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aspen regrowth

Started by shadetree, April 08, 2004, 05:58:20 PM

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shadetree

     I have a forester that sent me a contract to cut 10 acres of aspen and soft maple. the wood was supposed to be cut in the winter but he said the logger had difficulty getting there in the winter. there are other parcels that are getting cut next to me. but when they started they tore up the road so they pulled out. now they want to start next week but I am concerned about getting descent regrowth it is in northern mich. lower peninsula. ???

Sylvus


The aspen and red maple will regenerate just fine if cut next week, assuming the current stand is reasonably healthy.  The trees are still dormant, although the flower buds have begun to break.  I would be more concerned about damage to the site and the roads while the ground is so soft.  Make certain these issues are addressed in the contract and talk about it with the "forester".  If you are not satisfied, then wait another year.  It's not likely going to matter to the trees.

I am a bit suspicious about a "forester" sending you a contract, especially with such sort notice.  Logging contractors will sometimes do this, but foresters typically do not.  A forester would have the harvest in a management plan and a proposed cut would not catch you by surprise.

-Bill
9 April, 2004

Bill Cook, Forester/Biologist
Michigan State University Extension
U.P. Tree Improvement Center
6005 J Road, Escanaba, MI 49829
906-786-1575
cookwi@msu.edu

SwampDonkey

Aside form the spring ground conditions and the skidding paths the equipment will be compacting, you'll have more than enough aspen, just from root suckering. Thier roots reach over 100 feet from the tree, some have been measured for 300 feet actually. Your woods roads are probably still wet and greasy untill the middle of May aren't they?
"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)))

Ron Scott

Is the forester working for you or the logging company and is it "your" contract. Did you prepare it with "your" terms?
~Ron

spencerhenry

i have 65 acres of aspen, that i have been removing the standing dead and downed wood from for 3 years. alot of the areas that i have worked are regenerating rapidly. i have truly cleaned up about 5 to 7 acres and removed alot of material from the rest. the clean areas have probably 40 shoots per 100 sqft. the skidder roads have not generated any, but i am continuosly skidding. in the fall you can see that on my 65 acres of trees i have actually only about 7 "different" trees. areas that i have driven the skidder over have regenerated well, as long as i didnt use that route more that 15 or 20 times. i also do not run chains in the woods anymore, only on snowpack. my skidder weighs 15K and i run 23.1X26 at low pressure.

shadetree

the forester works for louisiana pasific.they used to own the property(it was abbitibi) it was 31 thousand acres in n.e. lower.the property has logging roads all threw it. they contacted me one year ago when I bought 60 acres. I signed the contract last fall.I think he has been waiting to try to get some of my neighbors signed up. to make it worth the loggers while.now the biggest problem is they bulldozed the snow off the road 3 weeks ago then it warmed up and the frost came out the road fell apart.they say they will fix the road but other neighbors are complaining.it is a private gated road.

Jeff

Some good people up there. Dennis Werblow is a good man and is a good steward and responsible forester. I would think you are in good hands.

www.alpenaforestry.com
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

SwampDonkey

Just 5 years ago we were seeing some Quebec forest companies move into northern New Brunswick. They were buying up stumpage on woodlots (well some never got paid actually) and clearcutting them. It has kind of fizzled out now. They were coming here because the Quebec governement had placed higher standards on logging practices. And now in New Brunswick, our crown lands are all under certification and most industrial forestry lands are certified now. Private woodlot owners have been discussing certification for 12 years and have not taken the bull by the horns yet. Some foreign buyers are insisting on certified wood by the end of this year. Certification is expensive for small owners and they aren't likely to come in line with it unless they get more for the wood. It's something that will effect the wood cutters more than most woodlot owners since small woodlot owner income is based on a wage job or farming. Income from the woodlot is mainly supplemental, or generated to pay intergenerational transfer taxes.
"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)))

Shamus

If you ever need to do an aspen thinning of young juvenile trees, try this method. In late spring, after the leaves have finished growing, hack or saw halfway through the tree, then crack the stem and bend it over until it is horizontal or lower. This will cause the tree to spend what energy it has left in the roots on keeping the tree alive (but it'll croak), and should keep it from sprouting suckers.
D&L Doublecut Synchro sawmill, Procut chainsaw mill, John Deere crawler loader,  F350 4x4 flatdeck, 20 ton logsplitter, running Stihls

SwampDonkey

We discourage thinning aspen stands in our local area because they self thin from shade intolerance and cankers. We look for stands that contain 60 % of aspen content or less before we consider thinning. With sites which were tolerant hardwood, timing is everything, we have to thin the hardwood at a point when the aspen is not too tall. Yes, we have alot of hardwood sites that get invaded by aspen. Sometimes its a boardline call, and the hardwood are barely 5 meters ,while the aspen is pushing 10 meters. And sites that are wet with aspen or poplar are excluded unless there is a high percentage of softwood species such as spruce, cedar or tamarack. Balsam fir on wet sites are cut out because of necrosis (yellowing of foliage). Usually causing stress to aspen trees will cause them to sucker more heavily unless the ground is quite shaded.

cheers
"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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