Post timber harvest ideas?

[bjseiler]

I have a timber harvest going on right now on my 130 acres. Kind of an open ended request here but I would love to hear what people did, or in retrospect wished they did, after they had a timber harvest. Things like seeding right away, let it go wild, building/expanding trails, etc. It is 130 acres total but 40 is ag, 12 is a lake, and the rest is timber (fairly wet, wetland almost in the trees).

Other than building up some trails so we can enjoy the property outside of deer/turkey season, the only thing I have on my list is making sure the multi flora rose doesn't get any worse.

 

[j-bird]

Improve your property access as part of the process by making them level trails and the like and if you need to set some culverts do it now. Increasing property access was one of the biggest things I got out of mine. While they have a dozer or the like on site - now is the time for openings, water holes and any other "big jobs". Leave the tops. Once they are done, release any other crop trees that may still need some help.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Sounds like you're already planning to address one area I was going to suggest: manage invasives and undesirables. Stay ahead of them early and they're easier to knock out and keep under control. The other single biggest thing I'd recommend is have a plan for evaluating and managing water/runoff on slopes, roads, and ditches.

 

[yoderjac]

I have a timber harvest going on right now on my 130 acres. Kind of an open ended request here but I would love to hear what people did, or in retrospect wished they did, after they had a timber harvest. Things like seeding right away, let it go wild, building/expanding trails, etc. It is 130 acres total but 40 is ag, 12 is a lake, and the rest is timber (fairly wet, wetland almost in the trees).

Other than building up some trails so we can enjoy the property outside of deer/turkey season, the only thing I have on my list is making sure the multi flora rose doesn't get any worse.

We put in firebreaks in our hardwood clear-cuts and sprayed herbicide to kill stump sprouts. While stump sprouts are very nutritious and attractive to deer, they will close the canopy quickly shading out herbaceous growth and will never provide timber value. We waited a year or so and then conducted a controlled burn. These are great bedding areas for us now. They have a lot of NWSG in them, in our case, broomsedge bluestem is the dominant. Fire is a great tool. We plan to burn a section every 3 years or so rotationally to keep things in early succession as long as possible. We also conducted controlled burns in our thinned pines.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[JFK52]

I have row planted red pines. I had the harvester take out the first row on each side of every fire lane and road way when I did my every third row harvest. This allowed more sunlight to get to the understory. The result was an explosion of elderberry trees in the pines and black cap berries along both sides of the existing fire lanes. I also had areas of pines removed to give me better sight distances from certain stands.
When I did a clear cut of Scotch pine 26 years ago I had all the limbs and tops pushed into huge burn piles. It was costly but well worth it in my book. These were burned in the middle of winter when the snow covered the ground. It sure was a good way to get rid of mountains of limbs tops that Scotch pine produce after harvesting. The burn areas were cleared of stumps and I have food plots in those spots today. I got a faster regeneration of mostly oak and some cherry where the Scotch pines stood.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

Great post. Im in a similar boat with a new harvest finished this summer in a hardwoods area. Thinking of planting clumps of 3-5 spruce trees scattered around the harvest area. Going back this winter to cut anything damaged or left behind that will not be valuable in the future

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[g squared 23]

If I didn't have thermal cover (spruce trees), I would strategically plant these where I wanted my deer to bed. Also a few around plots for a permanent screen so the deer have to walk out to see what's up.


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[Bill]

If you have MFR in there now suit up, because it's coming for you big time now that the Suns in there.
I personally don't mind it. Our deer don't seem to avoid it and it hasn't out competed the white oaks.

I agree with the thermal cover ideas. If you don't have much plant it now and protect it if you can.

 

[Livesintrees]

I’d opt for a Water source if there isn’t one now. And depending how much natural browse you have possibly a food plot trail, and let the sun do the rest.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

In our 3 loggings we've done at camp in the last 20+ years, we've planted Norway spruce & white spruce for thermal / bedding / security cover, and caged some of the stumps of oaks & maples to protect the stump sprouts from browsing until they get big enough to survive. Seedlings and various forbs, weeds, and berries hatched on their own to round out the regeneration. We left the tops to provide free protection to any naturally occurring seedlings & root sprouts. We went from naked, mature "telephone-pole" forest with no cover or deer-level food - to varying cover, ground-level browse options. Increased sunlight makes all sorts of things sprout naturally. We made trails through those cut areas for access as well.

I can tell you that the spruce have become a haven for deer to bed in. They block winter winds BIG-TIME, and in summer they provide shade to keep those areas cooler. We've kicked deer from under spruce lower limbs where they were laying like rabbits. Spruce keep their lower limbs unlike pines, which self-thin their lower limbs as they grow taller. That's just what pines do. Spruce low limbs provide ground-level wind-blocking and bedding / security cover for years. I hope this is of some help.

 

[bjseiler]

Finally got in there this weekend after having seen my friend's place last week that also just went through a harvest. Interesting to see two properties. I would say that his logger cleaned the trails up more and cut the trees much lower to the ground. I'm still looking at quite a bit of manual work to get the trails cleaned up or I will have to bring in my guy with the forestry tool on his track loader. That thing is amazing but also $200/hour.

I ended up with a couple new roads though they are still fairly shady. I had to setup a landing zone in the corner of my 40 acres of beans and a 30' buffer where the trees and beans meet so the loggers could get in and out. I'm kind of liking that buffer now and I think I might keep it next year. Landing spot is quite compressed but I went ahead and attempted to broadcast a fall mix. If that doesn't take maybe I will try some Norway Spruce in that area.

I need quite a few more hours in the woods to look at all of the openings and see what is possible.

 

[j-bird]

Finally got in there this weekend after having seen my friend's place last week that also just went through a harvest. Interesting to see two properties. I would say that his logger cleaned the trails up more and cut the trees much lower to the ground. I'm still looking at quite a bit of manual work to get the trails cleaned up or I will have to bring in my guy with the forestry tool on his track loader. That thing is amazing but also $200/hour.

I ended up with a couple new roads though they are still fairly shady. I had to setup a landing zone in the corner of my 40 acres of beans and a 30' buffer where the trees and beans meet so the loggers could get in and out. I'm kind of liking that buffer now and I think I might keep it next year. Landing spot is quite compressed but I went ahead and attempted to broadcast a fall mix. If that doesn't take maybe I will try some Norway Spruce in that area.

I need quite a few more hours in the woods to look at all of the openings and see what is possible.

If you have not.....get some radish and turnips on that landing zone. They will help address compaction issues. A farmer with a ripper may be worth the few bucks as well. I really like some buffer between the woods and an ag field as well. Some states have CRP programs where you will get paid for that buffer......so you may want to look into that vs just loosing any production ground out of your own pocket. Also keep in mind.....you need to be able to hit the woods hard this winter with your "plan". All that sunlight can quickly out pace your level of work as mother nature will quickly respond.....good or bad come spring. It will quickly become a jungle all on its own.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

Has anyone had success with growing Norway spruce in partial shade? Thinking of plating them under some remaining maples, post logging, on the property perimiter to screen from neighbor gun hunters. Hoping if i plant them the first spring after my cut, they will compete with the new vegetation on their own. Its in my sanctuary, so dont want to be in there all the time trying to do maintenance.

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[bwoods11]

Has anyone had success with growing Norway spruce in partial shade? Thinking of plating them under some remaining maples, post logging, on the property perimiter to screen from neighbor gun hunters. Hoping if i plant them the first spring after my cut, they will compete with the new vegetation on their own. Its in my sanctuary, so dont want to be in there all the time trying to do maintenance.

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I have some Black Hills Spruce that grow in partial shade, Norway probably will make it, growth might be slow.