All fall down ?

[sprucebunny]

This area was clear cut 20 years ago. It has clayey  soil .

Last winter I thinned out most of the cherry which was the tallest tree( about 25 feet) but diseased and hopeless. Birch and tamarack are next tallest. The trees are very close together.

Every time I go there, more trees are leaning across the road. Some of thier bases are 20 feet from the trail. They are usually bent over and not uprooted. They must be too tall for thier diameter.

Will they all do this ??
Should I cut everything taller than 10 feet or ........??

[nyforester]

It looks like wind damage to me. Is it around the entire area or just localized in your woodlot?

[sprucebunny]

It's mostly this 10 acre area. I wouldn't be too concerned if this was not my main access road. Have to cut my way in every time I go there

The heavy snow October 30 really set off the dominoes here, and damaged balsalm everywhere.

[Tillaway]

Poor height to diameter ratio.  Looks like you have the wet noodle syndrome going on.  We compare tree heights to tree diameters and anytime we get over 70:1 or so we tend to want to clear cut as opposed to thin. That makes a tree that is 4" dbh and over 23' a prime candidate for a wet noodle.  That looks to be about as big as your stand is to me.  It needed a precommercial thinning  quite a while back to increase your stem diameter and prevent the wet noodle.

Well at least thats what it looks like to me from your picture.  You might not be too late to thin but not actually being there it is only a guess.

[sprucebunny]

That describes it pretty well, Tillaway.

New technical term Wet Noodle Syndrome

I would like to encourage tamarack. If I cut out most everything that is over 6 or 10 feet, is there a chance that those remaining saplings will straighten up and grow right ??

[Max sawdust]

I have the same thing in some young Aspen stands.  Also along my driveway
So far I just cut out the bad real bad noodles and leave the rest thinking as the grow they will straighten up and get stronger.
Not an expert, but I think it is just a young stand and that is what happens under snow and ice load. 
max

[SwampDonkey]

That describes it pretty well, Tillaway.

New technical term Wet Noodle Syndrome

I would like to encourage tamarack. If I cut out most everything that is over 6 or 10 feet, is there a chance that those remaining saplings will straighten up and grow right ??

I have turned away alot of thinning because of this. Yellow birch on some sites grow back real thick and are very suspectible, just as other birches. Also, black/red spruce and tamarack can be real bad too. Ideal height for thinning softwood is 6 - 10 feet in thickets and hardwood is 12 to 15 feet in thickets. I've seen 30 foot poplar stands thinned and the tops touch the ground in the next big wind storm. Once they bend way down to the ground for several days they won't stand up again. Also, what can happen when you thin hardwood thickets in fall: Once stem flow begins in the spring they can do the toe touch as well. I had black cherry do that, ash is bad to. Sugar maple and beech don't seem to have this trouble.

[Max sawdust]

Swampdonkey,
So you are saying thin?
Max

[Ron Scott]

That's a tough stand to deal with since many of the trees won't hold their own weight especially with the elements of wind, snow, and ice added to them.

The soil may also be a problem, especially if it has a high water table, for good growth development. There doesn't appear to be much if anything of much commercial value. 

You have pretty much a cleaning and weeding and maintenance thinning job to provide more growing space between stems and to keep the road opened for continued access.

[SwampDonkey]

Swampdonkey,
So you are saying thin?
Max

I'm saying thin your stand as soon as it has reached minimum height. For softwood it is 6 feet and for hardwood it's 12, but 15 is better because of stump suckering. Keep your hardwoods spaced tight 1250-1500 stems/acre (6-7 feet between stems) and followup with a crop tree release in 20-30 years depending on your location.