Logging & Hinge Cutting

outdoorstom

5 year old buck +
My 25 acre woodlot was aggressively logged this past winter, then I hinge cut 6 bedding areas. I also planted clumps of white and norway spruce, arrowwood, ninebark, and elderberry cuttings. I was able to get an acre and a half of corn in last weekend too.
The woods are getting thicker already....very encouraging to see!







 
Darn......just realized this should be in the habitat section......can anyone move it for me?
 
Keep up thepictures, Tom. I want to see how things progress.

It looks great.
 
Looks like opening up your canopy is making your floor explode with new vegetation .
 
Man I love that third pic. Understory explosion!
 
Man I love that third pic. Understory explosion!

It's so cool to watch this happening!
(love your avatar....I fly that flag at my house)
 
Looks great, hopefully all that new browse will take some pressure off your new plantings.
 
Looks great, hopefully all that new browse will take some pressure off your new plantings.

Exactly, that's my hope too. Some are caged, but not all.
 
The 2 best habitat improvements I have made are #1 implement CRP and #2 a selective timber harvest. We removed 350+ mature maples, cottonwood, ash, hickory, sycamore, hackberry and poplar off of my place 2 or 3 years ago now. Now I don't have much timber to speak of to start with so when they started felling trees I wondered if I had made a mistake. It looked like a tornado hit the place. It was just what I needed however. The additional light has allowed my stunted oaks to grow as well as caused an undergrowth explosion. I am actually looking forward to another cutting in 20 years or so to take my walnut that will be in prime condition by then. Should have seen the look on the guys face when I told him, "NO oak, no cherry and no walnut are to be cut". You would have thought I had run over his dog. We both still made money as his face lit up when he saw all the sugar maple and I told him he could have then all as far as I was concerned. Timber is just another crop that needs to be managed and that means there will come a time for harvest.
 
I kept my oak as well. Im confident they'll produce better with less competition. I cant imagine how the understory willlook in 2 or 3 years!
 
It will depend on how much light youwill get (I can't see you pics - I thinkI have something screwed up on my machine - web browser verson or something). If you get good light it will be so thick you will fight to get through it. Any sort of trail you cut in it the deer will follow so keep that in mind. The deer also seem to like the tree tops as well. You will see results the first summer, bu it just gets better and better. What I have seen is that themature bucks will work the edge of the real nasty stuff while the does will weave thru it. You can also cut "pockets" in the cover, plant some grass and the does will bed there. Lots of things you can do once the cover bounces back.
 
Thanks for the advice.....sounds pretty solid.
 
Top