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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 24 May 2021 08:31 - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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ICC, I told them not to cut douglas fir (high value timber) and dont cut tamarack, but I have never seen a single tamarack on my acreage, but the area is full of them. As I was scouting around during the thinning process, I spotted my one and only tamarack and put on blue ribbons which means "no cut"

You mentioned mistletoe, there is a issue with some tamaracks getting dwarf mistletoe, and I looked into it during thinning and have seen it, but I have none.

I am getting hit with the western bark beetle, losing maybe 2 big trees a year, and a dozen smaller ones which are under 3" at the trunk.

Notice the almost a lime green leaves, really stands out.
Lone Tamarack/Western Larch
Lone Tamarack/Western Larch


scott100
Member
# Posted: 24 May 2021 09:46 - Edited by: scott100
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I see the thread's been revived. Meanwhile, back in the Northeast forests of NY, we had our 33 acre property thinned with a low grade harvest. 2 major issues. Emerald ash borer had just moved into the area and was due to kill all the ash in short order. We wanted to remove all the ash while we could get whatever residual value it had. Hemlock woolly aldelgid has also moved into the area and will kill all the hemlocks withing a few years, so we had all the hemlock removed, as well. The beech is also diseased here, and you rarely find a decent older tree that hasn't been impacted. Beech reproduces via stump sprouts, and loves the shade of the understory, so
younger beech sprouts keep other more desirable species from growing. The deer also don't eat beech, but eat everthing else.


I was lucky to find a consulting forester who specializes in low grade markets. Most don't and you would have to pay someone to get this work done. In our area, many too many unscrupulous loggers do high grading, where they take the best, and leave the junk trees to carry on. Not good for longevity of the forest.

Anyhow, the Amish crew he used took out all the ash (some were pretty good saw logs), all the hemlock, some red maple that had started to rot at the base (still some good saw logs), all the diseased beech, and thinned other less desirable trees out. All the good stuff got left (cherry, sugar maple, red maple, white and red oak, white pine, cucumber tree, etc). Before the thinning, we had 100% canopy coverage. Now much less so. It's taken some getting used too, but all for the good. We actually got enough from the harvest that they put in a 1/4 mile driveway for us cleared the area and put down a base for our cabin and storage shed, and paid us some money. Not nearly as much as if we did a higher grade harvest, but that wasn't the point. They also did a glyphosate treatment of the beech stumps to kill back the stump sprouts and give some of the other species a chance.

A couple of before and after pics below. Depending on what had to be removed, some areas became quite open, some less so.
IMG_20190708_2012513.jpg
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IMG_20190609_1556385.jpg
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IMG_20190609_1551524.jpg
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IMG_20190609_1543154.jpg
IMG_20190609_1543154.jpg


Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 24 May 2021 09:51
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This reminds me....I used to live in Eastern Oregon where there is an abundance of Tamarack/... yes officially Western Larch. My father dug up a nice sized one and replanted it in his yard in Western Oregon. He was the neighborhood "green thumb" so when the needles turned in the fall he got a ribbing from the neighbors about his new tree dying. He couldn't convince them it hadn't died.... until spring when those beautiful green needles re-appeared!

Your place looks great! We did a bunch more clearing this spring, both on our property and from our line down hill to a driveway across the property below us. Just trying to have a fire break between us and the neighbors below... who never come up to their property and haven't cleaned it up in years. Tried to buy it off them and they wanted twice the value. A September snow last year broke the tops out of 23 of our Aspen trees and brought down numerous limbs. The forest around our area, and most of the acerages within our development are littered with limbs and tree tops. This is one time I hope the HOA gets after people to clean up and firewise their properties. They are planning on bringing in 2 large chippers this summer for people to use... if they will.

The 6" chipper we bought last fall has gotten a workout!

ICC
Member
# Posted: 24 May 2021 09:55 - Edited by: ICC
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Well, it sure is nice to be able to actually walk through the forest and also to be able to see through what used to be a green wall. Good job!

Some areas in the NF around here are so overgrown with trees there is no grass.

scott100
Member
# Posted: 24 May 2021 12:49
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We have an issue in the northeast when things do get opened up. The beech goes to town, and the deer eat everything else. It's amazing to find out the number of seedlings just one deer takes out in a day. You can tell the depth of the snowpack by the height of the seedlings in the spring. We can't kill enough of the deer around here. That's one thing that helped all these forests get started 100 years ago, when the farm fields converted back. There were no deer (or very few) as they had all been killed for food. Not good either, but the new forests benefited.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 15:11
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Our land in NY was select cut just prior to us buying it. Mostly they took the black cherry and left the beech, poplar, maple, birch and hemlock. Taking down even a few large trees really helped open the canopy and allow other trees to grow. I'm even getting quite a bit or re growth out of the old black cherry stumps.

At this point most of the logging trails I have heavily york raked and that seams to have helped the native grass come in a bit. Although the briars are going to take over if allowed.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 20:52
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Quoting: Santa01
I had to remove everything myself, cut it down. To do this, I had to order special tools separately. Then, with the help of precision scissors


Wow, wish I would of known that, I went and paid a commercial outfit to thin my forest, not to mention the DR chipper I bought, the Kawasaki Mule to tow it, gas and electric pole saws and all I needed was a pair of scissors. Now I feel like an idiot.

ICC
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 22:53
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paulz
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 23:51
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sc.JPG
sc.JPG


toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 26 May 2021 22:34
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Quoting: paulz
sc.JPG
sc.JPG


LOL, and to add, in my state, the DNR or dept of natural resources alwasy has a cost share program of 50/50 in place. This is all the time. But do get fed funding for help and this can go up to 75/25 (which I got) and 90/10 and even 100/0

Thinning is around $1,250 per acre.

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