My wife doesn't understand.

[alleyyooper]

My wife doesn't unstand the consept of culling trees from the woods. Nor does she understand that the mature woods isn't condusive to wild life management.

I have been takeing down EAB killed Ash trees for about 18 years but am quickly running out of them. Won't even have enough for next winters heating season.

I want to start taking down the Elms they only grow so big then die off from the Dutch elm dease and it seems once one dies any close by go too. I would also like to take out a couple huge maples that were ice damaged in 2015, and even before that.

She keeps saying if I start cutting down the good trees we soon won't have any wood left.
I took her back and showed her where the biggest amout of ash trees used to be all the small seedlings that keep comeing up every year thicker that ever.
I showed her where a big maple got hit by lighting and all the saplings came up and some have reached 8" in dia. all ready.

Any way I will keep cutting as I see fit she doesn't go into the woods all that often, so I will only have to live with her rath for a short time when she sees what I have cut.

Al

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Assuming you burn less average BTU's of wood than your property produces on an average year, you'll literally never run out of wood. Assuming no disasters of course...

It's one of the most, if not THE most green way to heat.

It absolutely makes the most sense to take weak/dying/undesirable trees first and then move on to trees that are nearing end of life. Open that space for better trees to grow.

 

[homemade]

Like

 

[svk]

People do not understand that culling is actually a good practice. Plants, animals, and so on.

Over a course of several years I took out all of the overly mature aspen in the woods behind my garage. I was tired of seeing dead crowns. I also took out all of the balsam as they provide no practical purpose to someone who wants to maintain a wood lot. Unfortunately much of the desirable species of understory had damaged tops from trying to grow around everything else. Had I known what I know now I would have taken them down too and let the root suckers repopulate the entire plot.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

You look to be a very good steward of the land.
One storm and you could have wood for years, you never know.
Another option you could put on the table is buying a 20 cord load of 100" oak logs.
Not as nice as getting out in the woods but it's not bad.
I have been buying from Chris Muma Forestry Products for years.
I'm expecting two loads this week or next. If you wait till spring the weather breaks but frost load limits come on for a period.
This is a 20 cord load.

 

[bfrazier]

To the OP, I usually dislike the analogy that "the woods is like a garden", but it might make sence to your wife - some trees are like weeds, others are damaged, and some deserve a little help (limbing up, extra space for light and water) so they can be their very best - for future generations. Stewardship is an active thing, it does not happen on its own.


And to Sandhill Crane: Wow, 20 cords of oak at a shot?? Didn't know such a thing exists - that's about twice what we get on a log truck out here in the west. Must weigh well over 100,000 pounds. Wonder what it goes for delivered?

 

[Marley5]

I have an endless supply of firewood on my own property and can tell you that I haven't went outside of 7 acres in 15 years......and still have standing deads inside that section.
Will eventually have to go deeper in but not for a couple years.

Last year's endless rain killed a bunch of Oak, don't know what else would have caused it.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I have an endless supply of firewood on my own property and can tell you that I haven't went outside of 7 acres in 15 years......and still have standing deads inside that section.
Will eventually have to go deeper in but not for a couple years.

Last year's endless rain killed a bunch of Oak, don't know what else would have caused it.

Did those oak turn brown and within 2 weeks start dropping all it's leaves? If so, maybe oak wilt.

 

[Marley5]

Did those oak turn brown and within 2 weeks start dropping all it's leaves? If so, maybe oak wilt.

Yeah, that's exactly what they did, mostly Chestnut Oaks.
The leaves were green......then, damn there dead.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Yeah, that's exactly what they did, mostly Chestnut Oaks.
The leaves were green......then, damn there dead.

Oak wilt is big here. I have lost dozens of red oaks to it.

 

[Ptsiteworx]

I texted my neighbor today to let him know I was going to be in the woods this week cutting up a bunch of fallen oaks from the storms this past year and if I could cut the ones that had fallen on his property. He said sure no problem, I even offered him a few cords of firewood. His wife called me back about an hour later telling me not to cut anything on their property. I was a bit confused and asked why. She said that she wants the fallen wood to be home for the animals... I was at a loss for words so I just said ok. whatever it's their property i don't have to agree lol.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Must weigh well over 100,000 pounds. Wonder what it goes for delivered?

At 5,800 pounds per cord x 20 = 116,000 # net.
I think Michigan is 160,000 gross.
Pricing varies depending on distance. For me, in Allegan County, it is $2,100.
Their shop is in Gladwinn, MI, 169 miles from me.
Who knows where they are cutting/harvesting at any time, but if you figure fuel both ways and 20-30 min to unload (much of that time is undoing chains to start and sweeping off the truck and trailer decks afterwards), I'm guessing $400.

 

[Marley5]

I texted my neighbor today to let him know I was going to be in the woods this week cutting up a bunch of fallen oaks from the storms this past year and if I could cut the ones that had fallen on his property. He said sure no problem, I even offered him a few cords of firewood. His wife called me back about an hour later telling me not to cut anything on their property. I was a bit confused and asked why. She said that she wants the fallen wood to be home for the animals... I was at a loss for words so I just said ok. whatever it's their property i don't have to agree lol.

Lol, people are like that.....probably a wrens nest in it somewhere.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Ptsiteworx: It may have nothing to do with you at all. Many loggers give little thought to what a mess they leave behind. It happened across the street from us on thirty acres. The home owners were shocked, as was the whole neighborhood on this dead end road. I spoke with the two cutting several times. They considered it forest management and asked if we wanted our property logged while they were here. They were sorting, but most went for pallet logs.
Our property was selectively cut prior to our buying it in 1985. Those guys did a nice job at the time taking only a couple dozen trees off six acres, and about the same off another section across the ravine.

 

[alleyyooper]

They load 10 full cords on the tractor truck and another 10 on the trailer. Last I knew non frost load law in Michigan was 120,000. but you could by a non frost permint for 160,000 AKA gravel trains and same in the fall pre frost hauling sugar beets. Is possiable loggers can also buy the special permits

Not sure what they charge but he gave the name of the company and where they are located. today the age of the internet is easy to look them uop and call for a price.

Al

 

[svk]

I texted my neighbor today to let him know I was going to be in the woods this week cutting up a bunch of fallen oaks from the storms this past year and if I could cut the ones that had fallen on his property. He said sure no problem, I even offered him a few cords of firewood. His wife called me back about an hour later telling me not to cut anything on their property. I was a bit confused and asked why. She said that she wants the fallen wood to be home for the animals... I was at a loss for words so I just said ok. whatever it's their property i don't have to agree lol.

Frankly it’s his loss.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

At 5,800 pounds per cord x 20 = 116,000 # net.
I think Michigan is 160,000 gross.
Pricing varies depending on distance. For me, in Allegan County, it is $2,100.
Their shop is in Gladwinn, MI, 169 miles from me.
Who knows where they are cutting/harvesting at any time, but if you figure fuel both ways and 20-30 min to unload (much of that time is undoing chains to start and sweeping off the truck and trailer decks afterwards), I'm guessing $400.View attachment 786192 View attachment 786193 View attachment 786194 View attachment 786195 View attachment 786196

They are cutting all over this area. Oak is not a preferred wood for most mills around here, according to logger I know. With AJD, Weyerhaeuser, GP, Michigan Wood Pellet and Arauco all located in Grayling, they cannot cut forest land down fast enough. Chris Muma is one of larger operations.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

People do not understand that culling is actually a good practice. Plants, animals, and so on.

Over a course of several years I took out all of the overly mature aspen in the woods behind my garage. I was tired of seeing dead crowns. I also took out all of the balsam as they provide no practical purpose to someone who wants to maintain a wood lot. Unfortunately much of the desirable species of understory had damaged tops from trying to grow around everything else. Had I known what I know now I would have taken them down too and let the root suckers repopulate the entire plot.

Need to start culling people. Aka a purge.

First to go are animal and child abusers and rapists

 

[Lionsfan]

I've hauled a couple loads of chip board out of that Auraco plant. Place is frickin huge.

 

[spike60]

You're right Al; the woods in the first couple pics really need to be thinned out. Kind of a pain to cut that stuff. Have to work in and create some "drop zones". All smaller trees like that have very little top weight to push there way down through even small branches and love to get themselves hung up.