12 acre plot. Help

[Badastronaut45]

I have a few questions about a small 12 acre wooded plot.
I have 12 acres and a cabin in northern Minnesota and the land has basically been left alone since my parents purchased the place 15 years ago. I now am the only one to manage the property and i would like to manage the woods the best I can for wildlife and deer plus firewood. The cabin has a large wood-burner and i use about a cord or two per year during hunting season.

The land had lots of birch. The last few years the dead standing stuff has really increased. Not sure if this is due to the Mild winters or what. I mostly cut the ##### since we have so much of it dead standing. We also have a mix of other woods, aspen, poplar, and balsam. just a few red, white and jack pines as well. The last few years I have really noticed that the Ferns on the floor are getting really tall and lots of mushrooms to be found.

I know its a small plot but I want to Cut the trees best i can to sustain a healthy 12 acres. THe lot is mostly wooded, execpt for 2 small fields and a area for a cabin and garage. THe neighbor next door is always getting down on my for letting the Birch rot and go to "waste" but I always tell him got to have some rot to keep the birds around.

Should I thin out the birch and let the floor get more light so the next gen of trees will start to come up? Not sure what the next generation of trees is? will more aspens come up in place of the birch?

How many cords of wood a year can I cut off this 12 acres in a sustainable way? do i need to ever plant more?

I have limited forestry knowledge and would love to know some books that would help me when it comes to managing land. I hope to buy some more one day.
Thanks
Ryan

 

[Steve NW WI]

One of the books I've bought since coming to this site is The Woodlot Management Handbook. It covers most all of the basics, but a talk with your county forester is probably gonna be a lot more help when it comes to getting what you want out of your woods - it's a very general text, and your forester will know your area much better. I recommend it, and you can find it on Amazon for $10 or so. If nothing else, you'll have more and better questions when you talk to a forester.

Were I in your shoes, I'd be cutting all but a few of the dead trees for firewood (sell some if it's more than you need), and probably thinning out some areas to promote the new growth that wildlife loves.

I'm not as far north as you are (just NE of St Paul and across the river), but your woods sounds like a fairly early regrowth after being logged maybe 20-30 years ago. Poplar, aspen, etc. are "pioneer" species, usually the first regrowth after a cut.

 

[Badastronaut45]

Thanks for the Info,
Book is on order.

 

[jdog2]

what area are you in up there i get up around the north shore of mille lacs quite a bit and might have some insight to your property ideas if i had a look at the way things are layed out.

 

[forestryworks]

Definitely call up your local state forester and enlist their help.