The Boothbay Planning Board approved a landowner’s request Aug. 17 to exceed the 40-percent limit on timber harvesting  on certain portions of his 67.75-acre property. This is the fourth time since 1971 John Welsh has requested a permit to harvest timber on his 142 Dover Road property.

Welsh wants to remove dying cedar, spruce, pine and other low-quality woods to comply with state tree growth laws and his forestry management plan. The board voted 3-0 to let him harvest more than 40 percent of the trees located within the shoreland protection zone, based on his licensed professional forester’s recommendation.

Welsh requested the special exception because two of his past three harvest attempts proved unsuccessful. One failed due an economic downturn which made a harvest impractical because there was no market for the timber. The second didn’t occur due to a business dispute with the logger, according to Welsh.

The property’s forestry management plan was updated in 2014 and called for removing the dying and falling down trees to sustain the forest.

“This is not being done for landscaping or beautification. The purpose is to actively manage the land growth by removing these trees while they still have some value,” Welsh said.

The board placed four restrictions on the permit. Welsh must begin the harvest in one year; it must last no longer than three years; there can be no herbicide spraying within the 250-foot resource protection district; and no cleared openings within 75 feet of the water.

In other action, the board heard a pre-application request from a Boothbay Region Land Trust representative about plans for replacing a storage shed on Damariscove Island. Michael Warren explained the trust planned on submitting an application to replace the 12-by-16-foot structure. The trust wants to rebuild the shed within the same footprint, which is in the shoreland zone.

The shed is on property owned by The Nature Conservancy. The BRLT has an easement to use the shed for storing fishing gear and shoreline debris.  Warren characterized the shed as “falling apart.”

“I came knowing I wouldn’t get a decision, but wanted to let you know about our plans, and see if you needed more information before we submitted our plan. The only change to the shed is we are replacing the asphalt shingles with white cedar shingles on the side, and red cedar on the roof,” Warren said.

The board didn’t request any further information and Warren indicated the trust would submit its application within a couple days.

The board will meet next at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21 in the municipal building.