Tree Marking Symbols

[slowp]

How will we ever cut budgets in an environment that checks empty paint cans back in? For what, refill? lol As if that color isn't on hand in a nearby store.

Nope, you can't buy the paint in a store. It is a special paint with a secret tracer chemical in it. In case of a suspected timber theft, like somebody did use paint bought in a store to mark additonal timber, we can use a test kit and tell out in the woods if the paint is government put on paint, or timber stealer paint.

All this stuff has come about because somebody was stealing trees in the past.

Also, there have been cases where people who were against timber being cut went in and used over the counter orange paint to mark more LEAVE trees. Once again, the chemistry set comes out and the paint is tested.

The endless accountability checking is to keep the paint secure. There have been instances of dishonest employees selling it to loggers. They went to jail.

That's why I immediately start saying NO NO NO when a logger jokes about borrowing the paint.

 

[wowzers]

Wow that would be a huge PITA to check back in empties. I use to have about a half dozen or so empties (paint it was a work rig) in the back. Get done for the day and dump out the empties from my vest. Wait till the weekend to clean them all out.

 

[Jacob J.]

The F.S. districts here are very strict about keeping track of empties. The BLM, not so much. That's why I work for Dept. of Interior.

 

[madhatte]

We're not super-uptight about paint inventory. Paint residue left in the can? Hoo boy, that's a whole 'nother can of worms. We have a special locker for the cans to dry out in, and only one key, and it's not a normal lock. Hazmat is a hazzle.

Also: the Tyvek cards are only used in the final sale preparations, and are stapled facing into the unit. They're yellow. They're tough as nails and don't seem to fade in the sun at all.

The flasher cards are smaller, square, and are made of plasticized Rite-In-The-Rain paper. They come in several colors. You have to order them directly from the manufacturer, which is located conveniently about fifteen minutes from my office. These we are staple points-up ("diamonds") around the perimeter of a unit, and flat-up ("squares") facing into the unit. That way you can tell as you are approaching a unit boundary working from inside of the unit toward the outside, and you can see the boundary from the outside looking in.

 

[8433jeff]

This is way more complicated than on Ax Men. But I am learning something. Tracer paint. Wow. I did have to count empty spray cans for a week as punishment in my welder gig back in the day. We would puncture the empty primer cans (so they wouldn't blow if the trash can started on fire) on my shift. Funny thing, them fumes are flammable, too, and we had a small fire in the welding booth. Shop towels full of hand cleaner, paint cans and paint, plastic shrink wrap from a pallet of parts, gets to be a lot of fuel when the 55 gallon drum trash can is almost full. Had about 80 people outside for a while, as the soot and smoke settled, but no fire dept., so we kept our jobs for a while longer. Couldn't get a new can of primer for two weeks without giving the empty one to a line supervisor.

 

[slowp]

The rumor is that only one or two people know the secret formula or have the secret formula for the paint.

Each office has one person who is in charge of the paint. They have the key to the paint room and they check it out and inventory it.

Yes, the paint has to dry in the cans before they can be disposed of.

Like many things, this has gotten very complicated because of bad people taking advantage of the system.

Before the days of tracer paint, the marking crew I was on would sometimes have cases of paint packed in by mules and stashed out in the units. That was in hard to get to helicopter units or unroaded areas. We could walk in each day without carrying a heavy load of paint on our backs.

You can't do that now.

 

[Laird]

OK, the forester got back with me and he said;

"The horizontal marks indicate sawtimber trees selected to harvest. Other marks might be #'s for veneer, X's for trees of questionable soundness but that should be harvested or killed to benefit the woods, diagonal marks may indicate trees to be cut for pulpwood or firewood."

So there it is. Not sure if that is his system, local system, state wide or whatever.

 

[Billy_Bob]

As to flagging tape, around here I've seen every color of the rainbow in the woods and no consistent use of any colors.

I asked at the local logging store and the guy said they use whatever colors they have in their truck at the time.

As for myself and use on private property, I like to use green, yellow, and red.
Green = Cut.
Yellow = Cut, but hazard tree, special care needed to take down.
Red = Don't cut.

Easy for everyone to understand and remember.

 

[Oldtimer]

Simple:

Paint means "Cut this one, and all the other ones within 50 feet of it".

 

[60DRB]

Revival from the dead paint thread...

My dad told me that in Missouri purple paint marked trees indicate a "no trespassing" boundary. I'm down in Alabama and can find no information about the various tree paint markings I've seen. USDA source has minimal info about boundary markings with paint. I'm thinking I'll be visited by the black helicopters any minute now...

 

[slowp]

Helicopters are like so passe. Drones are the latest conpiracy/threat.

 

[madhatte]

Neither particularly alarm me. You know, FOR REASONS.

 

[OlympicYJ]

Started reading the thread and then realized it had been bumped. Coming from the private sector I won't comment on our empty can disposal methods... but I will say target practice is a good way to poke holes in cans

Yea drones are definitely the thing now a days. Blackhawks are like mullets. Everyone has seen one at some point and they're out of style...

PS only govt uses blue. At least in my area lol We use orange to mark the boundaries from the inside. Up in Forks they'll still blaze trees and paint the blazes. Cedar salvage marking is a %$^& can't trust the shake rats and have to pretty much spray, flag, or tag anything that you don't want cut... and if you flag or tag it you spray it. I think between me and my boss we went through at least a case of paint and I wanna say a half box of cut boundary cards on a unit. Our cards weren't fancy tyvek. Just write in the rain type paper, the local print shop made em for us.

My favorite is eraser paint

 

[StihlKiwi]

Started reading the thread and then realized it had been bumped. Coming from the private sector I won't comment on our empty can disposal methods... but I will say target practice is a good way to poke holes in cans

Yea drones are definitely the thing now a days. Blackhawks are like mullets. Everyone has seen one at some point and they're out of style...

PS only govt uses blue. At least in my area lol We use orange to mark the boundaries from the inside. Up in Forks they'll still blaze trees and paint the blazes. Cedar salvage marking is a %$^& can't trust the shake rats and have to pretty much spray, flag, or tag anything that you don't want cut... and if you flag or tag it you spray it. I think between me and my boss we went through at least a case of paint and I wanna say a half box of cut boundary cards on a unit. Our cards weren't fancy tyvek. Just write in the rain type paper, the local print shop made em for us.

My favorite is eraser paint

Eraser paint?

 

[7oaks]

Okay, here in WV - as far as I can see - The state has marked our mutual boundaries with blue paint. Private property boundaries are painted with single red stripes/slashes. Since out east all surveys are by metes and bounds - corners are marked with rebar and marker trees around the the corners are marked with three red stripes on "marker" trees.

On my forest service boundaries in Montana the corners are brass caps with the section/quarter section engraved. Marker trees around the brass cap have metal tags nailed to them. Our common boundary is marked along its length with plastic posts identifying the boundary with a sign that faces the private property identifying the divide between the two.

On FS cuts around my place there have been different marking methods/colors used for boundaries, and leave trees. Leave trees are usually painted a good ways up the trunk so that if a tree shows up at the mill painted it is a give away.

My 2 cents...

 

[OlympicYJ]

Yeah... it's just a fun name for black paint!

If we screw up it get's covered in black lol