Clearing Hemlock

[PatinPA]

I had mine timbered off by the paper mill. Definitely didn't get rich. If they're too big they don't want them though. I think for me it was 30+" diameter was too big for them to process at the mill. They sold the bigger trees off to a lumber yard. Mine all was dying from the wooly adelgid. All the branches for the first 30 feet were dead and gone.

I've heard they make great siding for sheds, just keep it off the ground Whatever you do don't delimb them at the site. What a pain in the ass that was and still is for me. Piles of branches everywhere that don't let anything grow up through.

 

[b116757]

If their that large I’d have them harvested if you don’t have enough for larger logging outfits to be interested try the Amish again or contact Woodmizer and ask for a list of their sawmill owners local to you one of those guys would most likely be interested in fooling with it. Probably a 30% to 70% harvest leaving a few scattered mature trees for regeneration a young stand of dense hemlock coming up is a deer magnet they love to browse them and use for cover when young and hemlock is pretty slow growing in partial shade and will remain a deer magnet for many years before becoming to large. We had a mature hemlock stand on my mothers place and had a couple very large maple go down in a storm next to the hemlocks when I was very young that opening came back in thick hemlock and remained a deer magnet for many many years before growing to large.

 

[Teeder]

I have a fair bit of hemlock on my hunting property. Mostly along the creek and up to the first bench. I took a walk this past weekend and most of the activity and all the beds were in the hemlock.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I had mine timbered off by the paper mill. Definitely didn't get rich. If they're too big they don't want them though. I think for me it was 30+" diameter was too big for them to process at the mill. They sold the bigger trees off to a lumber yard. Mine all was dying from the wooly adelgid. All the branches for the first 30 feet were dead and gone.

I've heard they make great siding for sheds, just keep it off the ground Whatever you do don't delimb them at the site. What a pain in the ass that was and still is for me. Piles of branches everywhere that don't let anything grow up through.

I had the exact same experience. Had a logger remove 3 acres of mature hemlock. Went to a paper mill. Didn't make a dime. He delimbed them on site and now I am picking up the slash. The good thing about hemlock slash is that none of us very big...all less than 3 or 4" in diameter or so. Thinking about renting a mini excavator this spring and just getting it all piled up in 3 or 4 massive brush piles for burning. Then I have to figure out how to pull and bury the stumps.

But, when it's all done I am going o have one hell of a nice food plot.

 

[PatinPA]

I had the exact same experience. Had a logger remove 3 acres of mature hemlock. Went to a paper mill. Didn't make a dime. He delimbed them on site and now I am picking up the slash. The good thing about hemlock slash is that none of us very big...all less than 3 or 4" in diameter or so. Thinking about renting a mini excavator this spring and just getting it all piled up in 3 or 4 massive brush piles for burning. Then I have to figure out how to pull and bury the stumps.

But, when it's all done I am going o have one hell of a nice food plot.

Yes that would've been ideal to rent equipment to push it off. At the time I didn't have the time or money to do it. I ended up clearing it by hand with a metal rake. Started with 3 small circles and got it up to about 1/3 of an acre. Now I have black birch growing up through it so hand clearing any more is pretty much out of the question. It's large enough for my purposes. I have commercial ag all around me so I'm never going to compete with that anyway. I believe I got around $6K for the 12 acres of timber but that included a few hardwoods near the road.

 

[b116757]

I’ve never fooled with trying to clear a logged area but I’ve never been trying to convert one into a convention food plot either. If it where me I’d just have a big dozer or excavator come in and do the work I’d gladly pay a couple grand for a days work for a big machine. And find the guy with the biggest equipment you can the difference in the amount of work a very large piece of equipment can do in an hour versus the cheaper smaller equipment is quite substantial.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I’ve never fooled with trying to clear a logged area but I’ve never been trying to convert one into a convention food plot either. If it where me I’d just have a big dozer or excavator come in and do the work I’d gladly pay a couple grand for a days work for a big machine. And find the guy with the biggest equipment you can the difference in the amount of work a very large piece of equipment can do in an hour versus the cheaper smaller equipment is quite substantial.

Totally agree. I might go that route too. The only thing that's got me thinking of renting a small machine myself is that I do have about 6 or 7 other little projects on my land that I could also knock out over a week long rental. I also have a neighbor who will rent me his machine at a very attractive price. But then yes...have somebody come in with a 30 ton machine and make the stumps go away.

 

[BIGDHunting]

I have a fair bit of hemlock on my hunting property. Mostly along the creek and up to the first bench. I took a walk this past weekend and most of the activity and all the beds were in the hemlock.

I will have to walk around in there this w/end and see if I can see any bedding areas or an abundance of sign. In the past there wasnt much but with all the tinkering and projects we may have changed their patterns.