Town leaders who say they are concerned about climate change are readying plans to preserve the town’s wetlands and forests.
Andover environmental experts are working on the initial phase of a Forest Stewardship Plan for the Bald Hill-Wood Hill Reservation at Interstate 495 and High Plain Road – and are seeking public comment. The plan focuses on tree thinning and harvesting dead or damaged trees in the forest, according to the plan provided by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation.
Michael Murray, the conservation land manager for Andover, said that extreme weather, a result of climate change, has knocked down older and larger trees in the town’s forests, allowing invasive species to thrive. By removing these trees and planting young trees in their place, people can prevent the spread of invasive species and improve the forest’s biodiversity, he said.
“You take a densely forested area and you thin it out so more sunlight can get through, and trees that are in the understory [the shaded space between the ground and taller trees] can begin to grow and regenerate,” Murray said.
Joyce Losick-Yang, town director of sustainability and energy, said extreme weather, while rare in the past, is becoming more common with climate change.
This story was published as part of a collaboration between Andover News and the Department of Journalism in Boston University’s College of Communication. The student journalist is a member of Professor Meghan E. Irons’s class.
Residents may remember that in September 2023, a strong, forceful column of air in a thunderstorm known as a microburst brought down trees and electrical lines in residential areas, including along County Road. It forced Andover Public Schools to close. Just a month earlier, an unprecedented 4.5 inches of rain fell over the course of several hours in Andover, causing flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
“That level of intensity, what used to be a 100-year storm, is more like today’s 20-year storm,” Losick-Yang said. “Climate projections show that these intense and statistically low storm events … are just more frequent.”
Losick-Yang said the increase in storms has contributed to decreasing biodiversity, with invasive species overtaking native plants across Andover’s rivers and forests. “Native species are facing competition from what used to be non-natives,” she said.
Fighting Invasive Plants
Amy Janovsky, a trustee for the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS), said the organization works to clear an invasive plant called bittersweet from the Shawsheen River that runs through Andover.
“Walking on the main trail, you could barely see the river because of the wall of bittersweet,” Janovsky said. “That was not ideal.”
Janovsky said a team of volunteers manually weeded the bittersweet from trees along the river to support the growth of plants that are native to Andover.
While the team’s efforts were successful, Janovsky said AVIS continues to clear bittersweet every three to five years to maintain the river. “As there is some regrowth, you can address just the regrowth very lightly, and it’s effective,” she said.
Flooding Concerns On The Rise
In addition to affecting biodiversity, climate change can also increase the amount of flooding in Andover, according to Murray.
“Typically we would have a certain amount of rainfall that we would get each year, and our wetlands would have the storage capacity to hold them,” Murray said. “Climate change is increasing the amount of water that we’re seeing coming from both the water bodies and from large storm events.”
Murray said the water table, stores of water absorbed by the ground, plays an important role when it comes to controlling flooding in Andover, especially for the town’s wetlands.
“With increased rain, we have increased flooding from the Merrimack and the Shawsheen [rivers], or just the rising of the water table, which then causes flooding in housing areas,” Murray said.
Gary Kazangian, 57, who lives on Elm Street and has been a resident in Andover for about a year, said he has seen the impact that flooding has had in his neighborhood.
“Some of these old houses, they have not the concrete, [rather] they have the stone, so water seeps in,” Kazangian said. “When we go for a walk, you see a lot of hoses coming out of the basements.”
Murray explained the Conservation Division considers multiple aspects when working to preserve the environment in light of climate change. “Biodiversity, land preservation and land restoration all contribute to mitigating climate change, adapting to climate change and creating more resilient habitats,” Murray said.
Taking Steps On Forest Stewardship Plan
The Forest Stewardship Plan was proposed for the Bald Hill-Wood Hill Reservation by the town’s Conservation Division and managed under the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation. It was presented in September to the town’s Conservation Commission, which oversees over 2,200 acres of protected land in Andover.
Now that Andover has drafted the plan, Murray said the next steps are working with the state Department of Conservation & Recreation to gain state approval and listening to what residents have to say about the plan.
“We’ve significantly slowed down the process specifically to do public outreach,” Murray said. “We really want the residents of Andover to know about this [and] to be able to give their comments.”
Residents can contact Murray at [email protected] to ask questions and learn more about the Forest Stewardship Plan.