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To Cut or Not to Cut?

bueller

bueller

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I came across this document on the WI DNR site while researching some things last night. It contains some decent information on managing your woodland for wildlife without being so technical that the common guy like myself feels overwhelmed.

http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/wm/WM0244.pdf
 
Nice. I guess I did a cross between a true select cut and a shelter cut when I did my place. We took far too many trees to call it a true select cut - it was the best habitat improvement I have made to my place.
 
Good read bueller, thanks for posting!
 
I like the advice of leaving some of your dead trees standing. Also leaving brushpiles and tree tops on the ground. My favorite quote from the document: "Clean your house, not your woods."
 
The one thing I went thru that I warn people about is the "Oh #$%^, what did I just do!" feeling you first get when you see the result. You think to yourself, "I just allowed my woods to be destroyed - I made a HUGE mistake". I actually felt sick - no lie! I also let them know that the explosion of new growth quickly puts aside any prior doubts and a year or so after that I honestly wished they had taken a few more trees! Make sure you understand what desired affect you want and then brace yourself - your initial reaction isn't going to be fun if you have never seen a fresh timber harvest before.
 
I think that if someone is looking to hold more deer for more of the year on their land, they would need a good mixture of all 3 types of timber management. 30% selective cut, 30% shelterwood cut, 30% clearcut, 10% food plots. Offering all growth stages to increase diversity beyond what many neighbors would have could up ones chances of holding deer on their properties year around.
 
j-bird said:
The one thing I went thru that I warn people about is the "Oh #$%^, what did I just do!" feeling you first get when you see the result. You think to yourself, "I just allowed my woods to be destroyed - I made a HUGE mistake". I actually felt sick - no lie! I also let them know that the explosion of new growth quickly puts aside any prior doubts and a year or so after that I honestly wished they had taken a few more trees! Make sure you understand what desired affect you want and then brace yourself - your initial reaction isn't going to be fun if you have never seen a fresh timber harvest before.
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Thanks for the heads up, I will be going thru that next winter. I can understand the sick feeling you got. I think I would of felt the same. The thing is I know its the right thing to do, but I'm still scared of the results.
 
Good article. What would you guys recommend for a clear cut on 65 acres. I was thinking 5, to little, or to much.
 
I'm having a select cut done right now on my farm. Nervous as H to see what it looks like but in the long run I know I'll be pleased. Makng some money while improving the habitat can't be beat!
 
chummer said:
Good article. What would you guys recommend for a clear cut on 65 acres. I was thinking 5, to little, or to much.
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Consider doing upwards of 10 to 20 acres, 2 or 3 select locations of 5 to 7 acres each in strategic areas of your property would not be too much. Better yet may be to open up a 5 to 7 acre section every 3rd year until you get to around 30% of your total acreage. Just make sure you are encouraging beneficial natives in those areas and don't let invasives get out of hand.
 
The only thing that filled in on my FIL was black berries. They are very high on the browse list here so I hope I get the same results.
 
chummer said:
Good article. What would you guys recommend for a clear cut on 65 acres. I was thinking 5, to little, or to much.
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My forester suggested 3-4 on my 50 acres that will be cut next winter. He wants to do mostly about 1 acre clear cuts, with the biggest maybe 2 acres. I don't know the reason why that's just what he suggested, I was fine with that.
 
Thanks Bueller, for posting the link. Excellent info in there !!

Chummer - I agree with Whip on doing 2 or 3 cuts at different intervals. I'd make sure there's good cover going between the cuts so when the rut rolls around each year, bucks have good " walkways " to check for does feeding around the cuts. Pines, spruce, hinged trees, etc. Nice bucks love that thick stuff to travel in when roaming & checking. Tree stand locations - I'd put mine downwind of where the bucks might " stage " before entering a cut travelling in one of those " walkways ". You're gonna have all kinds of fun planning that kind of stuff !!
 
I can't wait. Is a clear cut and an area where everything is hinged considered the same? I would think a hinged area would be better.
 
Thanks for the heads up, I will be going thru that next winter. I can understand the sick feeling you got. I think I would of felt the same. The thing is I know its the right thing to do, but I'm still scared of the results.
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Oh I knew mine was the right thing to do as well and I had lots of confidence - but man, we cut out a lot of junk trees and I just wasn't used to all that daylight in the sky. It's sort of like when you took a test in school and you finished first, by a long time, in a subject you struggled in anyway......you start thinking oh man, how bad did I screw this up? It's a lot like that, except you realize it could take decades or even the rest of your lifetime to recover! We removed over 700 trees off my roughly 50 acres of trees - I had lots of junk!

None of mine was truly clear cut, but what was left in some cases more than likely had about the same results. I had sugar/hard maple in one area and it just shaded out everything. We removed those trees and it was simply a different world. Before you could see for 100 yards - now you could hide a truck in some places in the summer time.

I would suggest you take lots of pictures now - both in winter and summer conditions before they cut a single tree and then come back and do it again every year after and it will amaze you. Especially if you can put a stake in the ground or some how go to the same place and face the same direction.
 
In my 40 I did a 2.5 acre clear cut and another 2.5 of a heavy select cut 2 years ago. The clear cut got Norway spruce planted in it and the selecet cut I left the tops and planted just a few spruce here and there. I stay out of both areas, untill well after hunting season & even then go into them very very seldom.
 
If your ? is toward me Chummer, I'd say no they're not the same. Clear cuts are completely cut down and marketable timber is taken out. Hinged areas are keeping the tree trunks still attached and growing - albeit in a horizontal position.

The pine-spruce-hinged areas I referred to above were the connecting " walkways " I'd plant & hinge-cut to connect the 2 or 3 timbered areas you were talking about making ( possibly ). If I had 60 to 75 acres to play with, I'd do as Whip suggested and make 2 or 3 separate clear cuts ( or select cuts ), and make thick, cover-filled walkways between them. Does and young - of - the - year will be drawn to the cut areas to feed on new growth, so bucks are gonna travel to and around the cuts to check for hot does come rut time. I'd make their travel corridors " safe " with good thick cover for their security - with handy tree stands located within bow shot of those thick ribbons of cover. Connect the dots with spruce, pine, and some hinged trees.

We're trying to direct buck movement in the same kind of way at my camp between doe group bedding areas. Spruce, pine ( planted ) and hinged trees or cut tree tops left in rough piles / rows for the bucks to use as cover while roaming from doe group to doe group. Given the choice between more open woods and some cover - we're banking on them using the cover. ( most of the time !! )
 
Do any of you have pics of the logging done on what it looked like fall #1, #2, #3 and so on? Also how many tops should be left? I've seen some logging jobs that seem to leave so many that it would suppress new shoots coming up.
 
shawnv said:
Do any of you have pics of the logging done on what it looked like fall #1, #2, #3 and so on? Also how many tops should be left? I've seen some logging jobs that seem to leave so many that it would suppress new shoots coming up.
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you may want to shoot Novemberforever a p.m.. I know on the dark side he had talked about a cut he did about 2 years ago. It would be some good info to see how it's done with his high deer densities.
 
Shawnv - as far as leaving tops it's up to you. If you have a high deer density I would leave as many as possible - they will act as a protective screen to some extent. If you have a low deer density then you can cut them for firewood if you wish. I will also say these tops make great central supports to drop your hinge cuts on to as well. I don't see how leaving too many tops could reduce regen. You would literally have to put them in a manner that they where so dense it created additional shade - and in most cases loggers won't do that. The "shoots" also depend on the trees harvested. Some trees will send shoots from the stump right away, while others will not respout much if any at all. Also keep in mind the tree tops will break down fairly quickly - most will be significantly reduced or essentially gone in just a few years - again depending on the species.

I have some before and after pics in the summer time, but not the winter or fall. In my opinion the biggest diff is seen while leaves are on the trees. I wish I would have taken more pics before the cut - but I just didn't think that far ahead.
 
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