Laurel & Ash Farm in Holmes, a 50 acre-working family farm and forest which produces minimal batches of 100% pure, wood-fired, Grade A maple syrup, has actually ended up being an authorities Bird-Friendly Maple manufacturer.
Through the Bird-Friendly Maple job (a collective effort in between Audubon, Cornell and the New York State Maple Producers Association), they handle their sugarbush—the forest location where maple syrup is produced—in manner ins which supply more resistant bird environment.
“Sugarbushes don’t just make for great maple syrup: As the production season winds down, they become nesting and foraging habitat for declining songbirds like the Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush. On a wider scale, healthy forested landscapes provide benefits like carbon sequestration and storage and watershed protection. By creating a more structurally and biologically diverse sugarbush, maple producers can play a vital role in conservation that benefits birds and people,” said Suzanne Treyger, Senior Forest Program Manager for Audubon Connecticut and New York.
As the tenth manufacturer to sign up with the program in New York, Laurel & Ash is handling their sugarbush in manner ins which help these birds raise the next generation of their types.
What makes a bird-friendly sugarbush?
- Young trees and shrubs supply cover, food, and nesting websites for Black-throated Blue Warbler and Wood Thrush.
- Snags (dead trees) are left standing to supply nesting websites for woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatch, and pests for Scarlet Tanager.
- Downed trees and other woody product are left on the forest flooring for birds like the Ovenbird and Ruffed Grouse to hide, nest, and forage.
“We have amended our forest management and wildlife habitat plan to include the practices and recommendations of the Audubon New York bird habitat assessment. We have observed an increase in the diversity of bird species that visit or nest in our forest,” said Ashley Ruprecht, who co-owns Laurel & Ash Farm with her partner, Jeffrey Schad.
“Our focus is not only on creating the most delicious and delightful maple syrup, but doing so responsibly – using low impact harvesting techniques and holistic forest management that promotes sustainable sap production, diversity in our landscape, and a hospitable habitat for birds and other wildlife. The stewardship of our sugarbush not only affects us, but neighboring forests, wetlands, and bird conservation in the region. Maple syrup and responsible production can be a model for sustainably produced food that also provides healthy habitats for wildlife.”
