State officials are attempting to clear up if the controversial Manuel F. Correllus tree cutting plan needs another layer of environmental review. 

In an attempt to restore the globally rare sandplain grassland habitat that had been overtaken by pine trees over the years, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in July received approval to cut 52 acres in the southeast corner of the forest.

But opponents of the plan are questioning if the department should have had to prepare an environmental impact report, as prescribed by a 2001 permit, to show that this was the best way forward in caring for the 5,300-acre forest in the center of the Island. 

DCR told the Gazette earlier this month that it has asked the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office (MEPA) if the project needs further MEPA review before the cuts can go forward. DCR had proposed starting the forest clearing this winter.

“DCR believes the agency has completed the reporting and documentation required by the permit and that no [environmental impact report] is needed for the habitat management activity,” a spokesperson said in an email. “However, the agency is seeking clarification from MEPA.”

MEPA told the Gazette it is reviewing the matter and did not comment further. 

The first phase of the forest cutting plan is part of a larger effort to remove pine trees that were part of a lumber plantation in the forest from decades ago. Conservationists and Island fire officials have said that the pines are choking out the historic sandplain habitat that has almost disappeared from the U.S., and pose a large fire risk.

Opponents argue DCR shouldn’t be removing trees from a healthy forest in opposition to climate goals and the need for more carbon sequestration. 

DCR received significant opposition to the project during a public comment period earlier this year, and several Islanders have pointed out that the state previously required a further environmental review that was never performed.

DCR is required to remove about 175 acres of conifer plantations within the forest as part of a 2001 permit from the state’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program to compensate for fire breaks put into the forest. 

The question lies in if a requirement under the 24-year-old permit extends to the new work. 

DCR maintains that it doesn’t and no further environmental report is needed, while others say the cutting plan falls under the old permit.  

David Foster, a forest ecologist based on the Island, had asked the state about the environmental review and felt it could help strengthen any proposals for the future of the woods. 

He noted that under the 2001 permit the state secretary of environmental affairs determined the report was needed, but there was a wide leeway given in how the report had to be prepared. That could mean that the compilation of work already undertaken could stand in for a formal report. 

Under the 2001 permit, the environmental impact report was supposed to include a firebreak management plan, protocols for plant monitoring and a proposal to test different management strategies in the forest.

“It seems to us there is plenty of room for looking at alternatives and following up on all the points made in 2001,” Mr. Foster said. “They are still relevant today.” 

What much of the overarching argument boils down to is which is more important: healthy trees and carbon storage or preserving a rare habitat, Mr. Foster said. Meeting climate goals and increasing biodiversity are both goals of Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, but in this case, they are running up against each other.

Mr. Foster said that this decision and process was important because it could set a precedent in future similar situations. 

“What I view this as is a real opportunity to open an important discussion that could affect the entire state,” he said. “Maura Healey came out with those two big initiatives and they need to figure out how to reconcile them.”

As officials wait for a determination from the state, public opinion about the forest continues to run hot. 

At the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s state forest task force meeting Wednesday, conservation officials asked about where MEPA stood in the process, saying they are often fielding questions from the public about when the request for proposals to start cutting is planned to be released. 

“I think at this point, I wouldn’t be confident in saying when it’s going out,” said Dan Doyle, the special project planner at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. 

As the state goes through deciding on if further review is needed, Jeremy Houser, the director of science and policy at Vineyard Conservation Society who has supported the state's cutting proposal, felt that DCR should be aware of how Islanders are feeling. 

“If there’s a message that we want communicated back to DCR, it’s only to just note what I think everyone knows: the project remains unpopular with much of the conservataion-inclined public,” he said.