Illegal woodcutters

[hammerlogging]

For the record, I was definately joking about carrying my own blue paint.

I sure prefer cutting a marked stand to one thats unmarked, of course if I'm on one of the east coast classic pillage diameter limit cuts, theres no need to paint, but if there is some sort of timber objective, residual stand quality objective,and I have to use my conscience and think big and long term (specise mix, vigor, multiple age classes, regen. etc.) while toting around my cutting acoutrements (sp?) and try and fill a fourth tractor trailer every day, well, too much, bring on the paint, please.

The saw seems to be an awfully permanent planning tool, I've yet to see black paint that can put the tree back effectively.

 

[smokechase II]

contracting the marking

I prefer to let nature do the marking and harvesting.

 

[Gologit]

I'll say this much, You guys got allot of regs out west!
In Maine here paper companies owned more of the state than the state does and until lately the regs have favored the rape and pillage methods. All you have to do is take a plane or helicopter ride too still see the excesses of the past though, the clearcutting era.

LOL...Do we have a tree hugger in our midst? Rape and pillage methods? Ah, c'mon...isn't that just a little over stated?
Educate us...those of us who've never logged in Maine. Just how bad is it?
Specific examples, timelines, pictures, testimony from the people involved, and varifiable statistics would be in order here.
Including your credentials would also be appropriate. Are you a logger, a forester, involved in lumber milling, or just another well intentioned citizen?
What's your opinion on clear-cutting? And is it an opinion based on emotion or based on facts?

 

[Festus Haggen]

I'll say this much, You guys got allot of regs out west!
In Maine here paper companies owned more of the state than the state does and until lately the regs have favored the rape and pillage methods. We have far too few Wardens for the turf and people get away with allot of BS. The paper industry is hurting now and winding down some, so things are getting better land management wise. All you have to do is take a plane or helicopter ride too still see the excesses of the past though, the clearcutting era. It is getting slowly better now and hopefully we'll continue to replant and manage in a more enviromentally friendly manner.:greenchainsaw:

Around here there's very little public land open to logging. There are some bigger areas just west of here owned by the paper company (for your TP enjoyment) that are heavily managed. I'd say a clear cut is much more useful for pulp, since they can utilize more of the smaller trees. The mill doesn't even take logs anymore, just chips and pulp bales. My cousin used to be the crane operator, big huge gantry setup, was neat to watch him work.

Blue is used here too for cutting, but we certainly don't have all the crazy regs, mainly because it's not "public" land.

 

[slowp]

For the record, I was definately joking about carrying my own blue paint.

The saw seems to be an awfully permanent planning tool, I've yet to see black paint that can put the tree back effectively.

I figgered you were joking. It is a daily joke when I go get my paint. "Just give it to us and we'll make wildlife openings."
"Why not leave a can here and you won't have to do any more marking for a while?"
ETC.
My reply is, "I hear those federal jails are real nice."
Or, "I'm too shy to go to jail." because I'd be in sooo much trouble it isn't funny.

I do tell them where they can purchase a paintgun like mine. But when I show them all the overspray that will end up on the log trucks, making for unhappy truckers and they hear what the gun costs, that discussion ends.
We could use some clearcuts. My huckleberry patches are growing in and the competition for huckleberries has doubled. The elk are hanging out in the pastures and hayfields and along the highway yearround. Our viewpoints are grown in. But a clearcut is a sure trip to court for a decision.

The contracts, believe it or not, have shrunk a bit. In fact, ours are about half the size they used to be. Too many of us who knew the old ones retired and they had to fill the jobs with less experienced folks so tried to simplify it a bit. There's not as many fill in the blank provisions and a lot of the wording is fixed so nationwide it'll be the same. I am working with at least 3 different versions. Can't quote stuff off the top of my head anymore because of the changes.

Well, since nobody is logging. I've taken today off and will spend the weekend cutting a bit of firewood. I've had my eye on a yellow painted one which nobody has cut. The snow has melted so I can get around in my two wheel drive froo froo truck. Got some back up to Doug fir spotted. The Barbie saw will go to work for once and Twinkle gets a break.

 

[slowp]

Here is Nature's Rape and Pillage. This unit was skyline logged the season before and was nicely done. Then a windstorm hit. The unlogged portion across the road also got hit hard. More trees went down this winter and we'll have a clearcut soon.

Here's our rape and pillage work. That's my white FS truck on road. I'm getting a shorter wheelbase one this year which will be better for turning around in tight places.

 

[Zodiac45]

LOL...Do we have a tree hugger in our midst? Rape and pillage methods? Ah, c'mon...isn't that just a little over stated?
Educate us...those of us who've never logged in Maine. Just how bad is it?
Specific examples, timelines, pictures, testimony from the people involved, and varifiable statistics would be in order here.
Including your credentials would also be appropriate. Are you a logger, a forester, involved in lumber milling, or just another well intentioned citizen?
What's your opinion on clear-cutting? And is it an opinion based on emotion or based on facts?

LOL Gologit. did I sound like a tree hugger? Actually the regs regarding the size of clearcuts have shrunk in the last 10 years. I admit I do love trees, but I gotta eat too and yep I work for a logging outfit. Lately it's running Feller/Buncher Deere trackhoe with a Keto head on it. As Festus mentioned the mills don't take logs anymore, so we cut out the saw logs and some firewood and the rest goes into the chipper. Our outfit buys land tracks, cuts them and resells when we're done. We can't R&P too badly or we can't sell the tract. But some guys have no such problems, they take eveything and I mean everthing. You don't notice so much on the ground working but I have a pilot's licence and fly
around a bit and it looks like the surface of the moon down there in places. I just wonder how long it's all gonna last is all. Getting a bit like the fishing industry around here.

 

[Gologit]

LOL Gologit. did I sound like a tree hugger? Actually the regs regarding the size of clearcuts have shrunk in the last 10 years. I admit I do love trees, but I gotta eat too and yep I work for a logging outfit. Lately it's running Feller/Buncher Deere trackhoe with a Keto head on it. As Festus mentioned the mills don't take logs anymore, so we cut out the saw logs and some firewood and the rest goes into the chipper. Our outfit buys land tracks, cuts them and resells when we're done. We can't R&P too badly or we can't sell the tract. But some guys have no such problems, they take eveything and I mean everthing. You don't notice so much on the ground working but I have a pilot's licence and fly
around a bit and it looks like the surface of the moon down there in places. I just wonder how long it's all gonna last is all. Getting a bit like the fishing industry around here.

Thanks for the reply. I kind of get defensive when I think somebody is attacking the way I make my living...even if it's way over on the Right Coast.
Our part of the country wasn't immune to R&P either and it went on for far too long. That's one of the reasons we have so much regulation...and California is by far the worst. Our Timber Harvest Plan books look like the L.A. phone directory.
Bob