B
The logging process begins.
- Thread starter chummer
- Start date
chummer
5 year old buck +
I wonder every time I see one "what the hell are you doing here". At least I am in a no doe zone. If only they knew they could walk 15 miles and have all the acorns and corn they could eat. It is fun ground to hunt.
j-bird
Moderator
You got your hands full that is for certain. The amount of snow alone just floors me. I just can't get my head around how something can survive winter conditions like that. I'm sure what deer you do have will grossly appreciate the browse you will create with the logging.
Buckly
5 year old buck +
Usually if you take the canopy off, most of the regen will be cherry. If you leave a few seed trees. You may never see that to maturity but that would be something the forester could advise on. Anyways, by taking as much timber as you're saying off you will have huge amounts of browse for the next 20 years.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Chummer - Birch is an aggressive invader of cut areas. On a slope we cut at my camp, the black, yellow, & white birch sprouted like weeds and dominate the slope now. If you have a lot of yellow birch as understory, you might want to cut / spray to keep their numbers at reasonable levels. That way you give other species a chance to get started and establish themselves. Ask your forester about which trees grow best in certain conditions - sun vs. shade. Birch grow best naturally in shadier areas, such as north and east slopes. Oaks like the sun, as do hickories. Beech trees are well-known to be spotty, erratic producers of beechnuts, so depending on them for hard mast is a crap-shoot. Your forester can probably answer any ?? you may have - so ask away. If his visit is free as you said, ask a ton.
You may end up having to plant ( and cage ) some trees you want to establish that aren't there where you want them. The forester can tell you which kinds would survive and which ones will be a waste of time and $$$. Blackberries and raspberries are always a good thing to have for a variety of game animals & birds. Deer will browse the new shoots that don't have thorns yet ( big browse source up in Maine - I've seen it 1st-hand hunting up there !! ).
Make sure you specify what you want with log landings, skid roads, streams, etc. in writing so you don't end up with a mess and having to sue to get things right. Years ago, my camp made that mistake. NO MORE !! Good luck with the logging and keep us posted.
You may end up having to plant ( and cage ) some trees you want to establish that aren't there where you want them. The forester can tell you which kinds would survive and which ones will be a waste of time and $$$. Blackberries and raspberries are always a good thing to have for a variety of game animals & birds. Deer will browse the new shoots that don't have thorns yet ( big browse source up in Maine - I've seen it 1st-hand hunting up there !! ).
Make sure you specify what you want with log landings, skid roads, streams, etc. in writing so you don't end up with a mess and having to sue to get things right. Years ago, my camp made that mistake. NO MORE !! Good luck with the logging and keep us posted.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I was thinking about this all night as I couldn't sleep. I envisioned strings of spruce connecting each food plot to the sanctuary. I am leaning towards all conifer plantings. I think I am to far down the road to plant oaks that would produce anything significant in my lifetime. I will be planting apples of coarse.
chummer
5 year old buck +
The appeal of the forester to me is he handles all the BS with the roads and pads. Black berries are a preferred browse in my area. They will eat them right to the ground, thorns and all. I will probably make the foresters head spin tomorrow.
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
I'm looking forward to seeing pics of the progress. :)
chummer
5 year old buck +
Had the walk through with the forester yesterday, a lot of information to absorb. It took him 2 seconds to talk me out of cutting everything 14" and up so we quickly moved onto what we will be doing. I realized I only walked half the property (probably twice) when I walked it in the blizzard. It really is two different properties timber wise. The north and east of the ravine is where the majority of the good timber is. His guess was last time it was cut they did not cross the ravine. That actually helps the plan of turning that side into a sanctuary. That side will be cut heavy. It will include a 5-7 acre semi clear cut. He doesn't recommend true clear cuts in my area because the brambles will grow in so thick nothing else will grow, and nothing will be able to even walk through them. He is planning on leaving any cherry and hard maple in the 10-12" range that will turn into money trees. That takes care of that side. The ravine itself has a lot of trees to harvest so I will need to do a lot of plantings there. The other side will be where I get to play. There are only a couple flat spots so that will have to be where the plots go. That will give me a couple acres of complete clear cuts and I have not decided yet what to do with the stumps. I might dig them out, I have concerns about a dozer removing too much topsoil of which we don't have much. There is an awesome natural funnel on the south line. A large beaver pond with a hardwood ridge on one side and stand of hemlock on the other. The hemlocks are on the neighbors but right on my line. Perfect set up. I have him leaving all tops. Beech is the only junk tree, they will all be removed. All trails will be groomed when they are done. No conifers will be harmed, there were a few around. For signs of life, not one deer track on the place, which was expected, they migrate out. A lot of snow shoe hare tracks, and thus fox, coyote, and fisher tracks all over. I am sure I will remember more later. The pics are nothing great but an idea of the general landscape. Cover is going to be priority number 1.
Beaver pond on south line. Property line is about 100 yards out. Hardwood ridge to left hemlocks to right.
Hemlocks just across the line, this is the only stand of hemlocks I saw.
This is the state land, pretty wide open.
Future plot site
Future plot site
Ravine, not to steep, it will be interesting to see how the deer use it.
I am assuming this holds water. I might try to put the orchard near here for watering purposes.
Still 3' of snow so as soon as that goes he will start marking trees so hopefully it will get cut this summer.
Beaver pond on south line. Property line is about 100 yards out. Hardwood ridge to left hemlocks to right.
Hemlocks just across the line, this is the only stand of hemlocks I saw.
This is the state land, pretty wide open.
Future plot site Future plot site Ravine, not to steep, it will be interesting to see how the deer use it. I am assuming this holds water. I might try to put the orchard near here for watering purposes. Still 3' of snow so as soon as that goes he will start marking trees so hopefully it will get cut this summer.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I think I am not going to fight the migration. If I did manage to keep the deer there longer it would probably be a bad thing. Once the food runs out they would be screwed. I wouldn't be able to put in the acreage to make a difference. I think I will be going with clover, chicory, and WR for now, I have the best luck with those. If you follow chainsaw's thread on the other site this property is not far from him. It is still up in elevation but a lot closer to the snow line.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I see what you mean by having a lot of yellow birch, Chummer. Your pix have a lot of Y.B. in them. I love the looks of that ravine w/ the small stream running thru it. I hunt a similar piece of terrain and the creek bottom is full of hemlock & spruce. Thick as H. And the deer run that creek bottom like a highway, especially during the rut. Rubs and scrapes all over in that bottom ( I think because the ground is moist, the scent lingers for a longer time in scrapes and on rubs / over-hanging limbs ) and because it's so dark & shadowy, the bucks use it to an extreme during the rut. Compared to surrounding terrain, the creek bottom is a heavy concentration of buck sign. There's always a slight breeze going up or down the creek bottom, too. Good scent checking / safety method for the deer.
Maybe stick some spruce, hemlock and pine seedlings around in the ravine bottom ?? If you get some of that timbered out & sunlight gets into the ravine, the evergreens will get a good start. Stand sites overlooking the bottom maybe ?? Just the topo features make it a good watch !! What a cool canvas you have to work with !! Keep us posted.
Maybe stick some spruce, hemlock and pine seedlings around in the ravine bottom ?? If you get some of that timbered out & sunlight gets into the ravine, the evergreens will get a good start. Stand sites overlooking the bottom maybe ?? Just the topo features make it a good watch !! What a cool canvas you have to work with !! Keep us posted.
bowhunternw
5 year old buck +
You guys that are getting good money for logging, what species of trees are they harvesting? Just out of curiosity.
I believe in MN the only real logging was for pulp wood, which there isn't a big market for anymore.
I believe in MN the only real logging was for pulp wood, which there isn't a big market for anymore.
chummer
5 year old buck +
I had my dad with me and we picked out a nice knob that overlooks the entire ravine and a spot for a food plot. I told him that spot is all his. I was surprised the forester told me to leave the YB alone. He said it has good value and to leave them be other than thinning them out. He did tell me to wage war on the beech. I do plan on planting the front of the beaver pond with spruce to connect the hemlocks with the ridge. I will be able to do that before logging, there was nothing to cut there.
chummer
5 year old buck +
Hard maple is tops right now followed by ash, cherry, soft maple, birch. I do not have any oaks. The forester said I actually have some top end yellow birch, I didn't know there was such a thing.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
Great suggestion bnb!
Chummer, this ^^^ is exactly what I mentioned in our previous conversation. I suggested the balsam, tamarack, and spruce in those wetter areas instead of the hemlock, due to the hemlock woolly adelgid that is getting more and more prevalent in that area. It would suck to have a bunch of young trees destroyed by insects just as they are starting to get established.
In looking at those photos around that beaver swamp and in those bottoms, I would also look at increasing the edge diversity of those areas with some beneficial shrubs. Look at buttonbush, ROD, American elderberry, American Beautyberry, and spicebush in those areas as well as the conifer plantings.
