" have taken up residence.
In addition to the Milford Neck and Middle Run projects, private landowners have offered more than 500 acres of cropland for hardwood reforestation through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. The joint federal-state program pays landowners to take cropland out of production and reforest it. The government provides help and pays much of the cost of the tree plantings. The next planting will occur in fall.
Despite the best intentions, reforestation of a few hundred acres can't replace the thousands the state loses to development every year. Environmental experts aren't sure what to do about it, though.
"We have to accept that we live in a free market and that population is expanding," Valenti says. "Maybe we should try to put a value on (biological) diversity. But I'm a realist, and the only way we're going to minimize development of forests is to use zoning to control it."
Short says he's wary of forest conservation laws that would just push development toward other open areas, such as farmland. And he notes that developers aren't the only ones cutting down Delaware's forests -- citizens, through their government, reduce forestlands with such public projects as the Route 1 bypass that cut a 300-foot-wide swath through several wooded areas. Citizens want such convenience, Short says, but it has an environmental cost. In the case of SR 1, the cost was 150 acres of old forest.
Though the federal government requires states to plant twice as much forest for all the forestlands it destroys, Short says a "holistic" approach to preservation may be more effective than a regulatory one.
"A lot of times you can get as much done by education, cooperation and technical assistance," he says. "Most folks will work with you."
There is no plan on the horizon similar to one in Maryland that requires developers to reforest or pay into a reforestation fund if they cut down trees, but environmentalists hope that a combination of incentive programs such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and public outcry will inspire developers to preserve valuable forest.
Both citizen alarm and government pressure had just that effect last year, when a stand of old pines and hardwoods near Milton had a close call with the chain saw.
The trees are on a site being developed as a golf course, a project that was going forward with government approval until a local birdwatcher expressed concern about blue herons that nested in the trees. Calls went out to Fish and Wildlife officials, who determined that the forested area was also a potential habitat for the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel.
Because of the birdwatcher's 11th-hour alarm and the advice of Fish and Wildlife experts, developers reworked plans to preserve the nesting area. They renamed the golf course The Rookery.
The salvation of the rookery was seen by some as a sign that development can be sensitive to the state's environmental needs. But others, troubled that the valuable habitat almost slipped through the cracks, saw its near-destruction as a metaphor for Delaware's besieged forestlands.