Downed Trees Uplift Baltimore Area National Parks’ Resource Stewardship Efforts

When a walnut tree fell at Hampton National Historic Site three years ago, Mark Wilson, the exhibits specialist for the Baltimore Area National Parks, didn’t just hear it, he saw an opportunity to give new life to the dead deciduous.

Maintenance team members mill and stack lumber at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

NPS

In the past, downed trees at Hampton National Historic Site and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine had been cut into manageable pieces and removed as waste by the maintenance team. In the past several years, a “waste not, want not” policy has been adopted when assessing trees that have fallen naturally or been cut down due to safety concerns. Whenever possible, the trees are milled into lumber that can be used for repairs and projects. Following a small fire at Hampton NHS last year, repairs to the subfloor of the historic Overseers House were made using walnut milled on site. At Fort McHenry NM&HS, preservationists repaired window frames in the historic buildings with lumber they milled the year prior. Floorboards in one of the fort’s bombproofs (bomb shelters) are currently being replaced with boards from a dead oak tree that needed to be cut down as increasing instability made it a safety hazard. Other types of wood collected for use in the parks include maple, pine, cedar, cherry, sycamore and basswood.

A pile of logs waiting to be milled at Hampton National Historic Site.

NPS

The uses for downed trees don’t stop at large-scale projects, though, as the maintenance team branches out in the ways they can reduce, reuse and recycle. Smaller pieces of wood and offcuts from the milling process that are in good condition are saved for smaller projects such as the creation of barrel covers and other display pieces. Branches and unusable offcuts are turned into mulch for landscaping or even used as firewood during living history demonstrations.

It’s all about reducing waste,” Wilson said. “By milling the lumber from fallen trees and using it in our repairs, we steward the park’s natural resources while preserving the historic structures entrusted to our care.

Processing fallen trees is made possible through resource sharing equipment with National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center and is rooted in a commitment to responsible resource stewardship. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Hampton National Historic Site, and the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail belong to a network of parks nationwide that participate in the National Park Service's Climate Friendly Parks program. Learn more about how the program is implemented at the parks.

Lumber is stacked and labeled with the type and date it was milled to allow for appropriate seasoning.

NPS/ de Manincor

Fallen trees are milled with equipment borrowed from the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center.

NPS/ Rhodes

Preservationists repaired the subfloor of the Overseers House at Hampton NHS using lumber they milled on site.

NPS/ Doolittle