Good tree for commercial production in East Texas?

[Sid Post]

Background:
I have some pasture which is partially flooded by a neighbor with beavers on their property. His wife thinks getting a "free pond" is wonderful and is a bit of an animal hoarder so, my options are limited. I offered to pay for removing them and the dam without success. I went to various county and state agencies but, there is nothing they can do. The county commissioner is fighting the same battle because of the raised water table that keeps washing out the asphalt road. The only option I have is a personal lawsuit to get a court order to stop this but, that is big money with no guarantee of any outcome with Texas law.

Property:
The land in question is sandy with clay about 24" down. It is fairly dry in the heat of Summer without rains. A heavy Summer downpour will leave a 1/2" of rain water on the surface for a couple weeks. In the Fall and Spring, it will have enough water to be too soft to walk on without sinking to your ankles or deeper. I have done some heavy excavator work to improve drainage to some extent into a natural creek near my property so, I'm hopeful Spring rains won't be such a big problem next year.

What I want to know:
I think some commercial timber production is my best option today. This will help control soil erosion and potentially consume a good amount of water to help dry the land as well. A noise and visual screen from the road is a side benefit as well.

Now, what tree should I plant?

1. Loblolly Pine: Pinus Taeda?
2. Mexican White Oak: Quercus Polymorpha?
3. Some other Oak?

I will reiterate, I'm looking for fast growing trees that will provide a cash "lumber crop" in East Texas North of I-20 and South of I-30 about a 100 miles outside of Texarkana. While I am thinking of selling my trees to a commercial saw mill, I would consider firewood as well but I have questions about the viability with various environmental and 'green' policies that seem to be in fashion today.

TIA,
Sid

 

[Raintree]

A good place to start is your local extension service. Also try to network with other tree farmers in your area see what they are doing. Your question needs a regional answer.

 

[Sid Post]

I am reaching out for a bit of advice because local sources have tunnel vision and are big industry focused. I agree that I need a regional answer with a local land focus. The county I live in has our Ag Extension office destaffed thanks to COVID. USDA and other agencies are at least an hour away.

Texas A&M has been helpful in a general sense.

I'm also starting to attend these meetings but, the focus is all over the place right now. https://www.texasforestry.org/

 

[wagz]

there's actually a growing belief that "beaver ponds" are very beneficial to local habitat. with movements out west where people are building beaver dams to raise the water table, which in turn grows all kinds of good habitat in the surrounding area.



maybe the road itself is the problem, not the beavers....

anyway. i dont think most pine trees do well in standing water. but if you are planning on planting trees in an area with beavers i'd start by googling "what trees will beavers not eat"

 

[Sid Post]

Beavers may be good in some habitats but, not when they are flooding out 1 to 5 acre home sites in built up areas with lots of housing.

The road itself was in good shape for the 5 years prior to my neighbors letting the beavers dam up the natural water drainage from the pastures and home sites farther up the road where some natural drainage exists. The road went from being something you could drive a loaded semi-truck on to getting a "wave" when a heavy man walked on it; similar to jumping on a waterbed as a child.

In my case, my private asphalt driveway was a total loss. I had to hire a crew to come in with a dozer and push all of the old driveway to the side so 6" to 12" material could be brought in to provide a solid surface and foundation down to the clay base, effectively building a "Dam" or "Bridge" that was then covered with smaller rock to make the new driveway.

We have cars falling through the public road surface that are speeding on the county road due to the "bow wave" they are creating as they drive at unreasonable speeds well above the speed limit on this section of road. Right now the county is bringing in gravel to fill up the holes periodically because they can't afford the ~$2 million it will cost replace the road with a solid foundation down to clay and the material to build it up to road level where they can then put new asphalt down.

 

[Sid Post]

there's actually a growing belief that "beaver ponds" are very beneficial to local habitat. with movements out west where people are building beaver dams to raise the water table, which in turn grows all kinds of good habitat in the surrounding area.

There is a MAJOR DIFFERENCE in developing wildlife habitat on your own property and devaluing your neighbors property and taking grazing pasture for cattle out of production.

Destroying the public road is a separate issue but, it is also not something any sane person would do if they were trying to establish better wildlife habitat!

I am part of the Bobwhite Quail Coalition so, I fully appreciate the issues of Wildlife Habitat in urban areas. I am also a Bee Keeper so, I appreciate a healthy ecosystem. A cow pasture is a "food desert" for bees so, I put in the effort to sow natural flowers in areas around my barns and outside the barb wire fence along my driveway and similar areas so they bees with thrive.

Texas law was on our side with the idiot feral hog 'breeder' who was causing issues of broken legs on horses in addition to general destruction. Myself, some retired Marines, and a few ranchers shot and killed all those destructive bastards. My personal record was 17 on my back pasture in one night because the feral hogs were not fenced in or restrained. He fed them just enough corn to catch the piglets so, the boars and sows went on feeding runs each night to surrounding areas.

 

[cookies]

Can you trench it deep in a lower spot so it collects thus draining the surrounding sandy soil and use a large irrigation pump to move water from the trench to be spread on other sections of your land to plant and feed or fill cattle ponds. Paulownia is farmed in europe, grows very fast and the wood is pretty valuable compared to pine, think 10 year harvest cycles vs 15-18 for the genetically modified pines that are currently being destroyed everywhere by the southern pine beetles. I would even be considering fruit trees, pecan or avacado trees with large amounts of water to use for irrigation.
Someone upstream could dam it up and then let the water loose overflowing her property forcing their hand if it could impact their property and cost them financial difficulty. If not your looking at filing civil cases, multiple so one will likely stick and they get hammered trying to figure out how to afford defending them all giving a higher chance of a compromise to make it all go away.

 

[Woody912]

Background:
I have some pasture which is partially flooded by a neighbor with beavers on their property. His wife thinks getting a "free pond" is wonderful and is a bit of an animal hoarder so, my options are limited. I offered to pay for removing them and the dam without success. I went to various county and state agencies but, there is nothing they can do. The county commissioner is fighting the same battle because of the raised water table that keeps washing out the asphalt road. The only option I have is a personal lawsuit to get a court order to stop this but, that is big money with no guarantee of any outcome with Texas law.

Property:
The land in question is sandy with clay about 24" down. It is fairly dry in the heat of Summer without rains. A heavy Summer downpour will leave a 1/2" of rain water on the surface for a couple weeks. In the Fall and Spring, it will have enough water to be too soft to walk on without sinking to your ankles or deeper. I have done some heavy excavator work to improve drainage to some extent into a natural creek near my property so, I'm hopeful Spring rains won't be such a big problem next year.

What I want to know:
I think some commercial timber production is my best option today. This will help control soil erosion and potentially consume a good amount of water to help dry the land as well. A noise and visual screen from the road is a side benefit as well.

Now, what tree should I plant?

1. Loblolly Pine: Pinus Taeda?
2. Mexican White Oak: Quercus Polymorpha?
3. Some other Oak?

I will reiterate, I'm looking for fast growing trees that will provide a cash "lumber crop" in East Texas North of I-20 and South of I-30 about a 100 miles outside of Texarkana. While I am thinking of selling my trees to a commercial saw mill, I would consider firewood as well but I have questions about the viability with various environmental and 'green' policies that seem to be in fashion today.

TIA,
Sid

loblolly don't like wet feet. Maybe sweet gum if there is a market for pulp in your area, maybe cypress if it is that wet.

 

[Sid Post]

At the TFA meeting, Loblolly was recommended but, I'm waiting for a follow with Arborgen on tree species recommendations. I'm not really thinking of any pine being a preferred option.

Sweet Gum grows really well around here but, we don't have a market for wood pulp locally.

I'm wondering about some Mexican White Oak for a hardwood which is in short supply around here.

 

[Pflum]

I've always wondered why Black Locust isnt commercially grown. Fast growing, very hardy, naturally rot resistant lumber, and if all else fails, excellent firewood.

 

[Woody912]

I've always wondered why Black Locust isnt commercially grown. Fast growing, very hardy, naturally rot resistant lumber, and if all else fails, excellent firewood.

Seems like 90% of them go hollow, they spread like weeds and the stumps last for eternity. Don't care much for the smell when they burn either.

 

[FabianRW]

They're grown in plantations, becoming more common. They're fairly invasive so they might not plant them in certain places because of that, also the timber is undervalued so only forward-thinking people will plant them as the timber price will probably go up and they can grow fast enough to compete with softwood plantation yeilds.

 

[jolj]

Pine cut at 16 & 24 years. Oak 30 years, Black walnuts 50-80 years, but you can get nuts after 12 years to sale & plant under the trees with herbs, ginseng to boost year income. You should start with the largest tree you can buy from a nursery.
Apple orchard with blueberries & asparagus is another, but it is labor intense