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Sustainable Forestry and Development

Started by bjorn, October 15, 2008, 08:44:16 AM

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bjorn

Hello all,

I've been hiding in the wood works for a while, it's been a few years since my last post I but have continued to follow this great forum!  Thought I'd give you a quick update on the type of forestry that we are practicing here in central Virginia.

I am working on a very interesting project, as the Natural Resources Manager for a 2,300 acre property.  We have here about 1,000 acres of beautiful piedmont hardwood forest, about 1,100 acres of pasture, and 200 in apples.  The unique thing about the property is that it is being developed, with a focus on keeping the working farm and the forestry operation intact.  At full buildout there will be approximately 100 homes tucked into the seams between the forest and the pasture.  A total of approximately 200 acres of land will be developed, and it is my job to ensure that the remainder (about 2,100 acres) remains as a working forest and farm.  This project will demonstrate that it is possible to keep a working landscape and integrate it with low density development.  The world needs food and forest products, but also housing.  We also want to demonstrate to people that you can have a beautiful forest, and extract resources from it at the same time.  This is being accomplished through very careful planning and management.  For example, the individual homesites have all been selected, and part of that planning process involved being certain that there is adequate access to the forest for logging operations to continue.

In the past year we have conducted improvement thinning operations on approximately 60-70 acres of land, and I have attempted to insert a photo here:

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Hmmm...we'll see if that worked!  Anyway, if you can see the photo, it is of a forest after an improvement thinning operation.  This stand was high graded in a rough way about 35 years ago.  Our goal here was to recover the stand from this historic operation, truly leaving the best and taking the rest. We were able to remove some 3-5 mbf/acre, as well as a significant quantity of pulp wood, while leaving the best for the future.

This operation was accomplished by myself and our forester going through the stand and carefully considering every tree, taking into consideration species, health, form and spacing.  Size was not considered.  We removed trees that had a DBH of 2", and we removed DBH trees of 44", and everything in between.   After the loggers had gone through a particular area, we went back and marked more trees if we felt it could improve the situation.  For example, if a particular opening was not deemed large enough to support red oak regeneration, we took a few more trees to provide enough light for this.  In some of these openings we are seeing red oak seedlings emerge already.  When time allows we will return and tube several of the strongest seedlings, as we have a deer browse problem.  

We plan to continue this work on anywhere from 40-80 acres/year, bring the entire farm into a rotation schedule.  At the present time we are fortunate to be working with a logging team that consists of a Father and his two sons.  They take great pride in their work, and in leaving the forest as undamaged as possible.  They are truly experts in directional felling, and will also take the time to winch trees over in the oposite direction of lean if it means saving unmarked trees.

It has been a pleasure to work on such a project, where the developers of the property have enough foresight to see the value in this type of work.

Leif Bjorn






tonich

Howdy,

Looks like a well done job to me!
I would highly appreciate more pictures tо have a closer look at  this property.  :)

Cheers!

crtreedude

Looks really nice, I will be very interested in seeing how this goes.
So, how did I end up here anyway?

submarinesailor


bjorn

It is a place called Bundoran Farm, about 8 miles SW of Charlottesville.  There are a lot of photos and info on us at our website www.bundoranfarm.com.  Not so much info here yet on our forestry work, but I'll be putting that in shortly.

BTW, on another topic:  several years ago I won a contest on this forum.  Someone posted a quiz on trees and I managed to win a hand turned cherry sugar scoop!  I don't remember who hosted that contest and who sent me the sugar scoop, but if they see this post, Thanks!  The scoop is alwys in our sugar bowl.


Jeff

Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

bjorn

That's the one!  Can't believe it's been 6 1/2 years.  The scoop still looks the same.  That natural finish has not even started to dull.

Bjorn 

submarinesailor

well you're just 50 miles from the house in Syria.  We are just the other of Grave Mountain Lodge.  Come on up some week end.

Bruce

Phorester


Looks very good, Leif. 

How large are the openings where you are getting oak regeneration, and how tall is the regeneration?  Any other competing regeneration coming into these openings?

SwampDonkey

Interesting project Bjorn. Seems like the style of management in some European countries. Be interesting to know the pre-volume per acre and what level of harvest you think can be sustainable in your area (based on climate, soil and forest type).  35 years is a long time since the last harvest, a long time to heal.  ;)

As you can understand, it's hard to capture the results of thinning on a photograph. It's even hard to show pre-commercial thinning unless you look down from above. But, from the view being presented I would say things are looking good. Often I feel a bit skeptic when I don't see a site before a treatment. Often the results you see, and are asked for opinion on, are more gut feeling than a proper assessment. But, as long as it looks good you feel more at ease with your gut. We'll just have to trust your assessment. Keep up the good work. ;)

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

bjorn

Hello all,

I love this place!  So many interesting and intelligent folks. 

Tonich: You asked for photos, and photos you will get!

Bruce:  Thanks for the offer, I'll probably take you up on it some time, perhaps aroung the time of the Graves Mountain Bluegrass festival.  Actually, I spent a bit of time in your neck of the woods in the early 90's.  I was working atop a mountain above Wolftown restoring several old log cabins and a barn.  Beautiful part of the world.

Phorester:  The openings are not tremendously big.  Hopefully they are big enough.  I would say that they average about 1/4 acre.  Yes, we do have some competing regen.  Mostly tulip poplar and, unfortunately, some Ailanthus  >:(.  Well need to go in and deal with that.  Most of the regen is still quite small.  We were in a drought here this year, so most of the seedlings are only 1-2 months old.  Some of the root sprouts are considerably taller.

Swamp Donkey:  Yes, 35 years is a long time to heal.  However, this stand could really have used some attention a while ago.  It only changed hands a few years ago.  However, because it has been that long, even the poor form trees have had a chance to grow big, and with some careful straightening  ::) (strategic bucking) we received pretty good value for the logs.  You are correct, it is nearly impossible to appreciate or to fully realize this type of work from photos.  Next time your in Virginia, come and visit!

Now for some photos:





As you can see, this little oak isn't very big yet.  This is growing in one of the openings we created.  We'll tube it to prevent browsing.




Next Generation Tulip Poplar





Aother yough Tulip Poplar, probably a root sprout.





We also cut some 3 mbf of Paulownia of this stand.  Here is a 9 foot sprout that is 3 months old!





This is an interesting photo.  It is taken from one of our small clearings.  In the foreground you can see a thinned area, in the background is the adjacent stand that will likely be thinned next year.





We do of coarse keep some "poor trees"!  These critters help us tremendously with planting acorns.

Bjorn


John Mc

Bjorn -

Speaking of critters, does the development plan include wildlife corridors, so that as those 100 homes are being "tucked into the seams between the forest and the pasture" the habitat has not become too fragmented? Access between forest and pasture can be important to a lot of species, and leaving some soft "edge" or transition zone with some early regen between forest and pasture may help take some of the browsing pressure off of your clearings withing the forest??
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

OneWithWood

Very nice and rewarding work.

What is being done to mitigate the fire potential of the homesites?
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

tonich

Since ¼ acre  ~ 1/10 hectare, I assume the openings would not be enough for oak regeneration. This looks like great for shoots, as the pictures shows it clearly!
Mind that about the age of 4-5 years, the oak seedlings must be entirely released, so if you have some mature trees in close they must be removed. Oaks become strong light demanding at that age and shaded on top may result in loss of the entire annual increment, rot and worsen their growing potential, which is crucial for the quality of the logs being harvested.


PS. I would love to join SwampDonkey on his way to Virginia. Just let me know when the happening occurs!  ;D :D :D :D ;)

bjorn

John Mc,

This is something that we have considered and are taking action on.  This farm has supported cattle for probably 200 years, and historically they have had access to the streams for water, and up into the low part of the forest (not very far in) for shade.  Therefore, our edge habitat has been compromised by no real habitat, as pasture led direstly into the open understory.  This is the area (the cattle tromped forest edge) where the homes will go.  We have moved the fence out away from the forest (into the pasture) approximately 75-100 feet.  This zone will be manged by mowing perhaps every few years, creating a soft edge for wildlife.  In some areas we hope to plant native warm season grasses in this zone.  Additionally, we are fencing many of the streams, and in so doing, creating riparian corridors.  Much work has begun, but we have much to do.  With 20 miles of stream on the property, and even more edge, it all takes time and money.  In some pastures where we need to pull the cattle out of the woods, we are planning for the future by fencing out some areas of the pasture and planting trees for future shade for the cattle.  We have also had to drill some wells for alternative water. 

One with wood:

We are working with the Virginia Department of Forestry on the fire issue.  They have a "Firewise" community certification program, and they help us in the planning of homesites to minimize the fire potential.  A real concern indeed.

Tonich:

Yes we are a little concerned that some openings may not be large enough.  We will follow over time.  Most of the larger openings were initially created by removing large crowned mature oaks that were mixed in a primarily Tulip Poplar stand.   The tulip poplar tends to not spread its crown that much, as the oaks do, so we do not anticipate that the canopy will close in too fast by the remaining poplars.  We may need to go  back in in 5 years and remove a few more, though.

Bjorn


SwampDonkey

Something to think about and ponder is possibly the tulip tree will fill in quicker than oak because it is more light demanding I suspect. Even though red oak is not as tolerant as sugar maple for instance. However, red oak under sugar maple have no chance and are not as tolerant to browse. I know you don't likely have any significant quantity of sugar maple, just a for instance.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

John Mc

Bjorn -

It sounds as though someone is putting a lot of thought and effort into doing this right. Must be interesting to be involved in such a project.

John Mc
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

bjorn

John Mc,

Yes, I'm fortunate to have a tremendous resource base here to learn from.  I am also lucky to be working with a team that has the forethought to do things right, even if it costs a little more.  As our work moves forward, I'll keep folks updated on our progress.

Bjorn

Woodhog

What goes around comes around....

Your operation reminds me of the old farm woodlot operations around here. To keep the farm cash flow up everyone went into the woodlot in the wintertime cut the worst stuff and left most of the best. A lot of firewood came out,  pulpwood and a few loads of nice sawlogs...

They never heard of words like sustainability, basal area etc but you can go on those lots today and see the results of their common sense approach to having the lot last their lifetime to sustain this cash infusion every winter.

They also had no huge iron payments which would have forced them to strip their land.

I think they were smarter than us   :)

Keep up the lovely work and maybe a few others will catch on before its too late...
.




,

SwampDonkey

As woodhog says about the past philosophy about woodlot management. That past is not too long ago. It ended here for a lot of woodlots about 25 years ago. Most owners worked their own land in my area. Then loggers started buying big equipment to adhere to mill demands to supply on contracts. A lot of those guys came off company ground as they got weeded out for compliance and inefficiencies. Harvesting costs began to outstrip returns for the small woodlot owner, thus their shift to hiring loggers. Plus, people started living more expensively, as apposed to our grandfathers who never made purchases unless he had cash. Where $5000 could carry you and your family for 6 months without liquidating the woodlot, it now is eaten up in 2 months with mortgage, car payment, furniture financing  on and on. Conspicuous consumption.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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