Hillside Felling

[johnjbc]

I have a question about felling trees. About 20 ac. of my woods is pretty steep hillside and I need some pointers on how to fell trees there. Things like weather to try to fell them up hill , downhill, or sideways. And how do you setup two 45 degree escape routes.

It would seem that down hill would be better, then it couldn't slide down hill onto you, but would it be likely to cause damage to the log?
John

The trees are good sized hemlocks 20 + inches

[beenthere]

John
It seems (IMO) answers to your question may depend on how you plan to move the logs from this sidehill woods after you fell the trees. Are you going to move them uphill? Or down across the stream?  How much cutting do you plan to do? Thinning a few trees, or taking most of them down? Falling the trees depends on a number of variables, which are different for each tree (lean, space to fall) plus for the method(s) you will apply to move them after they fall. Working up a tree in that stream may be tough to do, if not a major hemorage (problem) for some stream huggers. Can you shed some more light on the situation? (??)

[Paul_H]

Falling a tree uphill can be a dangerous practice.The tree can fall,kick up the butt,and come back down at you.

Most all our settings are fell across the hill,and they stay put for the most part.If you have a few trees above a road,fall them across the hill the first fifty feet or so.Then after you have removed the logs,you can start to shoot them down to the road,as long as the are not so big that the road will be damaged.If you are only removing the larger trees,and leaving the understory,it would be best to fall straight towards the road.

Escape routes are a matter of picking a direction,and clearing any obstacles that may catch,or trip you up.Make sure that there are no small trees directly in front of the tree you are falling.If there is,cut it off,so it doesn't whip back at you.Same goes for windfalls,cut them off their roots,where it is safe to do so.

The bottom picture,is it a fish stream,do you need to leave a buffer?If you are permitted to fall,I would lay them across the hill.The leaners we would have to leave standing.May be different rules in your area.

[Ron Scott]

We would not cut anything on the steep slope beside the stream or its riparian area. Best Management Practices would require a buffer zone along the stream corridor which would include the entire slope for at least 150 feet from the stream.

As previously stated, determine your access to the hill side and how you will remove the trees from it; from the top of bottom. Your case appears to be from the top of the hill since you have the stream below it.

Have good footing, work from the high side of the tree; look the tree over closely, plan its "fall" and "fall" to plan. Fall trees across slope and remove via cable skidder from top of hill or bottom of hill to flat ground for bucking depending upon safest and best access.  

Use extreme caution on all hill side work and reailze that there is a point when it may be too steep to work by standard methods and equipment.

[Jeff]

Looking at that picture I would be looking long and hard about NOT cutting those trees. As a steward of your land is it really worth the environmental impact you may have?

[Tillaway]

Ditto what Paul and Ron said.  Also leave the limbs on the down hill side that will help keep the logs from rolling if you sidehill fall them.  Caulked boots would really help you working on that slope, much safer that way.

Regarding BMP's or state laws, that kind of area you are working is a classic area to get into trouble with your logging operation regarding these.  

[johnjbc]

Looks like I generated a lot of questions

The trees in the picture need to come down  as there is no road at the top of the hill. Luckily the stream doesn't stay against the hill very far

The stream is not a fish stream, in the summer it goes down to a series of holes with no flow between them.

I don't have access to a cable skidder planning on getting a winch to mount on my Kubota

This will only be a thinning cut. I am planning on only cutting enough to get lumber to build a cabin and a lot of that will be from trees that were damaged by the logging that the previous owner did.
http://www.forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=Business;action=display;num=1030068579

This is one of the 4 hemlocks I cut last weekend. It was 104 years old
John

[johnjbc]

Jeff
I had a sick feeling after cutting the big hemlocks last weekend. I hate to see the big trees come down after being there for over 100 years.  
It doesn't show in the pictures but a lot of the trees on that steep hillside have blown down and when that happens about a ton or so of dirt from the root ball is torn loose and ends up in the stream. In this case cutting them does less damage to the environment than letting them get to big for the thin soil on the hillside. Also letting sun light in will promote growth of the under story and prevent erosion.  
John

[dan-l-b]

Hey John, In Missouri the area your working in is considered an SMZ  (streamside management zone). Even wet weather creeks like yours are considered protected.  May want to heed the advice of Ron Jeff and Tillway.  As far as letting the sun in to promote understory growth, this may be true, but depending on the aspect of the slopes your cutting on,  IE, south, south-east, south-west, you may be setting yourself up for real errosion problems.  I am no expert but traditionally your poorer soils are found on these aspects.

[Jeff]

If those trees have been there for 100 years I have to wonder about the idea they are to big for the thin soil. Could there be other causes that are causing them to topple? I'm not a forester so I don't have the answers. Just seems that you could be creating a domino effect by removing the largest erosion control measures you have there.

My biggest fear if I were you would be breaking some unknown law and having your department of resources contact you and tell you you have to put those trees back or pay this monstrous fine. It happens all the time.

[RMay]

Johnjbc call on your state Forestry they will have the B M P books for free it will have S.M.C. in it .

[Ron Scott]

As it appears from the photos, it is really a "no cut" zone. The nonmonitary resource values surpass the monitary values of the stream side zone. Also a tough economical logging chance that might create future enviornmental problems and even devalue the property.

Hemlock is becoming a lost species here in the Lake States. We usually leave it for wildlife thermal and escape cover etc. 100 year old hemlock is pretty young yet. The aesthetics of 300 + year old hemlock within the stream side zone could be "priceless" from an aesthetics, water quality, soil, protection, wildlife, riparian zone, etc. standpoint.

[Tillaway]

John,
I noticed in your pictures that the angle of trees indicates a mass soil movement.  The angle of the trees and the pistol butts are indicators that gravity is havings its way with the slope.  There is not much you can do to stop it since it is natural.  

In my state that slope would have a high EHR (Erosion Hazard Rating) and ground based equipment could not work on it.  We would endline cable down from the top since our state rules prohibit falling or yarding logs into or across any class I or II stream course.  We would leave all trees with roots in or near the stream and we would be required to leave a minimum of 50% crown closure within 100' slope distance on the fall line.

[Kevin]

This reminds me of a fatality ...

A 61-year-old male logger was killed when he was hit by the tree he was felling. On the day of the incident, he was working on a steep mountainside with his son and another logger. At approximately 10 am, the victim was felling a tree approximately 14 inches in diameter. As viewed from the bottom of the hill, a small tree about 6 inches in diameter stood about 6 feet to the right of the tree that was being felled. Lying on the ground directly behind those two vertical trees was a log 4-5 inches in diameter; it lay perpendicular to the hillside and the two vertical trees. When the victim finished cutting the tree, he stepped over by the small vertical tree and in front of the log that lay on the ground. As the tree fell, it came into contact with the side of another tree that was about 40 feet downhill and the cut end flew up and struck the victim. He was knocked to the ground and pinned underneath the tree as it landed across his abdomen. One of the loggers nearby witnessed the incident and went for help. He called 911 at the property owner's home which was about one mile from the site. Rescue personnel were dispatched at 10:30 am and arrived within 15 minutes. The coroner pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

[Kevin]

It can be dangerous work ...

A logger was killed when the trunk of the tree he was felling (cutting) struck his head. The victim was part of a two-man crew cutting trees separately on a steep hillside. After clearing an intended fall area and an escape route of brush and saplings, the victim made a series of standard cuts to fell the tree. The tree twisted on its stump, causing it to fall differently than the intended position and to strike the side of an uphill stump. The tree rebounded and struck the victim as the butt of the trunk descended and swung toward him as it continued to slip to the side of the stump. His cutting partner (the witness) notified an emergency medical technician who administered CPR. The victim remained unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.