As a landowner, logging can be one of the most consequential decisions you make for your land and forest. Thus, it is common to have apprehension over the decision and worry that logging will be irreversibly damaging to your beloved forest. While this can be a real concern, done responsibly with careful silvicultural considerations, logging…
Thinning your forest is one of the most important silvicultural operations you can conduct on your land. It is an intermediate treatment that focuses on selectively removing trees to reduce competition and allow residual trees to flourish. However, the process is more complicated than simply cutting out a few trees. The stand dynamics and silvics…
There is a common confusion between two terms commonly used in forestry: Selective cutting and selection cutting. While the two terms are often used interchangeably (usually by laymen), they couldn’t be more different. Selective cutting is a non-specific description of partial harvesting that usually refers to high-grading or other destructive harvesting practices. Selection cutting, however,…
A timber harvest is probably the most important and consequential event in the course of managing a forest. There is a lot that can go wrong and many elements that can be handled improperly. Mistakes can cost thousands, damage your land, and greatly impede the quality of your future forest. It is crucial to carefully…
While timber is a totally renewable resource, it can take a long time for timber to grow back once cut. It can take so long, in fact, that many mistakenly believe that once timber is cut, it can never be cut again in one’s lifetime. While that is a total myth, it comes from a…
Sustainability is at the core of modern forestry. Foresters and landowners take great strides to ensure timber harvests are healthy and sustainable. Over the last century, the science of forestry has developed a number of types of timber harvests and silvicultural systems to help accomplish just this. These harvest systems include clearcuts, shelterwood cuts, seed…
In the United States and most of the developed world, when timber harvesting is not deforestation. Today’s forest industry is probably one of the most sustainable industries in the world, as tremendous efforts are taken to maintain healthy forests and a sustainable supply of timber. Toward this end, logging and timber companies often plant trees…
We are all familiar with maple trees and their majesty. We know their regal fiery orange autumnal colors and the rich (in more ways than one) maple syrup their sap produces. But who could forget about their–acorns!? Not so much. Maple trees do not produce acorns. Instead, they produce samaras, which you might know by…
Trees can grow so slowly it is almost imperceptible. To a casual observer, it can seem like they take centuries to regrow. It’s understandable then, why we might get sad or angry when we see a logging operation or log pile by the mill. Don’t they know how precious trees are? Will I ever see…
When do trees stop growing? The question may be asked by woodlot owners looking to harvest their timber or curious minds who gaze into the tree tops and wonder. In truth, trees never actually stop growing. As they reach maturity, their growth slows dramatically, and most of the growth volume is put on in width…