Discussion: Logging

Is this your property, and you've sold some timber? Or is it land trust property? And if so, what tree types are being logged and what is the rational?

It’s water company property. They have harvested a lot of oak that was damaged by gypsy moths, and a lot of other wood, too, as they have clear cut large swaths. The regeneration will be interesting, and very beneficial to wildlife. I haven’t had a cut in 12 years now on my land, and I have quite a few trees that are pretty large. Maybe another one before long.

Tragic. I didn't realize Gypsy moths were still killing oaks on the Eastern Seaboard. Here in the midwest, we have occasional outbreaks of the moths...but they seem to last only for a year or two, and the affected trees seldom die. This summer Michigan was dealing with the moths.

When you do log your property, do you do so for income, or 'forest management,' to provide better growing conditions for select specimen trees and understory?

They weren't dead, but at risk of dying if there is another infestation, and harvesting dead trees is an expensive and wasteful project. So you make a judgment about what is in the best interests of the forest and what makes economic sense. Economic sense doesn't necessarily mean top dollar, but it does mean realizing income while otherwise achieving forestry objectives.

Same with me. I would expect to make some money harvesting tress, but wouldn't expect to get rich over it. I think the last two times I did it I netted something like $10,000 each time. The several years after I did two clearcuts in 2006 (small by logging standards, 4 acres and 1 acre), it was pretty cool to see all the songbirds that came in as the new growth took off. Now that it is 12 years old, it is still a young forest, but the brushiness is long gone.

As far as insects killing trees, there is something killing almost every species in the forest. Many types have been hit harder than the gypsy moths have hit the oaks. Hemlocks have been hit very hard by the wooly adelgid, and most of the big forests around here have had most of their hemlocks removed before they were completely dead. I didn't have a gypsy moth problem here, or not a significant one, I suspect because we are a fair amount higher up than other places in the state. We are probably 600 feet higher than where they are logging at the lake, even though it is only about 4 miles away by car.

Very interesting for a city boy. But as an orienteer, you must be somewhat conflicted about clear-cutting a tract....songbirds or not. I think the Finns specialize in clear-cut running; they manage their forests for regular harvesting so get lots of practice. I could never figure out how to get through all that slash, jumble of rejected logs, and water-filled pits at any kind of speed. Yet having some income from your property must be nice when it comes time to pay property taxes and insurance.

Yes insect vectors killing trees is nothing new. But fortunately it is rarely 100%. We still have some magnificent American Elms on the streets of Chicago that have survived probably because they are so isolated now from any other elms...the Dutch Elm Beetle has eaten itself out of existence in this city, that used to be known for its elms along every boulevard.

One of the maps we use frequently near here has had at least two clearcuts since we started using it. The first is pretty old now, and passable once again. The second was interesting for orienteering when it was new, as it exposed all the land features in a way that looked very different, but now we just go around it. Still plenty of forest left.

Loggers at forests that have many visitors generally are required to cut the slash down so it rots more quickly, or even remove most of it. That way the forest returns to an attractive state more quickly. For pure forestry purposes, leaving the tree tops laying around is generally looked on favorably. Protects against deer browse, among other advantages. When I have had logging here I have generally had the tops and unwanted stems gathered in piles, which provide shelter for wildlife. One of our orienteering friends found himself stuck in one of those big piles one evening at our our annual night-o.

Aw, come on. You didn't mention that it was after a snow storm and the pile was invisible under a foot or so of white stuff.

I also didn’t name names.

Granted. But my claim to fame, as if I ever had fame, is for logging (pun intended) the most time and equipment lost in your back yard. Just guarding my trophy .