Land clearing option

[Cuervo]

Thought I would share :
I have approx. 2 acres of worthless pines that are the result of a christmas tree farm being left unattended for 20 years. I needed to get this cleared, and the costs I had quoted were more than I wanted to pay, since just pushing all the trees into a pile wasn't an option. I found a company located nearby that uses a FECON/Bobcat combo. Essentially this grinds the trees into mulch, in a few years any remnants will be gone. You may have seen these attached to a boom as well.

They were taking down/grinding trees up to 8" in diameter. If they are simply clearing brush/invasives they can do approx. 1/2 acre in an hour. They cleared about 1 acre of my trees in 5.5 hours, I will have them come back this winter to finish....which will end up costing 1/3 of anything else I was quoted

I think this is a great option if you are trying to get a handle on invasives or have an area of smaller trees and brush you want cleared, etc. From a cost standpoint I don't think you can beat it...$160.00/hour.

 

[bat man]

I would consider a dozer pushing the balance into blockades for ease of stand access/exit and deer funneling. Even if it costs a little more, which I find hard to believe it would.

 

[Cuervo]

That was always my first thought, but these trees are 2-3 feet apart and you can see the size of a lot of them. The piles would have ended up being too large for my liking. As it is, using this approach they are able to easily leave any trees or rows or clumps I deem as worthwhile. I had them leave 3 rows that border the road to keep that screened. There were a bunch of smaller 20-30 ft oaks buried in there that they were able to leave so they are now released. A dozer would have killed those.

 

[bat man]

That was always my first thought, but these trees are 2-3 feet apart and you can see the size of a lot of them. The piles would have ended up being too large for my liking. As it is, using this approach they are able to easily leave any trees or rows or clumps I deem as worthwhile. I had them leave 3 rows that border the road to keep that screened. There were a bunch of smaller 20-30 ft oaks buried in there that they were able to leave so they are now released. A dozer would have killed those.

I like those large piles. Deer don't even try and go through them, but some don't like the ugly factor.

 

[dipper]

That's a+ thermal cover in waupaca county.
you guys are funny. Bjs talking about paying a guy to create an area like this, and your talking about paying a guy to get rid of it:)

 

[dipper]

If u want the best habitat for deer 365 a year. Leave a few couple hundred square foot pockets standing, and cut the rest of them down. Leave the spruce laying!
That will be a nasty jungle with thermal cover pockets! U can contribute the $ u were going to spend to the dipper beer fund;)

 

[Cuervo]

No useful thermal cover there, you can't tell from the pic because it's already been cleared but trust me, a deer hasn't set foot on that 2 acres in 10+ years. Picture a christmas tree farm that has never been thinned...you literally cannot walk through it, and neither can anything else. It was essentially 2 acres of desert not useful for anything except a fire hazard. I'll take some other pics this weekend and post and you'll see what I mean.

 

[foggy]

No useful thermal cover there, you can't tell from the pic because it's already been cleared but trust me, a deer hasn't set foot on that 2 acres in 10+ years. Picture a christmas tree farm that has never been thinned...you literally cannot walk through it, and neither can anything else. It was essentially 2 acres of desert not useful for anything except a fire hazard. I'll take some other pics this weekend and post and you'll see what I mean.

Interested to see those pic. I got some small pines like that....and the deer and forest critters have a network of trails in and out of those small pines. I can't get thru....but they can....and do.

 

[dipper]

Cuervo I have multiple patches like that. It's nothing but branches. I don't see much use drying the summer the last 10 years. Winter time it's beds like crazy.
Give that guy the boot and fire up that chainsaw. A couple hundred square feet of those mature spruce are perfect bedding spots. When u drop and leave everything else, the deer will go nuts with all the diversity of growth.
The only thing u have to worry about is pulling a dead deer out of there, it's gonna be so nasty thick!

 

[j-bird]

One mans trash is another mans treasure!

I will say this - when it comes to evaluating thermal cover - doing so with snow on the ground is a real good time to do it. I have learned far more useful information about my deer and my property after the season close than at any other time. It tells me how the deer survive, both the winter and the hunting (and my winters are nothing like those of MN & WI).

 

[Cuervo]

Sounds like you guys don't believe me?? Thick "cover" doesn't mean mean its useful or beneficial cover for wildlife or anything else. Coupled with the fact that stands of non-native trees like this turn into disease and pest factories for the rest of your property (that's what the forester told me anyway). Like I said I'll post more pics after the weekend....you may change your opinion.

 

[BJE80]

That's a+ thermal cover in waupaca county.
you guys are funny. Bjs talking about paying a guy to create an area like this, and your talking about paying a guy to get rid of it:)

HA!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Agree with Stu & Dipper. Our best thermal and security cover for deer is an area that was logged 20 years ago. We planted Norway & white spruce in there, plus some white pine seedlings. Black birch, white birch, red maple and hemlock filled in naturally and it's THICK. It's on a north-facing slope but even in winter, with ugly winds, it's calm and quiet in that mess. Deer LOVE it !!! A short walk uphill and the deer are in our food plots and apple & crab trees. It's our best holding cover for the deer.

We just had logged & sold the timber from 22 acres to get rid of an open " easy to walk thru " woods that the deer wouldn't use. No tracks in there when snow was on the ground. We did this to create another thick " mess " like the spot I described above. Some mature evergreens are good to keep the snow off the ground for bedding spots. My camp LOVES spruce - because the deer do !!! FWIW.

 

[Cuervo]

Frazier fir, blue spruce, balsam fir, nothing any of us would plant for wildlife purposes. I crawled through there several times, including winter. No tracks, no wildlife, nothing...it was truly a desert...now maybe none of you believe me, but I'm fine with that.

Plan moving forward is to plant some other native trees and shrubs if needed, although we found 3 large oaks in the middle of this mess and lots of smaller oaks that are rather spindly as they reach for any sunlight. Nest year will see what pops up naturally and decide what else to plant. I'm having them leave pockets and lanes/rows of the crap pines in various places as well.

I have never seen a deer track entering or leaving this prior and as mentioned never saw anything anywhere inside it either. The day after they cut/grinded up there were several tracks throughout the cut portions. My forester's management plan called for removing these, and even if he didn't I would have, it was useless as it was.

I have several other large stands of white pines and spruce that are used for bedding and wildlife cover, so I do know what it looks like....and this ain't it.

 

[bueller]

Different strokes for different folks. What's right for others may not be right for you Cuervo. And vice versa.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

If you have other areas of cover and bedding already that get used ........ cut & re-plant !!! Everyone's areas and situations are different. If you know your " plus areas ", then you can work on your " minus areas ". My camp lacked thermal/security/bedding cover. We fixed 2 areas and will re-plant a third next spring.

One thing I noticed at our camp is that having a variety of planted AND native natural stuff growing in the same area got more traffic than a solid block of spruce or pines. More " edge " that way. Cover and browse material all in together.

 

[j-bird]

You may want to protect any young (within the reach of deer) oaks, that you discover - otherwise the deer may abuse them much like your tree shredder attachment! Property management is a site specific thing. What works for one doesn't work for all and not all cover is created equal. Sounds like you have done your homework on the deer usage of the area. Deer are very curious creates as well so you will see tracks in the work area. I had the same thing when we had a selective harvest at my place. Deer tracks in the ruts of the equipment. Plant things you don't have already - this will be a perfect opportunity to add diversity to the property.

 

[Cuervo]

I've planted all of those on one property or another during the last 30ish years :oops:

I've seen similar areas that are thick with evergreens and no understory, and they are a "desert". I had thought you had some understory plants in there, but with another look it appears there isn't much.

Be on the lookout for invasives once the cut is done, seems they are the first thing to show up on newly cleared ground. Good luck with the area moving forward.

A 50 foot frazier fir or blue spruce is a beautiful tree there are others on my property that will be left alone. I'll bet you didn't plant a couple thousand 2-3 feet apart....that's where the problem is. :)

I fully expect to see all kinds of unwanted "things" sprout......sprayer will be ready.

Thanks for the advice and comments.

 

[West Branch]

With them planted that close it sounds like a thinning + leaving some pockets is the way to go. That mulcher seems like it should benefit the soil a lot more than some logging does.

 

[Rally1148]

That's a+ thermal cover in waupaca county.
you guys are funny. Bjs talking about paying a guy to create an area like this, and your talking about paying a guy to get rid of it:)

I agree with this! BUT I've gotta say that I've got some areas like Cuervo, where the deer don't go. I think this is due to lack of visibility while bedding. They can sit in the tamarack swamp, or on the edge of some paths or clearings and they can see A LOT farther. The only exception to this is when the wind really starts kicking and the snow starts coming down real heavy. In this case, the deer still love the swamp, especially for traveling, but I'll often find/see beds under a heavy spruce canopy after we get a heavy snow (5+ inches in one night).

I'd never cut mine down until I get the 100 feet between me and my good neighbor, otherwise I'm sure cutting some pockets in there would create a deer haven.