I have 7 acres of woods on my property and about 5 more of wood on the neighbors property who doesn't burn wood.
When I moved in here I had a whole bunch of sugar maples in the woods damaged in a ice storm that were nearly top less. I cut all them down and burnt it, Then I started in on all the trees that had holes in them or were bent and would not make decent wood for any thing except the heating fire .
About 2000 the many and beautiful ash started dying, tops lost their leaves during the summer and had a whole bunch of seeds. The next summer suckers popped out up and down the trunks that is when I started cutting my winters needs from them. I was told at the time About 2002 by the local county extension office if I peeled the bark I could cut lumber from them but loggers didn't want to buy them so it became fire wood. I am still cutting the standing dead trees for fire wood.
In my woods I start in cutting what comes down in the summer storms first. They seem to start getting punky at the bottom 2 feet first and after that 2 feet will be hard as a base ball bat. I have stuff still standing dead after about 14 years. Many times they comedown in a storm because the roots died and rotted away, other times they break off in that first two feet where they tend to rot. I figure I have about two more years left to harvest and burn before I have to cut Oaks and Maples. I have been picking up acorns when they fall and with a shape stick go about the woods and poking hole and dropping a acorn in it. Just about every spot in my wood nota trail or an area where there were no Ash I have small ash seedlings from just ankle high to some area waist high.
Weather they live a long life or not I have no Idea. Where do those F*** In Ash Bores go when they have killed off a woods?
For shade trees we have planted honey and sunburst locus.
Al