Ed,
Thanks very much for you and ENTS hard work!
Bob,
I'm fascinated by the work you've done on white pine in this issue and
the last issue. I agree that most foresters mark white pine
dominants/codominants way before they should. The tremendous volumes
white pine can attain makes you wonder why most foresters aren't more
patient. Well I meant those foresters who really are representing a
landowner's long term interest. This research you are doing could help
influence state forest policy and help other practicing foresters!
I recently learned a lesson on managing white pine. On a 20 acre woodlot
in Oakham I marked an improvement cutting on a mostly white pine stand
with some red oak, white oak, and red maple. It had been cut about 15
years ago so there was a lot of white pine/hardwood regeneration. I've
been using mostly mechanized timber harvesting operations (whole tree
harvesting/biomass which landowners love because they don't like the
amount of slash left by conventional timber harvesting operations) over
the last few years to thin my clients' woodlots. So on this lot I used
one and the majority of the nice white pine regen was destroyed. I only
marked about a 1/3 of the volume and the residual stand looks great
consisting of the better white pine with some nice scattered red oak and
white oak. But with the bigger grapple skidders these operations use
which means wider skid roads it's a tradeoff: very little slash versus
more regen. In retrospect I would have used a forwarder operation which
would have saved the majority of the regen. Overall I'm happy with the
job with the beautiful residual stand that was left with scant damage to
the high quality crop trees (because of the use of low quality bumper
trees along the main skid roads) but if the goal is to create an
maintain an uneven aged forest then a smaller operation would have been
more appropriate. This proves there is a silvicultural limit (as well as
many operational limits) to biomass improvement cuttings. There is still
room for the small conscientious logger with a small machine! But make
no mistake about it, a good biomass market is absolutely essential if we
want to improve private woodlots from past highgrading depravations. The
bottom line for me is that I don't give a damn where the wood goes (the
hell with the local mills!) as long as I can improve my clients'
woodlots.
Next I'll be marking a 60 acre lot that was devastated by the ice storm.
In this case I'll be marking the leave trees and yes I'll be a needin'
that chippin' crew!
I don't give a damn about global warming! I'm just trying to survive!
Mike
www.northquabbinforestry.com
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edward Frank
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:55 AM
To: ENTS Google
Subject: [ENTS] Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree
Society, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2, SPRING 2009
ENTS,
Dr. Don Bragg has completed the editing of the latest
issue of the ENTS Bulletin. I have posted copies of it to the website:
http://www.nativetreesociety.org/bulletin/b4_2/B_ENTS_v04_02.pdf and to
the discussion list
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/files?hl=en&upload=1&&sort=date
. Featured in this issue are articles from the Congaree national park
Trip this spring, an article by Bob Leverett on white pine volumes, and
a very nice article on "The Francis Beidler Forest, Harleyville, South
Carolina" by the man himself, Don Bragg. Again I thank Don Bragg for
his hard work in producing these Bulletins.
Ed Frank
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree
Society SPRING 2009
Congaree Swamp National Park.......... 1
Don C. Bragg, Research Forester, USDA Forest Service
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SOCIETY ACTIONS
ENTS Rendezvous at Cook Forest Set ....... 2
Ninth Old-Growth Forest Conference to be Held in October
........ 2
Other Events of Possible Interest to Ents ......... 2
FEATURE ARTICLES
An Analysis of Annual Increase in White Pine Volumes as
a Function of Diameter and Height Growth.................... 3
Robert T. Leverett, Eastern Native Tree Society
FIELD REPORTS
Congaree Swamp National Park ENTS Measuring Blitz:
February 2009 ........... 6
Eastern Native Tree Society members
The Tree Heights and Forest Structure of Corcoran Woods,
Maryland: July 2002 ........... 12
Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society
SPECIAL BIG TREES
The Francis Beidler Forest, Harleyville, South Carolina
......... 18
Don C. Bragg, Research Forester, USDA Forest Service
FOUNDER'S CORNER
Seeing the Forest With an Attitude reprint fro may 08,
200............ 22
Robert T. Leverett, Eastern Native Tree Society
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