Woodlot Management

[ottawagardener]

How do you manage your woodlot? We have just over 25 acres of woods on our new property. Half of it is original maple bush mostly in maple but with other hardwoods like beech and ironwood. The previous owners selectively cut ironwood for fuel and to encourage the sugar maples. The other half was fields at one point but was planted up in white pine (sandy bit) and tamarack/spruce (clay bit). These tree plantations are about 40 years old and were thinned a couple years ago.

So far, the trees that are being/been cut for firewood are primarily those that have fallen or those that are being cleared from an area. I feel very hesitant about taking too many fallen trees as I see these as being important to the maturing of the maple bush too. Many forests we went into on our property hunt had giant cut stumps everywhere from where the biggest trees were felled or were removed after they had fallen and there was nary a log or a snag to be seen.

We are putting up deer fencing so there will be clearing done for that and I might expand the area around the house slightly which will mean more clearing but I'm reluctant to do too much.

There is one coppiced Linden which looks as if it was a giant in full glory.

One interesting note is that it looks like the field in front which is mostly clay has lost a lot of its spruce/tamarack and is reverting to a more open forest/wet field. Looks like the previous owner were encouraging / transplanting cedars at the borders of this field.

How do you manage your woodlot?

[sandbar]

Telsing,

We have a 12 acre woodlot on our farm. A few years ago, I attended some timber management workshops being given by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Here's a few miscellaneous comments from my workshops:

• FIRST, DECIDE WHY YOU WANT TO CUT TREES: Income? Improve the woodlot's tree population? Provide natural habitat for wildlife? Removal of dangerous trees? You just like the sound and smell of chainsaws?
  
• DON'T HIRE A LOGGER TO CUT YOUR TIMBER: Loggers are legal criminals. They'll pay you a fraction of what your timber is worth. They will "high-grade" your woodlot rather than "selectively cutting" it for future income. NEVER sell your standing timber directly to a logger ... NEVER ... even if the logger is a relative ... NEVER.
  
• HIRE A CONSULTING FORESTER: You will pay this person money (likely up-front) to 1) LISTEN to the reason why you want to cut timber, 2) EVALUATE your woodlot to determine IF you have marketable timber and whether NOW is the time to sell or LATER is a better idea based upon your goals and the current status of the timber market, 3) DETERMINE which trees will be harvested, and 4) MANAGE the bidding process for your timber and ensure that they are harvested properly to minimize damage to other trees as the logs are hauled out.
  

Be very, very careful while selling timber. Just prior to acquiring our farm, a couple of Amish loggers walked the woods and marked every tree that was of marketable size. My father-in-law didn't want to sell (a case of a neighbor poking his nose in where it didn't belong ... long story), so he just let the issue drop. Which was good, because I was just starting the workshop series and I learned a LOT about the tactics they use. My guess is that they priced the timber at less than half it's value.

Please first decide WHY you folks want to harvest timber. Everything else is dependent upon answering that question.

The consulting forester will advise you on what you could expect from your timber. Down here (Ohio), maple brings a lot less than oak or cherry. At least the forester can give you an *idea* of what your timber might be worth. If you decide to sell, the forester will likely have a group of pre-selected bidders (i.e. the forester knows who the reputable loggers are and invites them to bid) and they will bid on your timber. You do not have to accept any bid. If you don't get the price you want, pay the forester and wait until another day to sell.

BTW, your pines probably aren't worth much. You may want to consider clear cutting those stands and planting mixed hardwoods that do well in your area. The forester can advise you on that, too. Maybe pine brings more in Canada, but in Ohio, it's worth maybe 10 cents a board foot while cherry is worth 10 or 15 times that.

Lastly, why aren't you making syrup? ;D

[mjc]

Jan 3, 2011 2:03:45 GMT -5 sandbar said:

BTW, your pines probably aren't worth much. You may want to consider clear cutting those stands and planting mixed hardwoods that do well in your area. The forester can advise you on that, too. Maybe pine brings more in Canada, but in Ohio, it's worth maybe 10 cents a board foot while cherry is worth 10 or 15 times that.

Other than if some of the conifers can be windbreaks, I totally agree. Even if the words 'clear cut' sound evil to your ears, you'll be better off in the long run (since your area should be mixed forest, those stands are not really 'native').

The white pines may be more valuable than the spruce...but still only a fraction of the hardwoods. And since they were obviously planted, they probably are 'generic' trees that aren't locally adapted which means they'll be more likely to die off, starting around 40 to 50 yrs old, which is probably what you are seeing among the spruces.

I'd definitely look for a local forester.

[sandbar]

Jan 3, 2011 3:39:34 GMT -5 mjc said:

Other than if some of the conifers can be windbreaks, I totally agree.

That's a very good point.

The value of trees is not simply the monetary value of their wood. Sheltering benefits and providing habitat for wildlife are very important considerations, too.

MJC makes another good point about the life expectancy of many pines. If they are nearing the end of their life cycle, it is better to cut them down while still living and are still worth something. After they're dead, not many people will be interested in them. They're not even useful for burning in a fireplace or wood stove.

[seedywen]

Our farm has a seven acre forest, across a moderately sloped ravine from three acres under cultivation.

About ten years ago, three men approached us, asking for permission to cruise our forest, as they were looking for primarily marketable alder logs. The first growth forest in our area, had been logged around the turn of the last century and our place logged again, sixty years later. Although the neighbors both to the west north and east had yet to cut their forests fully the second time. Evidently alder which is largely considered a 'weed' species, also is used for veneers in the cabinet making industry. We were leary of these guys who were 'out of town' largely because of the issues raised by a previous poster who urged using a registered forester and local 'horror' logging practice stories.

One of our sons was working for a local logging contractor, on a thinning contract. They also paid on the senior men's soccer team together. This contractor heard about our forest and being as the price for large alder logs had recently spiked, came asking if we'd be interested in having our seven acres logged by him.

The contractor and his brother cruised the forest and gave us an estimate on the amount of wood, the expected price of extraction and the profit split. Basically the government would get 1/3, us, 1/3 and him 1/3. We agreed to the deal, provided the contractor selectively cut the timber and took care afterwards to return the land, to the best condition possible.

The contractor took three weeks, working alone on his equipment and driving in the logging truck which removed nine loads of logs.

What we liked about the job he did, was he placed the piles of slash, out of our sight lines and in places, where they would to rot more quickly, he built a rough access road and then put the roadway, carefully back to 'bed'. He found there was more timber than he thought, so we both received more money than originally estimated.

There was also 3 loads of cedar and douglas fir taken out along with the alder.

We asked his opinion about purchasing fir or cedar seedlings and replanting the area. His advice was that alder was our most marketable crop as the property had near perfect growing conditions. We ran both ideas past our son, in case he wanted to take on the future management of the woodlot. Our son was around 20 and declined, taking up a career instead as a firefighter. Now the forest is reseeding itself but the underbrush is so thick that we rarely venture back there now.

Still the view is lovely across the creek into the forest as all the alders were left standing in the creek course(illegal to cut there as well). Home to many birds.

The two drawbacks to the logging operation were needing permission from the north boundary neighbor for permission to punch a road on the road allowance bordering our joint properties. The aging neighbor has since had disputes with most other neighbors since then and I doubt anyone would receive any collaboration with him these days. Plus we had to take down the page wire fence in the forest, we had erected so our goats could forage there. Haven't put a new fence up because in the last ten years, large animal predation on farm livestock in the general district has greatly increased. Livestock has to be adequately protected 24/7 or risk losing significant numbers of stock.

[ottawagardener]

Woah. I missed all these great responses. Not sure how, I usually check back. This is all great advice thank you. The pine stand was 'thinned' out - every other row - just before we moved in and it looks like they were interplanting some hardwoods: butternut and oak is what I noticed. Yeah, the front spruce field definitely looks like its self clearing. I'm planning on clearing 1-2 acres of the pine forest anyhow and by clearing I mean taking it all down but not yet as I have to work on the current cleared land so it's just easier to leave it as forest.

Oh and there's a sugar shack there Sandbar with equipment I'll report back on my amateur attemps come March.

[nuts]

The best valorisation of wood is using it yourself.

You're lucky if you have a sawmill in the neighbourhood,you can take your logs to.
Pine and such is fine all purpose timber,start building your 10 square meter(=100 sq foot) chickenhouse and soon building your 500 square meter hangar to dry the burningwood and timber,to shelter your tractor and stock your hay,you can never have enough shelter.

Every wood burns,if people prefer hardwood,it's because it's better and they have the choice,but non deciduous wood is ok too.For good and clean burning,it's good to dry it several years,the longer,the better..And it doesn't hurt to have a big stock,in case.

The pine logs can be fine in the garden to build raised beds,and if finally they are rotten and fall to pieces,contributes to improve humus of your soil.
And I'm sure you'll find many more usefull applications yourself.

For many,maybe most,hardwoods it's a good operation to take it to the sawmill and make the timber dry for 5-10 year(depending on the thickness).Then you sell it for more then 10-20times the price a woodlogger would have paid.So,don't cut beautiful logs of good dimensions for firewood.

Another good usage is fencing poles.This must be wood that doesn't rot easily.Some species give very abundant regrowth on the stubs and give loads of fencing poles in 10 years or so.In my area chestnut and robinia pseudoacacia do very well for this.

For me,woodlot management means that you cut wood every year.If you give it all to a woodlogger every 100 years,you can not manage anything at all.
On 15 acres of moderate to good woodland you can take out,maybe 20 tons a year with the living capital still increasing.

About the pines, if it is thinned,it will probably in good condition and have good growth,and you won't have to be in a hurry to clear it,start cutting what seems to be dying.
Start a nursery with seeds collected in your wood from the best trees and collect seed from species you'd like to have.
Enrich the diversity of species on cuts where the natural regeneration is good,introducing low numbers of plants,or even by directly planting the seeds.
Where regeneration is bad,better plant at good densities,well over 200 plants/acre.
Anyway it's allways better to have regeneration at high densities,that's often the case in natural regenation,and procede to several thinnings,the more frequent,the better,for exemple,at 5 years,and at 10 years is better than only at 10 years.

Manage your wood land as you manage your garden.Do the clear cuts on smaller surfaces,for exemple the area where some big trees fall down.
Allow ,or introduce, smaller species for the underwood etage.(Ilex,crataegus,buxus,prunus etc),and try to obtain a diverse architecture by frequent thinning and selective cuts.

By the way,what's 'ironwood'?,sounds terrific

When you take out the wood you can be less greedy and leave some of the smaller wood in the woods,for the fungi and the insects.

Well,maybe I should tell my story instead,going to sleep now and keep that for later.

[ottawagardener]

Thanks Nuts. A plan of sorts is forming in my head so I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on. Actually I have 100 black walnuts that need thinning so I'm going to post pictures soon. The plantation was spaced for lumber and I favour nuts in this case.

Ironwood: Ostrya virginiana - I think it's also referred to as American Hophornbeam. It's related to birch and has shaggy bark. Very hard with a high BTU

[sandbar]

Jan 6, 2011 13:56:23 GMT -5 ottawagardener said:

Oh and there's a sugar shack there Sandbar with equipment I'll report back on my amateur attemps come March.

Awesome! Will look forward to that!!