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GORDON DANIELS

Rosemarie Arnold and Harvey Allen, at right, both of the Valley Land Fund, question state forester Kris Massini, left, about tree-cutting in Chesterfield. Standing at center is Bruce Spencer of New Salem.

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GORDON DANIELS

The posted forest-cutting plan certificate for the Chesterfield timber project.

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GORDON DANIELS

This sign off South Street in Chesterfield marks an entrance to a tract of land donated to the state in 1994 through the Valley Land Fund by Raymond C. Zimmer. Two of his children are unhappy with cutting on the land, saying their father did not want trees removed and sold. The state, however, cites language in the deed to support its decision to engage in forest management, including tree-cutting.

CHESTERFIELD - A state logging job along the Dead Branch of the Westfield River is under scrutiny amid concerns the property's former owner never intended the land to be harvested for timber when he donated it to the state 15 years ago.

The 30-acre woodland is near the Westhampton town line and was gifted to the commonwealth in 1994 by the late Raymond C. Zimmer of Chesterfield in a transaction involving the Valley Land Fund. The state began harvesting timber on the property earlier this year, and its cutting plan was approved by Chesterfield town officials two years ago.

Zimmer's children said their father never intended the property to be harvested for timber and point to language in the property deed which forbids the removal or destruction of trees.

But another section of the deed, in language less clear, allows the property to be used for "forest" purposes, or purposes permitting the land "to remain predominantly in its natural condition."

State officials say this language is a green light for a timber harvest.

--See the deed of gift for the Zimmer tract

"I'd like to think that you can read the deed and be fairly clear as to what the person's intent is," said Chris Zimmer, 50, of Odessa, N.Y., a longtime forester with the U.S. Forest Service and youngest son of the late Raymond C. Zimmer.

"What bothers me about this particular action by the state is that it wasn't my father's intention. I think he would be very, very upset if he could see what's happening right now," he said.

State officials say that while the deed language may appear confusing, they find the legal document allows for the tree-cutting under way. The trees coming down include a combination of 80,000 board feet of soft and hard woods. The work is part of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's long-term statewide forest management plans, according to the agency.

DCR Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr. said the state notified the town of Chesterfield and all abutters of the state's proposed tree harvest in 2007 and "there weren't any objections to that cutting plan," he said.

He noted that Raymond Zimmer, who logged the property when he owned it, had filed a cutting plan with the state similar to the state's current timber operation.

"We believe it's consistent with how the property has been used by the family," Sullivan said in a phone interview. "If the family feels otherwise, we're certainly willing to sit down and have that discussion."

In recent weeks, two environmental groups, the Valley Land Fund and Massachusetts Forest Watch, have raised questions about the tree-cutting, which is under contract with Ames Logging. The state is receiving $7,210 for the timber sale in addition to some in-kind services, according to the conservation and recreation department. About half of that money will go into Chesterfield's town coffers and very small portion to Westhampton.

Apart from the limited revenue, Sullivan said the tree removal will allow light into areas for the regeneration of pine. The state's cutting plan indicates the logging is designed to "take advantage of advanced regeneration in some areas and capture seed in some areas where regeneration has not occurred."

Regeneration refers to an array of manipulative forest management practices that can lead to new and more productive stages of forest growth, though the state's plan notes that earlier cutting on the Chesterfield property left "a mix of regeneration results."

Family legacy

Raymond Zimmer bought the Chesterfield property in 1962 and used it as a second home where he and his late wife spent time with their children during summers and weekends. A wooden sign on the edge of the property on South Street notes the land was a gift to the former state Department of Environmental Management in memory of Zimmer's wife and three of their nine children, who died earlier.

Chris Zimmer said that while his father logged the property when he owned it, he never intended for the state to do the same.

"He logged it, but in spite of that, that's not what his wishes were," Zimmer said. "My dad talked to us before he turned that over. I don't believe, based on conversations he had with me, that he ever intended for that land to be harvested for a small amount of revenue for the state of Massachusetts. His intention was for it to be available to the people."

The property deed allowed Raymond C. Zimmer to harvest five cords of fuel wood each calendar year during his lifetime, but it makes no clear mention of permitted logging or timber harvests. Zimmer died in 1999, five years after giving the land to the state.

The deed says the parcel is to be held in perpetuity for conservation purposes only, in its "natural, scenic or open condition," and for public recreational use.

William Zimmer, 60, of Storrs, Conn., one of Raymond Zimmer's five surviving children, said he and his siblings are "all pretty much on the same page" as to their father's intent for the stewardship of the land. He believes the state has erred in logging the property and is "parsing words" regarding the deed language.

"I think they're backpedaling just because it had been forested at one time," said Zimmer, who lived in Worthington for many years. "My biggest concern is they just restore the property."

Terry Blunt of Hatfield, a former state conservation worker, was on the Valley Land Fund's board in 1994 when the group deeded the property to the state on behalf of Zimmer. Blunt worked on the land transfer and described today's situation as "unfortunate."

"There needs to be some dialogue in this particular case," Blunt said, noting that everyone was happy with the transaction 15 years ago. "The problem is in the drafting of the deed. It might have been that there were too many cooks at the broth."

Blunt said he does not believe there was a deliberate attempt to disregard Raymond Zimmer's wishes for the property when he gave it to the state. But there may have been a lack of oversight at the time somebody made a decision to take down trees, he said.

"Clearly they should have looked at that (deed) and gotten a legal opinion about what does this mean," Blunt said. "I don't know that there wasn't, but it now becomes a matter of interpretation of what was intended at the time."

Although it only held onto the land for a short time before it was conveyed to the state on behalf of Zimmer, the Valley Land Fund is now in a "fact-finding stage" regarding the state's logging activity, according to board member Rosemary Arnold.

The group has asked its lawyer to review the deed language and is preparing a response. Meantime, the Valley Land Fund, which has worked closely with the state DCR on land deals over the years, plans to take a closer look at how it words deed language in its future land transactions.

"We're just really wanting to make sure that what we took in and conveyed to the state were the wishes of the family," Arnold said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.