KNOX — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be hosting a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 30 at the new Thacher Park Center to share information and answer questions about the Margaret Burke Wildlife Management Area, which is scheduled to undergo clearcutting of certain trees in order to restore young forest habitats.

These efforts are part of a statewide plan by the DEC to restore at least 10 percent of all WMAs as young forests, in order to provide habitats for certain species of plants and animals like the ruffed grouse or American woodcock.

The Margaret Burke WMA currently does not have any young forest habitat, but contains forest, shrubland, grassland, and wetland. According to its habitat management plan, which lays out steps to restore young forests in the WMA, 38 acres of young forest will be cultivated, or 16 percent of the land. This would decrease the available forest from 181 acres to 143 acres, or 74 to 58 percent of the land. Other habitats would not change.