I could have not said it better myself. JP
On Jan 4, 1:58 pm, "x" <[email protected]> wrote: > yeah it makes me sick how many people move into our beautiful wooded area > these days and the first thing they do is massacre any tree on the property > (even if it means clearing a nice clear line of site to something really > ugly on the next property!), old sugar maples, old evergreens of various > sorts, oaks, whatever- we don't want to rake (believe me you will need to > rake in these parts anyway), we don't want deadly trees near us (!), we > don't want nasty rabid skunks on our property (?!), we want a nice view (of > the ugly appartment they snuck in on the next property; of the neighbor's > garbage cans?), we want to increase the value of our property by making it > look neat instead of all sloppy and junky (so beautifully placed 100 year > old treaures are junky and ugly stumps and bare grass and empty mud patches > and trash on your lawn is clean and nice?), etc. > > and now they are not even just cutting big trees but in some cases any trees > even little windbreak ornamental evergreens > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 10:31 AM > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Re: Honorary native tree--a possibility?: Norway spruce > > > > > Spruce: > > > My grandparents planted a Norway spruce when my uncle was born, and > > another when my mother was born, in the yard of their house in Kenosha > > Wisconsin. We recently sold the house as part of settling my uncles > > estate, and were happy to hear that the new owners like the trees (now > > 85+ years old), and do not plan to cut them down. So many home owners > > today look at mature trees as a liability. A number of potential buyers > > said they wouldn't buy the house unless all the large trees were cut > > down, or they expected a discount on the price to compensate for the > > expense of doing it themselves. > > > Lee > > > spruce wrote: > >> NS Lovers: > > >> Wow! I have found some more Norway spruce enthusiasts. There > >> really are a few of us out there more about that in a minute. > > >> First, as for what they are doing in Mass destroying the NS > >> plantings. This is a shame, and it comes from people not > >> understanding how these plantations grow. An unthinned/un-pruned, > >> unmanaged NS plantation can be a very ugly thing to the casual/ > >> uninitiated observer. My favorite plantation near Glady, WV can to > >> some eyes, at the present stage of its growth, looks like one of the > >> ugliest stands of trees on earth. It is so full of dead limbs, dead > >> and dying overtopped trees, some of which are fallen over, that it is > >> difficult to walk through. But, if one looks at the dominant trees > >> and this is an important point NS trees express dominance over time as > >> good or better than just about any other tree species one s eye is > >> drawn upwards into what is an astonishing cathedral of soaring trees > >> with wonderfully graceful weeping foliage, hanging like great green > >> banners from the vaults. To my eyes and I almost always look upward > >> in a forest--the beauty of this stand is simply heart melting! > > >> I haven t visited this stand in several years I hope it is still > >> there! The Rothkugel is recognized for its historical importance the > >> connection to Gifford Pinchot, etc. so it will never be cut. In fact, > >> there may be some efforts to make it more open and accessible to > >> visitors. As for the Glady stand I talked to a Mr. Brenneman, who at > >> the time was in charge of the woodlands management division of > >> Westvaco, the owner of the stand, and expressed my feelings that he > >> had something very special there a stand of NS of an especially > >> wonderful, and very distinctive genetic strain so I have hopes that > >> has had some influence. Mr. Brenneman was very nice and gave me > >> permission to cut down a few trees to take some measurements, etc. He > >> also gave me permission to get some seedlings, which are growing > >> wonderfully, both in the mountains of MD and here in Winchester. This > >> stand at Glady should be used as a seed source for NS, maybe not just > >> for areas with the same climate, but perhaps over a somewhat wider > >> area. My guess is that the original provenance was somewhere in the > >> more eastern and sourthern area of Europe. The cones would seem to > >> indicate that. I have not seen any other stands that look the same as > >> this one. > > >> In the forestry community, there are a few maybe more than a few > >> real NS enthusiasts. One is Professor Edwin White, Dean of Research > >> at The Department of Forestry and Environmental Science at SUNY > >> Syracuse (at the moment I am not sure this is the exact name of the > >> department there). He directed a number of studies on NS a few years > >> ago, the most interesting of which to the non-forester may be the > >> growth curves study and the site factors study. If you contact him he > >> will be more than happy to send a copy of these studies, and refer you > >> to some others there, and elsewhere, interested in NS. > > >> As for unthinned plantations of NS, Ed White says that NS stands > >> need no thinning to achieve the best development in the long run. He > >> says the same of white pine. I am growing plantations of both species > >> on my timberland (80 to 100 feet tall), but I do thin and prune it > >> simply makes the stands more enjoyable and makes them look better (re > >> those in Mass that think they should be removed). > > >> Another NS enthusiast is Jim Kochenderfer, a forest research > >> scientist at the N. E. Forest Experimental Station in Parsons, WV. He > >> is the one who told me about the locations of various stands in WV, > >> including the ones at Glady, and the Rothkugel. I hope Jim is not now > >> retired I have not talked to him for many years. He did a study on the > >> release of small NS plantings overtopped by brush and saplings, etc > >> using roundup. > > >> Well, I do go on and on. I have more to say/respond to later. I > >> have to go now. > > >> --Gaines > >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > -- > > Eastern Native Tree Societyhttp://www.nativetreesociety.org > > Send email to [email protected] > > Visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] Hide > > quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
