GRANBY — A second round of tree cutting in Dufresne Park will take place later this winter along the Kendall Street side of the park, where crews will selectively cut hemlock and pine trees and remove the fallen logs.

The first phase of Dufresne’s forest management plan took place last winter, when 1,674 trees across 30 acres were marked for removal. Many of the trees, particular oak, died after a spongy moth festered in the area for three years, according to Forester John Edwards.

This next part of the plan, Edwards said, will selectively cut trees rather than clear cutting a large area to control a future hemlock woolly adelgid infestation.

“Hemlock woolly adelgid is an (invasive) aphid that sucks the nutrition out of the needles of hemlock trees, and eventually, if the infestation is bad enough, will kill the tree,” Edwards told the Select Board at its Feb. 24 meeting. “This is the next disease or insect that I’m hoping to get a little bit in front of, try to get the value out of the hemlock before it becomes standing dead wood just like the oak was, and start to regenerate something there.”

It’s unclear how many trees will be removed, but it will be less than the previous phase. Edwards just began the process of identifying and marking specific trees for removal. This technique, called shelterwood cutting, creates small openings in the canopy for new trees and shrubs to grow.

The Select Board supports moving into the final phase of the cutting plan to prevent any more dying trees from falling onto the trail.

The previous phase of the forest management procedure received backlash from some residents, who were unhappy with the loss of trees and clear cut areas of the park. However, the trees that were cut along the walking trails were a liability, according to Select Board Chair Crystal Dufresne.

“I run those trails and there’s trees down all the time,” she said. “You can see throughout (the park) there’s just so many dead trees because there’s no sun coming down to the ground, so all the samples are dying, and all the big trees are dying.”

Edwards admits that the previous procedure was “shocking,” but assures the community that the forest will regrow.

“Logging is disturbing. It’s not pretty, and in the short term, it’s very disturbing to look at,” Edwards said. “We haven’t seen a full year yet of rebirth. Seedlings are in this in the forest canopy. The sunlight, once it hits the soil, will generate a new crop of trees ... we’re talking 10 years, (but it) probably will shake out and we will have a new forest there.”

Dufrense added that the town can enter into the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Woodland and Watershed Regeneration Pilot Program, which donates 25 to 30 free trees to any piece of land with an active forest management plan.

Edwards said it’s unlikely Dufresne Park will require tree planting, but it won’t hurt to have seedlings in the ground.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.