Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group

James Madison’s Montpelier – Orange County, Va (2007-present)

Montpelier, home of James Madison, contains 2,623 acres of rolling pasture and woodland in Orange County, Virginia.  It is currently held in trust by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and managed by the Montpelier Foundation.  Almost 1,600 acres of the 2,623 acre property is covered by yellow poplar and other high grade Appalachian hardwoods.  The presidential estate is also home to the James Madison Landmark Forest, 200 acres designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior for its unique qualities as a relatively undisturbed old-growth deciduous forest.

For much of the 20th century, large scale, commercial logging was absent at Montpelier until the 1980’s.  Most of the harvesting had involved periodic, small scale thinnings to meet domestic lumber needs.  Sometime around the Great Depression, however, a wholesale change in land use - from open farmland to woodland - occurred.  This widespread abandonment of farmland created an extensive 70-80 year old age class over much of Montpelier’s woodlands.  Before recent thinnings, it had remained relatively undisturbed for many years.  In addition to this “younger” age class of trees, the woodlands also contain several, even older age classes – one dating to the Civil War and others dating to the 1700’s. 

Beginning the mid 1980’s and lasting until 1994, Montpelier implemented an extensive harvesting plan to produce sorely needed income to finance major renovations to the main house, its numerous dependencies, and estate grounds.  Since the last of the hardwood thinnings in 1994, no subsequent logging activity has occurred at Montpelier.  Today, the estate’s woodlands are represented by vast preserves (the National Natural Landmark forest, park management zones, riparian forest buffers, natural areas and visual buffers), maturing pine plantations, and multi-aged hardwood stands.  Though management activities are dictated by the general health, stocking and condition of the forest, the interpretation, education, and preservation (both of cultural and natural resources) goals of the Foundation also play key roles.  In addition, the income needs have shifted from major, one time yields to a long-term, sustainable approach that yields a smaller stream of income while improving the health and future productivity of the growing stock.  Ultimately, this more balanced management strategy will provide greater economic returns and enhance the value and protection of important, non-timber resources.

In 2007, the Montpelier Foundation hired McChesney Goodall to rewrite and update the Forest Stewardship Management Plan for the property.  This entailed cruising the entire tract and determining where logging would be a feasible and acceptable practice.  Due the historic nature of the property and its heavy recreational use by the public, it contains many forested areas that are largely off limits to logging.  The purpose of the updated stewardship plan was to determine where logging could occur and to design practices that would mitigate the impact to unique or sensitive resources.  Once the stewardship plan was prepared, we implemented a schedule of logging activities to generate income while preserving important viewsheds, archaeological sites (Madison era and Civil War camps), and unique woodlands.  

In 2009, we conducted a thinning operation in a 30 acre block of woodlands, which we designated as the “Montpelier Demonstration Forest”.  The purpose of the Demonstration Forest is to educate landowners and the public about sustainable forest management practices – practices used by Montpelier to achieve multiple-use objectives that include protection of soil and water quality, historic resources, and scenic values while improving the overall health, quality and productivity of the woodlands.  A one-mile loop trail was established that passes through a mature woodland of tulip poplar and oak.  Along this trail are six stops or stations that tell a different story about what we (as woodland managers) tried to achieve in our management of the timber, including selective management, “timber stand improvement” in immature hardwood stands, oak regeneration and conversion of an unproductive old field site to a beautiful wildlife/wildflower meadow.  At each stop, the condition of the forest “before and after” thinning is described.  We have already begun taking groups on tours of the forest.  The management of Montpelier’s forestland has been a unique and sometimes demanding exercise – one that involves working with assorted staff (archaeologists, horticulturists, historians) who have different interests and perspectives.  This has placed a premium on teamwork and conflict resolution, especially between logging and other land-uses, such as preservation of archaeological resources. 

• Montpelier Forestry Blog 

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