wood lot management

[johncinco]

OK you gurus of trees, let me pick your mind for a minute. So far for me wood lot management has been to simply cut down whatever is already dead, what is already on the ground, and get it out of the woods. I continue to cut, stack and sell or use it for firewood and tried a little milling. I am pretty sure I can continue to go this route and not run out of wood for my needs in the acreage I have. My question then, is how do I determine which trees to cut down and which to leave that are living. It is clear I have too many trees to close together for better growth. My plan is to get rid of all the double and triple trunks first, then the heavy leaners, then ones that just look odd or strange or twisted or whatever. After that I will still have too many trees, I think at least. I have mainly oak, and popple (poplar, basswood, depending on where your from) maple, pine, sassafras trees. Anywhere from 4" out to 18" and a few really big ones left over from logging many years ago. I have thought about picking trees I like or that look extremely good, and cutting a 15 or 20 ft circle clear around them to let them grow. Is it better to cut the largest ones and sell off or use up, and let the smaller grow up again, or clear out all the scrub and let the mature trees get the space, food, water they need to make great lumber later. I had the forest service guy in, and he said yep, you have to many trees, and not much else. I was thinking of using a company that buys standing timber, but after they did the lot next to mine it did not look like what I want to have when it is done. They yanked out all the large trees, left a mess, and tore up the area. Another idea, if I cut down everything under say 8", then when my grand kids come along to hunt this area there wont be any mature wood because it will probably be logged then and will look like scrub brush and stumps. So whats some ideas.? I am talking about 20 acres of just woods. Thanks for the help. John

 

[Jumper]

Cut em all and pave it over (joking)

I would get rid of the poplars and pines first which are mostly junk IMHO, and concentrate on managing the established maples and oaks for the long term. Not sure what sassafrass is, but if it is junk, cut it too. Nothing like a nice stand of maple, with a mix of some hard wood in it.

 

[bwalker]

John, If you want to manage it for wildlife I would mini clear cut small sections dispersed throughout the property. I would also cut it in the winter as the impact is less and aspens and maples regenerate faster when cut in this manner. Your plan to remove all of the non log grade trees is a good one provided it doesnt open up your property too much. remeber in Michigan deer and grouse like to live on the edges. They need thick cover as well as mast trees to feed off.

 

[Newfie]

All excellent suggestions....

John,

It's a complicated process, but can be made easier by understanding the dynamics involved. It is usually a balancing act rather than an either or. If you enjoy reading up on the subject I would recommend "Working With Your Woodland, A Landowner's Guide" by Beattie,Thompson & Levine. It is sort of New England oriented in it's approach but the species you describe pretty much fit in with the general scheme of the topics. I think I found my copy at Amazon, but you might check with Sherrill's first. Managing your woodland is fun when you do it right.

 

[johncinco]

Thanks for the input

Thanks for all the info. I checked out that other site, pretty interesting and have more info on just that question. Searched this one more and found a couple good things as well. I hat ethe bigger wood just siting in piles, seems a waste and hard to manuever around at times. I do leave piles of the brush around for wildlife and they decomprose over a short amount of time. I will do some more reading up on it and develope a plan that I can look back on from time to time so I dont do one thing now and something else in the future. I found a couple companies that will come out, but somehow I just dont see a "free" analysis and evaluation and plan being that. JB

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

My uncle in Price Cty WI, has a forester com in on the 180 wooded of his 385 acres and set up the harvest plan and sale for 10% of the gross.

On the populus and othe fast growing pulpwoods they clear cut to allow stump regenerataion. The old coppice practice. The forester marks and records all timber to be harvested sets lanes and oversees to ensure compliance with the harvest plan.

All that for an average of $1600 per sale.

 

[WRW]

I'd like to recommend your local library. They should have a couple of books on small woodlot management, and if they don't they will get some for you.
Keep the sassafrass. In some areas it rivals walnut.

 

[CMBetz]

John,

It shows a lot of foresight that you are asking the questions before cutting, and not asking why things are goofed up a few years down the road after making poor decisions. Good for you!!

I wholeheartedly second Newfie and Down To Earth's recommendations. I would also suggest that you contact your local Soil Conservation District office (you're in Newaygo Co., aren't you) and ask to speak with the Natural Resource Professional who deals with Forestry. If memory serves, Newaygo Co. has a forester who serves in this capacity. Under no circumstances would I have a management plan done by someone other than a true consulting forester. I would also ask if the individual you select, if you do go that route, is Society of American Foresters (SAF) accredited.

I should also tell you that I am a graduate student in Forestry at Michigan State, so my opinions are biased toward hiring a professional. However, I think most would agree that anything that is important to them, deserves an investment of time/money/effort to make sure it is done right. Feel free to e-mail me if you want to discuss further.

CB

 

[johncinco]

Thanks again

I did not have too much luck with the local soil conservation office. I may have not dealt with " natural resource professional", so I may need to go back and talkk with them more. Whne I talked with that oofice last, they said yes I should or could cut down many of the trees, and they had a really great deal on purchasing little trees to plant. did not really answer my question. I also am going to have different people come in and look at logging out the bigger stuff and see what they have to say. I am not signing anything until I am done with the research and no one is showing up with a saw! Thanks for the info. Any relation to Robert Betz over in old way go?