Having worked/studied these patches, intentional and ecologically informed treatments would hugely benefit these areas. This is mainly because the state’s forests have 1 or 2 dominant age classes in the canopy. Eastern old growth is characterized by a complex structure and high amounts of large fallen deadwood in addition to large old trees. UVM actually developed a forestry treatment called “Structural Complexity Enhancement” to help forests get on a better trajectory to old growth structure. It’s been very successful and used on public & private land in Vermont. It’s widely understood by land managers that if you clear cut, you will get a stand of unmarketable beech and red maple growing up. Thus there’s a desire for more complex and sustainable silviculture.