Compromise between clear skies and the forested landscape: Assessing the diversity and size of trees in the proposed Astronomy clearing site at the MacLeish Field Station By: Sylvia Vega Smith College EVS 300 Project 5-8-09Abstract Smith College gained ownership of 180 acres of forested land in West Whately, Massachusetts in 1962. This land is part of one of the longest tracts of undeveloped land in the entire state. In 1964, an observatory was built for Five College Astronomy research but the inaccessibility of the site resulted in it to remain unused since 1994. Recently, the Astronomy department at Smith has expressed renewed interest in the usefulness of the site and would require the cutting of the regrowth trees to the Eastern Horizon. The aim of this study was to survey the species diversity of the site, their size in diameter-breast-height, and create recommendations on how and where future tree cutting should occur. In our area of study we surveyed a total of 220 trees from 15 different species and only 16 individual trees were found with a diameter-breast-height greater than 40 cm from 5 different species signifying how most trees are young. Additionally, a vernal pool was found with Wood Frog and Spotted salamander eggs. From these results we recommend selective cutting or trimming of trees that obscure the most sky, no cutting within 10 m of the vernal pool and 5 m within the stream, and the stream could be dammed to ensure the survivability of the vernal pool. Introduction The forested area in West Whately is part of one of the longest tracts of undeveloped land in Massachusetts. It borders protected land of the Franklin Land Trust and Fish & Wildlife on its Eastern side and protected land of the watershed for the Northampton reservoir on its Western side (Bertone-Johnson 2009). Historically, parts of this land have been used for cattle farming, lead mining, and logging since the 1800’s. In 1962, Smith College purchased 180 acres of this forested area in West Whately (Smith College 1962). This property was intended for the construction of a new Astronomy observatory to replace the old observatory that was torn down to make way for the building of Wright Hall. Due to the site’s distance from the city lights of Northampton, it was viewed to be an ideal location for viewing both faint and bright objects in the sky. Two years later in 1964, the construction of the observatory which included a circular brick building, revolving dome, and adjacent cement structure was completed (Daily Hampshire Gazette 1963). The total cost of the project was $70,000 while the 16-inch Cassegrain reflecting telescope alone constituted for nearly half of the cost at $34,000 (Daily Hampshire Gazette1964). The telescope was the best in current design and at the time was the only modern instrument available in the valley. This observatory at the MacLeish Field Station was actively used by the Astronomy department of the Five college consortium; Smith college, UMass Amherst, Amherst college, Hampshire college, and Mount Holyoke college. Due to the popularity of the site use, the forested area on the Eastern side of the fence was believed to have been completely cleared of its trees in order to improve the visibility of the sky. Unfortunately, the remoteness of the observatory from the Five Colleges began to make it inaccessible for student use. In the time it would take to reach the site, the visibility of the sky would often change making the trip unproductive. Additionally, the development of the McConnell Roof Observatory overshadowed the MacLeish site more since it is in walking distance for Smith College students. For these reasons, the observatory has remained unused as an undergraduate tool since 1994 (Gross 2001). Recently, the appeal of the observatory at MacLeish has reemerged since the property’s potential for scientific research has been newly recognized by a number of different disciplines at Smith College (Neurath 2009). Unfortunately, since the site has been out of use its condition has not been maintained resulting in a regrowth of the forested area that had once been cut. At present, this renewed interest by the Astronomy department has resulted in the desire for an area of the forest around the observatory to be cut. The highest priority area to be cut is the forested region towards the Eastern horizon since this would allow for the viewing objects in the sky rising such as the moon or stars (Lowenthal 2009). The next priority areas would be cutting in the Southern and then the Northern Horizons. The department’s hope is that this cutting would help the site to once again become an actively used space for hands-on experience for its majors.This desire by the Astronomy department to cut portions of the forested area has led to a number of concerns from other departments at Smith. Firstly, a member of the Geology department has expressed concern of the potential for soil erosion and the release of nitrogen and other cations such as phosphrous into the nearby stream (Rhodes 2009). Secondly, there is worry in the Biology department of the loss of tree diversity since it is currently unknown what species are on the property. Furthermore, there is concern over the potential loss of an accessible area of study by its majors since it is located so closely to the property’s entrance. Thirdly, there is concern in the Environmental Studies and Policy department that the cutting would lead to further loss of natural land and habitat area as well as alter its present condition through the emergence of edge effects. Edge effects are a result of alterations of a forested area causing changes in sunlight penetration, temperature, and species structure and composition (Fox 1997). Fourthly, there is worry in the Landscape Studies department that cutting could lead to a loss of the aesthetic value of the site since the potential cutting area is close to the entrance of the property (Bertone-Johnson 2009). Finally, potential cutting must address the potential loss of forested view by the neighboring land owners whom the college has an agreement with not to alter their view. It is important that all of these concerns be taking into consideration when planning the prospective cutting of the property to ensure that the site’s future use not be compromised. Based on these considerations, we developed a study that would both address