Belt Woods - History

History

Belt Woods is part of the former farm of semi-reclusive banker and gentleman farmer, Seton Belt (1870–1959). A bird breeding census first surveyed the tract in 1947; the density of Forest Interior Dwelling Species (FIDS) was then found to be 300 pairs/100 acres (1300 m² per pair). The oaks of the “North Woods”, an old-growth similar to the now-preserved “South Woods” tract, were all cut in 1981, despite the fact that Belt had stipulated in his will that the stand was never to be logged. Tom Horton, in his book Bay Country (1987), tells how this happened:

The bank entrusted with administering Seton Belt’s estate, and the church to which he left his goods, found that the forest earned the highest accolades not just from naturalists and woodland songbirds. “Veneer quality”, eager buyers from the world’s leading timber concerns adjudged the massive, knot-free, straight trunks of the oaks. Debarked, steamed until soft, then sliced and peeled on huge machines into sheets just 1/4-inch thick, just a few of the Beltwoods giants would decorate acres of executive conference-room walls in warm wood tones. The church said it needed the money over and above the $10 million that old Belt had left it to build an urban home for the elderly. With the bank, it broke the will in court, and half the mighty Beltwoods fell to the chainsaw….The forester hired by the bank explained to me his satisfaction when the veneer deal went through. From the standpoint of annual, new cellulose production, he said, the old oaks were well into the area of diminishing returns, even though they might live another century or two. “The only thing left for that particular stand of trees to do was to die and fall over”, he said

This event served as a wakeup call to conservationists and an 18 year legal battle ensued between them and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. In 1984, the state of Maryland, with partners, purchased 110 acres (0.45 km2) including the “South Woods”, designating them the Belt Woods Natural Environmental Area. Impending residential development necessitated the state’s purchase of an additional 515 acres (2.08 km2) in 1997 — known as the Belt Woods Heritage Conservation Fund site. The HCF site, which consists of the former “North” and “Central Woods” (now young forest and fields), buffers the old growth forest and forestalls further development. In all, some 625 acres (2.53 km2) are protected at the site, of which most (610 acres) were designated by the Maryland General Assembly in October 1997 as the Belt Woods Wildland. Access to Belt Woods is limited to scientific study.