Perspective on logging article?

[Carl Russell]

So to follow this up, I has a visit yesterday with a potential client. They are aging hippies that have owned the land for 30ish years, and only cut timber to build the home. Their environmental creed had them let the forest go on its own. Now they are concerned because some of the very large pines are splitting, and falling over. They want me because they know me through family, the horses, and my environmental views.

Well as we walked, I got the sense that they didn’t want a “big” job. What was pertinent to this discussion was, as I began to talk about releasing understory and “improving” the forest, they got real shy. They just wanted me to take the big trees. There the environmental creed had led to no management, which led them to considering high-grading.

They were trapped in a series of “myths” that circulate around our communities based on well-intentioned ideas, but supported by misinformation. By staying out of the woods they let them progress naturally, which is great, but they also didn’t pay attention to the conditions that ended up being important to them, the size and health of their trees. Now that they are falling over they don’t want them to go to waste. But they are so afraid of logging that their solution is to only cut the big trees. Basically undermining their true objectives to have a healthy productive forest.

Rest easy, I made it clear that I had more to offer than that, and I think I educated them some, at least enough so that now they are willing to see us address the large pine problem, at the same time that we will remove red spruce overstory that is being out-competed by coming hardwoods, and crop tree release fuelwood harvest in pole-sized hardwood.

You should have seen the light-bulb go on when I explained that finding and releasing crop trees, and thinning overstory will create a stand of higher quality trees that will be easier to manage for future harvest, at the same time minimizing the impact through surgical application of draft animals.

Carl

[Scott G]

Well done, Carl.

If you take the path of forest health and forest improvement, emphasizing other ecological values rather than just timber, people seem to come around. You have to identify a landowner’s objectives first, go from there, and see if it is a situation that will work for both of you.
-Scott

[near horse]

red spruce overstory that is being out-competed by coming hardwoods, and crop tree release fuelwood harvest in pole-sized hardwood.

Hi Carl,

Excuse my lack of understanding but what is a “crop tree” and “crop tree release”? And how does an overstory get out competed? Do the understory trees take away or tie up nutrients?

Also, do you have a series of pictures from some of your previous work that you can show a client – kind of an album or portfolio? It wouldn’t be too difficult these days to put something together that could demonstrate how your practices look during the process as well as 3,5,10 years later. Just a thought.

[Carl Russell]

Geoff, Red spruce overstory slows down and is taken over by more rapid growing understory hardwoods. The spruce is in decline, losing value due to mortality from the competition for nutrients and sunlight as it has limited vitality due to age, yet at the same time it holds back the hardwoods through competition, although losing the battle, but in the process the hardwoods tend to get narrow crowns and small root systems both of which will work against them when they are released if the condition persists too much longer.

Forest Improvement Processes to improve the forest’s ability to meet long range objectives. T.S.I., or timber stand improvement typically is non-commercial thinning to remove low quality and poorly performing trees, improving the potential for growth of the best trees. Crop Tree Release is the practice of selecting the trees with the highest potential to meet long range objectives, and releasing them by removing direct competition. This can be done by harvest, or non-commercially by means of girdling, or cleaning and weeding by cutting unwanted stems.

I also started to address this in another thread….
http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?t=2190
including some photos.

I don’t use a photo portfolio, as I think it is too difficult to show the details, not to mention that I just can’t keep a camera with me on the job, but I have plenty of opportunity to show examples using the forest at hand when I walk their woodlots with them.

I will attach the first two pages of my standard management plan..

PREFACE

This forest management plan is written with the primary intent of long term, constructive, multiple-use of present and potential resources available on this property. Multiple-use indicates that there are many ways to use forestland. Timber production, wildlife habitat, wetlands protection and ground water recharge, recreation, and aesthetics are all uses that can be important considerations. Trees not only provide the saleable products that help to afford these uses, they are the major components of the forest and they define the value of the many uses of forestland.

For planning purposes, this forestland has been separated into different management areas, or stands. A stand generally constitutes an area of forest where a particular tree species, or group of species grows, making it different from other areas. The age of the predominant species, the density of the stand, and geological factors may be considered in the process of delineation.

The description of each stand includes the number of acres, the growth potential, landscape, wildlife use, and history of forestry activity. Species composition indicates the types of tree that grow in the stand. The average size of trees, stocking levels, and the health and quality of the growing stock help to determine the need for improvement work.

Long range objectives for the production of forest products are defined for each stand. These are based on the potential of a particular site to produce trees capable of growing into resources of wood products of particular quality. These objectives are formed with consideration of the other priorities that may play an important part in the use of an area. From this information a plan for scheduled treatments is created. Scheduled treatments are used over time to cultivate the forest so that long-term objectives can be realized.

This plan has been written to conform to the standards required for the State of Vermont Use Value Appraisal taxation program. The basic requirements of the program are to describe forestland as a timber resource, and to create a management schedule based on timber harvest. The information presented in this plan conforms to those guidelines.

Landowners should be concerned with the information describing each stand, potential products and preferred uses, and scheduled treatments. Many of the decisions about when the work should be done, how it should be done, and even which trees should be grown or harvested, can be made by the landowners themselves.

This plan is only one step in an educational process. Russell Forestry Services can provide the plan, and conduct forest improvement and harvesting operations, but not without landowner involvement. The purpose for creating this management plan for your forestland is to promote your use of the land to enjoy the benefits that it can provide.

Carl B. Russell

INDEX OF TERMINOLOGY

Site Class Indicates the level of forest productivity within each stand, I = high–IV= low. It is determined from soils information, or from the Site Index of a certain indicator tree species.

Site Index Represents the height, at 50 years of age, of a typical tree of particular species growing on this site. It is used to evaluate site quality by determining the rate of tree growth. Determined from field observation, or from soils information.

D.B.H. Diameter Breast Height. This number represents tree diameter, measured at 4.5 feet above the ground. Mean stand diameter expresses the diameter of the average sized tree in a stand.

Stocking Indicates stand density in terms of the ability of the stand to sustain growth of timber resources; low, adequate, full, or overstocked.

Basal Area The measurement used to determine stocking levels. It is the sum of the cross-sectional areas of trees in a stand, at 4.5 feet above the ground. It is expressed in square feet per acre.

Acceptable B.A. The basal area representing trees with the potential to produce at least one twelve foot sawlog, or two non-contiguous eight foot sawlogs.

Rotation Age Refers to the age of trees, beyond which the production of quality sawtimber is reduced. Used for even aged management to indicate when the overstory will be harvested to prepare for the next rotation of timber growth. Optimum Crop Tree Harvest Age is the age when crop trees will reach their best potential to meet objectives for sawtimber production, used with crop tree management.

Forest Improvement Processes to improve the forest’s ability to meet long range objectives. T.S.I., or timber stand improvement typically is non-commercial thinning to remove low quality and poorly performing trees, improving the potential for growth of the best trees. Crop Tree Release is the practice of selecting the trees with the highest potential to meet long range objectives, and releasing them by removing direct competition. This can be done by harvest, or non-commercially by means of girdling, or cleaning and weeding by cutting unwanted stems.

Scale The ratio used to relate map distances to real distances. Ratio 1:5000 is approximately equal to 1″ (inch) = 417′ (feet).

Carl

[Scott G]

“Site Index Represents the height, at 50 years of age, of a typical tree of particular species growing on this site. It is used to evaluate site quality by determining the rate of tree growth. Determined from field observation, or from soils information.”

Or 100 years, which is what we typically use here in the central Rockies due to less productive sites. I would also add “dominants” in the definition.

Thanks for taking the time to paste this on the site, Carl. It would be a good tag to refer people back to.

[near horse]

Carl,

Thanks for posting part of your management plan. That helps.

[Author]

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