Tree selection when thinning / clearing

[AlanB]

Hi Folks,

I have about 10+ acres of heavy wet woods with 30+ years of untouched growth and underbrush.

It stays very wet in the wet times.

I want to thin / clear some areas to make them more usable as well as thin almost all of it so that more air movement and sunshine make it too the ground with hopes of drying the ground out a bit.

The dilemma I always face is I hate to take out the wrong or too many trees as that is for all practical purposes irreversible. Then again, if I bring it equipment to do it with, a mulcher or track hoe is on the agenda, I hate to miss an opportunity while they are sitting here to get it cleared and done.

Current thoughts are to walk the woods marking trees I absolutely do not want cut. Big large stable good condition trees.

I think I will also mark anything dead (it needs to come out)

Then I will select some mid size trees, and some smaller ones probably in some form of clusters or something so that I can get through with the mowers / trucks / bush hogs.

Then cut the rest.

I am also thinking of picking some building sites and just clearing them and stacking the stuff there for burning

We also want some ponds, to help with the water problems, and will clear anything in those locations, probably paint a big circle on the ground or mark a ring of trees with ribbon.

Is there a more logical or thought out something I am missing?

Oh, and I will probably mark all the sweet gums with those dang prickly balls and just get rid of them :thumbsup: I hate those things.

Thoughts appreciated, will try and post pictures but not sure how it will come out.

 

[treeman40]

Im a clearing contractor from cleveland tn and will be in clarksville next friday be happy to look at your project

 

[beenthere]

Get a trained forester in to help you make the decisions that you are outlining.

Someone with your woodlot interests at heart, and not the money you have in your pocket.

 

[Cedar Buster]

Sounds like you have a good handle on things.

Good preparation and planning are the key to a finished product that you're proud of. You don't want to be changing your mind while you or your contractor are clearing.

Establish your future goals (roads, ponds, building sites, etc.). Walk it. Discuss it. Plan it. Mark it. THEN clear it.

Cedar Buster

 

[tawilson]

I don't know how your winters are there, but round here it's a lot easier to plot and plan and mark property lines once the leaves are gone.

 

[MarkV]

Here in N. Georgia the state forestry department has been very good about coming and evaluating woodland property owned by our family. The have walked, mapped and provide written management plans for 4 tracts, 240 acres, so far. As you mentioned once the trees are taken down it is pretty much irreversible in my lifetime. I would see if the state offers any professional services you can utilize. After all you are paying for it already.

MarkV

 

[skipmarcy]

Alan - I live about 30 miles south of you in Houston county and I've been slowly cleaning-out my small patch of woods too, I have about 4 acres behind the house. I had several good-sized dead cedar trees still standing that I had a local sawmill cut into porch posts for my house - even though they looked old & gray and useless in the woods (kinda like myself !) they made some beautiful, red cedar posts and some 1x and 2x boards for some porch framing. There's a good chance you have alot of hickory saplings growing in your woods, the small stuff you want out of there, and there's a guy that occassionally advertises around here that will come purchase them - cut them himself. As you're probably aware they use hickory saplings for tool handles and chair making etc. I just mention this stuff as most people would just shove these items up in a pile and burn it. As for your gum trees and similar that you might want gone, sawmills will make ties out of most any tree so they have a little value if you feel like fooling with them - they use logs 8'8" long for ties. Our part of Tenn grows huge poplars - another tree that makes alot of ties or boards for siding. If you're lucky you might even have some nice walnut trees too - and no need to say that they are valuble too. There are alot of guys around this area with portable sawmills that could come and make lumber right on the spot too, if you can't/don't want to fool with transporting the logs. Just a few items to consider along with professional advice from forestry and other pros - they may not mention some of these things to you.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm doing the same thing with parts of my land and I've come to to conclusion that 95 percent of what's there needs to come out in order to enjoy the remaining 5 percent. I keep everything that's 12 inches or thicker and take out all the rest. Then I'll go back and take out some of those too just because there are too many left. Instead of species, I go for what I like the look of. I hate sweet gums and their spikey balls that they drop, but love the color of them in the fall and how hardy they are. Once establlished, it's hard to kill one and they can be very attractive to look at.

It sounds like you are doing this for looks and to make the land more usable. I've never taken out a tree that I missed. In fact, I never think about it again once it's gone. For me, trees are like weeds and something that I have way too many of. Once most of them are gone, I can actualy enjoy what's left.

Smaller trees might turn into nice trees, but it takes so long and odds are very good that once you remove the trees around it, that it will fall over, or bend over on you. I tried that with some of my oaks that I had hoped would eventually turn into something I'd enjoy. But leaving them standing just meant going back and taking it out later on.

As for the ponds, be sure to consider what will happen to a tree that you change the soil conditions on by either drying out the soil or increasing how much water is there year round. Some big trees do not do well with change and will die on you in two years. That first year it makes it, but the second is when most of them die on you that are going to die. If you have one that you really like and it's massive, be sure to think about it's roots and what changes you will make. I've also found that some trees can handle heavy equipemnt without a problem, but then some, like my bull pines, are very finicky about soil compaction around the roots and damage to them. With those trees, I only take out the trees close to them with the backhoe, and I won't even let my dad to that because he's not gentle enough with the surrounding roots.

Good luck and be bold!!!!

Eddie

 

[tlbuser]

It stays very wet in the wet times.

I want to thin / clear some areas to make them more usable as well as thin almost all of it so that more air movement and sunshine make it too the ground with hopes of drying the ground out a bit.

Current thoughts are to walk the woods marking trees I absolutely do not want cut. Big large stable good condition trees.

I think I will also mark anything dead (it needs to come out)

Then I will select some mid size trees, and some smaller ones probably in some form of clusters or something so that I can get through with the mowers / trucks / bush hogs.

Then cut the rest.

I am also thinking of picking some building sites and just clearing them and stacking the stuff there for burning

We also want some ponds, to help with the water problems, and will clear anything in those locations, probably paint a big circle on the ground or mark a ring of trees with ribbon.

Is there a more logical or thought out something I am missing?

Sounds like you have some grading isues too. If you're not doing the work yourself, pick one. Mark the trees to keep or the ones to go, not both. Keeping a range of growth is a realistic approach.
As was mentioned, all of it can have value to the right person. Depends on whether or not you have the patience to wait on them. Firewood for sale may be an option for you too.

 

[AlanB]

Some pics, shop and truck shown for scale, representative of the area I want to clear out some.