Cutting Poplars

[Early Bird]

Merry Christmas everyone! I have 110 acres in the hills of southern Ohio. I have some thick areas but a great deal of the property has 4-10 inch diameter poplar trees with some very small oaks, some very large pine trees and a spattering of other trees. I would like to start cutting/clear cutting to get better cover for the deer and promote bedding in certain areas. I have several questions. What is the minimum size area I should cut? Is there a certain direction slope that is best to cut? How high should I make the cut? Can or should I leave the tops or stack them to make brush piles? As always any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Yarg]

Merry Christmas everyone! I have 110 acres in the hills of southern Ohio. I have some thick areas but a great deal of the property has 4-10 inch diameter poplar trees with some very small oaks, some very large pine trees and a spattering of other trees. I would like to start cutting/clear cutting to get better cover for the deer and promote bedding in certain areas. I have several questions. What is the minimum size area I should cut? Is there a certain direction slope that is best to cut? How high should I make the cut? Can or should I leave the tops or stack them to make brush piles? As always any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

Merry Christmas! I don't know how much mature oak you have producing acorns but my goal would be to release those oak saplings and the direction of your fells would be based on that.
I think your other questions regarding chainsaw use.. you're probably referring to hinge cuts and there's yt videos you could watch on that. I guess that all depends on your experience but safety is Paramount! Cause chainsaws can kill you..make sure you don't work alone.
I'll let the pros share.

 

[Bill]

What is the minimum size area I should cut? Is there a certain direction slope that is best to cut? How high should I make the cut? Can or should I leave the tops or stack them to make brush piles? !

1/4 acre is enough to provide a bedding area. I’ve done anything from 1/4 acre to 5 acres. On my place the south slopes regen faster than the north slopes. Leave the tops deer will browse them and then lay against them.

Caution: I don’t know how long you have owned the property or what the plan is but once you cut a tree it’s hard to put one back. I wouldn’t go hog wild until I knew what was going to regen and if it’s what you want. I’ve never cut a (I’m assuming yellow) poplar and specifically looked for it sending up suckers. I don’t have any yellow poplar to experiment with.

Here is a read on copicing them https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs212/gtr_srs212_066.pdf

Looks like you will get some mortality but some will sprout several shoots. Because yours are older than those in the study I would think you’ll loose more.

 

[Early Bird]

Thanks to both of you for the responses. Yarg, I actually meant but didn't explain very well the direction of the slope of a hillside that would regenerate the best/quickest. Bill, when you did only a quarter acre does the re-growth come in thicker than before you cut? Thanks again guys!

Ray

 

[Bill]

Bill, when you did only a quarter acre does the re-growth come in thicker than before you cut?

Yes but it is also why I cautioned about starting slow to see what happens. I got blackberries and Multa flora rose. The white oak and hickory sprouted but got browsed heavy. Took a few years for thise to get above browse level.
Personally I’d do it again in a heart beat but I like a mess.

You may look into finding someone to pay to cut some for you. Poplar is a good pulp wood in many areas.

 

[Early Bird]

Did you leave the tops lay or make piles?

 

[Bill]

I mostly hinge cut so the tops stay attached. Even when it’s to big to hinge and I just cut, everything stays where it falls.

The only reason I can see to do the work of stacking tops is if you want cover for small critters or to use the tops to protect a seedling of some sort. Many guys plant evergreen seedlings in the tops so they are protected. I’ve never tried it..

 

[Early Bird]

Great info thanks!

 

[Bill]

Great info thanks!

You’re welcome. Its quiet around here now so close to Christmas. Some other guys would be chiming in.

Don’t know where you are with setting up your place so this may be a mute point. But before making bedding areas (anything really) ask yourself why there?, and how does it fit with your other improvements and stand locations. Most importantly does it make it easier to take a deer or easier for them to get by you. It’s easy to undo a food plot. But like I mentioned earlier, it’s hard to put a tree back...

 

[yoderjac]

Keep in mind that when you open the canopy you will create cover, but you will also create food in cover. This may or may not be what you want. Creating food in cover can make deer more sensitive to hunting pressure.

Another thing to consider is wind. It sound like you are on a slope. Thermals will rise in the morning and fall in the evening. So typically one would want to be above the bedding for morning hunts and below for evening hunts. Before you create bedding, consider your travel routes to and from morning and evening stands. There are a couple options and some have been mentioned. Hinge cutting will create instant browse by making vertical food horizontal. With this, you are leaving the trees in place. Another option is to create "mineral stumps". With this method you could leave the tops or remove them and you can use the wood for firewood or sell it. The MSU deer lab has a good podcast on "mineral stumps" but basically, the stumps resprout and the large root system concentrates minerals and nutrients in the limited amount of leaf matter the water sprouts provide. Deer seek them out. They also quickly provide cover.

Another option is to remove the trees and tops (you can do mineral stumps with this method), create firebreaks, and execute periodic controlled burns. The reason you remove the wood and tops is to reduce the fuel load. The burns expose the soil to the sun and encourage herbaceous plant growth. Burning every few years can keep this in early succession for a long time. Using fire requires a bit of know-how but most states offer classes and in some places you can contract it out. This is probably the most work up front if your timber is not marketable, but will sustain bedding (with food) for the longest time.

Keep in mind that all cases you will be creating human disturbance and changing habitat on a large enough scale to change how deer relate to your land. This is, of course, your objective. However, it will take time for them to change their patterns the way you hope (if they do), and in the interim, hunting may be unpredictable.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Early Bird]

Really appreciate all the knowledge. Thanks for taking the time.

Ray

 

[meyerske]

My farm is in southern Ohio too. Here are a couple of tips.

Before you cut anything, make sure you kill any invasives in the area or you will end up with invasives (tree of heaven, bush honeysuckle, Japanese stiltgrass, etc) taking over your cuts. It may even delay your plan by a year but it will be well worth it.

Don't try hinge cutting yellow poplar, it doesn't hinge cut well at all and is dangerous. Cut it completely off low. It will stump sprout and provide some good forage.

Learn the trees and the browse in your area and learn their value (or lack thereof) to wildlife before you start your plan.

Think long and hard about property access before you cut. You can't walk right past a bedding area to get to a stand or you will have lonely sits. Same goes for feeding areas.

Take some time to learn how the deer are currently using the property before you start changing things. It's easier to coax deer movement than to force deer movement.

 

[Early Bird]

Great advice, Thanks!

 

[Bill]

Japanese stiltgrass,

I hate that stuff!

You may already know it but Clethodim will smoke it without hurting any seeding trees or broadleaf vegetation.

 

[NE PA QDM]

Agree with above.
DO NOT TRY TO HINGE CUT POPLAR. You might die. It’s not a species that hinges.
Fell it like you would any other tree. The stump will sprout.

 

[Early Bird]

That is the plan. Thanks!!

 

[Chainsaw]

Each January on my property I drop poplar trees to help feed the deer thru the heavy snow period. I tried hingecutting them in the normal way and as been stated by others it was a very unsafe maneuver. Not only was it extra dangerous but most of them broke off anyhow. So I tried hinging in a different way that someone on the old forum had posted about. What he had done was simply flat cut the poplar tree half way thru and walk away Trusting that the next wind would finish the job for him. He took a lot of flack about how dangerous it was to do that as the tree could fall on a trespasser or even himself someday.

It has become a standard practice here every year now In January and February. Poplars are cut halfway and left standing. It is very time productive as thirty trees can be cut that way in less than an hour. In every case every tree so cut has come down within a week and most within a few days. Very close to half of them break off when they fall but the larger half stays hinged.

Further the root sprouts that spring are very prolific And provide another great source of deer food. And yes we have seen evidence of deer bedding in those hinge cuts. Note; Entire poplar stands are not cut at once but rather in tight groups of a dozen or so trees Thus sort of rationing the food source so it might last for many years.

 

[Early Bird]

Great info, thank you.

Ray

 

[Early Bird]

I am actually going to spend the day on my property with the DNR forester in my county on 1/24. I am assuming he will have a ton of knowledge to pass along and be a ton of help. He plans on marking trees and areas that should be cut, etc. Looking forward to it.

Ray

 

[Bill]

I am actually going to spend the day on my property with the DNR forester in my county on 1/24. I am assuming he will have a ton of knowledge to pass along and be a ton of help. He plans on marking trees and areas that should be cut, etc. Looking forward to it.

Ray

Hopefully he is a good one that understands your goals. Most foresters are interested in board feet over antler inches. But ultimately that may be what you want also.