This natural regeneration project repairs a forest damaged by a 2003 ice storm. The Hardwood Forestry Fund grant enabled the project manager to address the ice damage and to encourage healthy natural regeneration. Because of these efforts, thousands of new trees have captured the site. The diversity of native hardwood trees now growing is attracting various species of wildlife including: whitetail deer, black bear, coyotes, turkeys, grouse, and numerous bird species.

The severe ice storm of 2003 bent and bowed 20 acres of saplings, creating a jumble of broken tops and sucker branching.  The young trees were so badly damaged the site was essentially out of production.  The project manager wanted to try a management technique to flatten 13.6 acres of damaged saplings to promote new regeneration. This was done using a D6 bulldozer.  The following spring, a large amount of Pin Cherry sprouted and continued to grow at an impressive rate throughout the growing season.  The Pin Cherry competed more successfully against other species. Competition control to reduce the amount of pin cherry was performed in 2007.  Currently there are several native tree species growing on the site including: Black Cherry, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Aspen, Black Birch and White Ash.    
  
All trees on this site are a result of natural regeneration. The saplings range in height from 6 ft to 1 ft depending on the tree species and the effects of deer browsing.   
 
Stocking is approximately 1,300 young trees per acre. The overall health of the stand is good although some deer browsing is still taking place. 

In the summer of 2009, twelve DCNR foresters from adjoining districts visited the site for an educational field day.  They learned about different ways to deal with ice damage in pole size stands.  They learned that if a stand has a tremendous amount of ice damage that bulldozing and possibly competition control afterwards is a good method to regenerate the stand and to create a healthy forest.

• Project Initiation Date: winter 2005/2006
• Location: Susquehannock State Forest Comparnment 65 , PA
• Number of Trees: 26000
• Number of Acres: 20
• Tree Species: black cherry, black birch, sugar mpale, white ash
• Project Partner: PA DCNR Forest District #15