Another View On … What Is Low-Impact logging ?

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Low-impact logging systems gaining popularity

Four basic types of harvesting or logging systems are used in low-impact logging. These systems differ from one another but have many of the same objectives.

Horse logging

Horse logging is the method of choice for many with environmental leanings. Sometimes, horses are used to skid the trees to main or permanent roads where machine skidders or forwarders take over. Proponents of horse logging point out that horses cause less soil compaction and ruts than heavy machinery, that skidding log lengths rather than tree lengths allows tighter turns with less residual stand damage, and that the operation is quiet. A specially designed arch on wheels can be used to raise the front of the log up off the ground during skidding. This prevents the front of the log from digging into the ground when it is pulled.

Horse logging is not a high-production system. Horses can skid several thousand board feet of logs per day depending on terrain, slope, log size, skidding distance, etc. Depending on conditions, this might be 15 to 30 logs 24 feet long and 20 inches in diameter. Several horse loggers work regularly in West Virginia.

Small farm-type machine systems

Small woodlot farmers use farm tractors with specialized attachments such as grapples, winches, blades, and log forks to harvest and process their own timber. Woodlot owners and workers should be trained in safety and be aware of the hazards of logging. West Virginia has several fatalities and many serious accidents each year from logging activities. Contact the W.Va. Division of Forestry or the W.Va. Forestry Association if you need a schedule of logging safety classes. Consider contracting with a professional feller if you have many trees to harvest.

A wide assortment of machines and equipment have been designed or modified for the small-scale woodlot logger. Felling by chainsaw is common. Skidding can be done with several techniques. The most common method is a four-wheel drive farm tractor with a winch or grapple. The tractor should have rollover protection. Remote radio-controlled winching can be an option. The winch allows the tractor to stay on a road or trail, which reduces soil compaction and disturbance. Some special attachments are now made to adapt all-terrain vehicles for skidding smaller logs. Log loading can be done with a farm tractor’s front-end loader equipped with forks or tines. Farm tractors can also pull specially built trailers equipped with an attachment that loads the logs and keeps them off the ground (forwarding). This will minimize any ground disturbance.

Conventional logging systems

Traditional logging systems in West Virginia use manual chain saw felling, limbing, and topping; then skidding to a landing; bucking into log lengths; sorting for specific products; and finally loading onto a truck or trailer. Several variations of this system are used depending on site conditions, season, and contractor preference. In many situations, these conventional logging systems have as much potential for reduced site impact as any alternative system if the owner, supervisor, and operators are trained, take careful measures, and have the “right” attitude. Conventional logging systems using smaller skidding machines cause less damage to remaining trees and provide improved profitability on stands with smaller diameter timber. A 1999 U.S. Forest Service study found that matching machine size to size of wood allows timber stands with smaller diameter trees to be economically harvested earlier, thereby adding value and quality to the future stand. The smaller machines with their tighter turning capabilities and lower weights should result in less stand and site impact if operators are carefully trained and conscientious.

Cut-to-length systems

Cut-to-length systems use combinations of tracked or wheeled harvesters and forwarders. These systems have become very popular in some areas of the country. Several loggers in West Virginia use them. The machines in these systems typically cost well over $100,000 each and can approach $200,000 or more. They operate on larger tracts where sufficient timber volume supports their relatively high operating and ownership costs. These high-tech machines can leave very gentle “footprints” in a variety of difficult terrain and conditions. Although production rates are usually less than with some conventional systems, they can operate with less disturbance on wet sites and steep slopes. Because these systems are usually operated with smaller crews, they can be owner operated or family companies.

The tracked harvester reaches out with its arm to select the trees marked for harvest, reducing damage to residual trees. The machine operates on tracks that minimize rutting. It is also much safer for the feller since he is in a protected, environmentally controlled cab. After the felling machine cuts the tree, it usually will pick up and place the stem in a position for bucking and delimbing. Some machines have special processing heads that can delimb and cut to proper log lengths based on information in an on-board computer. After delimbing and bucking, a forwarder will use its loading arm to pick up the logs and then haul them to the deck or landing. This forwarding function is a major difference from a conventional logging system. In a conventional system, the logs would be dragged to the landing by a skidder. Dragging the logs disturbs the soil, which can increase the potential for erosion.

Using forwarders to carry logs rather than skidders that drag logs can also reduce the number and density of necessary roads. This in itself will reduce impact to the site and stand. Because forwarders carry logs on wheels, they can be driven on truck roads without causing damage and can usually operate economically at farther distances than conventional skidding. Forwarders are equipped with six to eight large wheels, resulting in a low ground pressure and minimizing ground impact. Lowering tire pressure, adding chains or tracks, and putting on wider tires or bogies can all help reduce ground impact in special situations. Many combinations of harvesters, skidders, forwarders, and loaders are used, depending on local site conditions, markets, and customs. The logs can then be piled or directly loaded on a truck or trailer.

Best fit

Four general low-impact logging systems that can be gentle on the land, trees, and overall environment have been described in this article. No one system can be said to be the “best” in all circumstances. It is critical to match the logging system with the harvest and management plan, landowner desires, site, and stand characteristics.

Perhaps the most important factor in any system is the care, training and dedication of the contractor and operators doing the work. Many conventional or traditional West Virginia logging contractors already use low-impact practices. A logger’s attitude can be more important than size or type of equipment. Even horse logging can cause skinned trees if not done carefully. Landowners who demand certain special practices must understand that there is an added cost to the logger. Loggers who make specific efforts to lower impacts may need to be paid incentives or higher logging rates.

The real challenge is logging smaller woodlots in a sustainable manner using low-impact methods. It is in these smaller woodlots that minimizing damage to the residual trees and site is especially necessary. The left trees are the growing stock for the future stand and as such are extremely valuable. The growing stock that is left should include valuable species with good form, quality, health, and potential for growth. In some ways, managing smaller woodlots is more challenging than larger acreages since there is little room to compensate for negative practices. Landowners using gentle logging methods will have much satisfaction and pride, along with periodic income from their forest.

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@lancek 11956 wrote:

Hey bumpus
Isnt that what jason has been saying all a long?

Yes and no.

Because this man in this artical has covered other ideas and usage of taking out timber and processing.

Everyone has something extra to add, and if just one person can glean just one thing from the info, from another person, it may help them understand the possibilities better.

It is worth posting.
Because even on this forum there are different people who share different approaches and ideas on the same subject.
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