Can anyone identify what is happening with this tree?

jbrumberg · Apr 9, 2019

^^^^ Woodpeckers love EAB's. One way foresters can locate trees is by the woodpeckers' activity. I have active pairs (or more) of Downey, Hairy, and Red Bellied woodpeckers around here with an occasional Pileated woodpecker.

I believe the AEB/woodpecker damage weakens the tree so the virus can spread as well. Healthy ash trees can be treated with a systemic root poison to help protect the tree from EAB, but it costs ~$500/tree due to the cost of the chemicals and special equipment needed and the tree requires re-treatment every 2 years.

Tshot · Apr 10, 2019

This a more extreme condition (like yours) Most of my Ash shows more sporadic damage.

ruffdog · Apr 10, 2019

The tree should have been turned into firewood a couple of years ago.

Tshot · Apr 10, 2019

Only got the place 2-1/2 years ago. And only have a tractor coming tomorrow. 11,000 lb skidding winch will be a week further out. With a lean in the direction of the Bell lines I figured I wouldn't worry about it too much in the past.

Got another one just as bad. That one has hydro lines in one direction, a bigger maple in another direction and my septic bed in a third direction. Going to use the winch and a snatch block to coax it where i want it to go.

CobyRupert · Apr 10, 2019

Tshot said:
Only got the place 2-1/2 years ago. And only have a tractor coming tomorrow. 11,000 lb skidding winch will be a week further out. With a lean in the direction of the Bell lines I figured I wouldn't worry about it too much in the past.

Got another one just as bad. That one has hydro lines in one direction, a bigger maple in another direction and my septic bed in a third direction. Going to use the winch and a snatch block to coax it where i want it to go.

Maybe it's not your first rodeo with cutting with a winch, but maybe worth mentioning:
If you put too much tension on tree while cutting, you can create a barberchair situation, where trunk splits vertically and breaks off over your head.
When doing back cut with a cable providing tension, the tree will start to move toward winch, this movement causes the tension to go away. Now the tree can fall 90 degrees to the left or right from the direction you though you were pulling towards. Surprise!

It helps when you have two people, one to watch the tension/sag in the cable and maintain "just the right amount of pull" , but not too much you barberchair.
With one person, I'll do my notch cut, then back cut and then stop cutting where I think the winch has enough power to pull the tree over and just snap the rest of the hinge as I PULL it over from a safe distance.