walnut trees

[CMBetz]

Beth,

First the disclaimer: only you can decide who to trust to manage your woods. That having been said, I would re-contact the extension service and ask if they can recommend someone who can develop a management plan for a Non-Industrial Private Forestowner (NIPF). It may help to use some of the jargon, so they get you steered in the right direction. Both loggers and arborists have their place in the area of land/forest management, but I would rather have a forester, trained in all aspects of forestry -- silviculture, economics, ecology, etc -- formulate a management plan than either of the above. In other words, they look at the big picture when developing the plan WITH you. I wouldn't pay a forester a dime whose first questions of me didn't go something like, "What are YOU trying to get done here? Make money from timber? Manage for wildlife? Try to combine both? Are you wanting to make some money today or more money later? Is money not an issue?"

This is no slight to the arborists here, and I know that many of you have expertise in these areas. I just think that someone who applies the many aspects of our disciplines tends to have a happier client in the long run. My $0.02.

 

[sedanman]

Beth, The MS290 or 029 is not one of Stihls top-of-the-line saws. What I mean by this is that it will not stand up to the day-in day-out use a professional would put it through. You and your husband are "comsumers" not professional loggers, I am a "consumer", "consumer saws" will fit our needs and last a LONG time with care and maintenance. I may have opened a can of worms here but, oh well!

 

[svrfsvp]

Beth, I bought a 029 a few years back, on the recommendation of a friend, and it still works, still makes chips. I started sawing larger trees and then I bought a 046. Also a good, dependable saw, one I still carry along with me when I go out cutting. I next bought a used Husqvarna 2150, which I used a lot, and now it is kind of pushed off to the side of the saw shed, and I went back to buying Stihls - a couple of 066's, an 090, and last night, I fired up my new 088 - purchased from my friend and fellow Arborsite rant writer, John "GypoLogger" Lambert. So now I have a couple of light saws for the little stuff, 066's for heavy duty work, a 5' chainsaw slab mill powered by the 090 and soon will set up the 088 in a 3' sawmill. As John would say - Now we're loggin'!

In any case, a Stihl should last a long time, and years from now the 029 should still be productive. As I may have mentioned in this or some other forum, I have an old Stilh electic saw, probably 20 years old or so, and that still works. Needs work, but mainly because I used it and didn't maintain it.

Oh yeah, my new 088 is sitting in my living room, right next to my sofa - so you can see the limits of my chainsaw love - the saw is allowed in the house, just not in my bedroom! ;^)

And one more thing, I used to travel up to Winston on business a few years ago, and that is a beautiful area - very different from down here in the Triangle. We are wall to wall SYP's here, and up there are hardwoods abounding. Very nice place - always thought I would like to live up there, if I could find work. Or work long enough to retire...

 

[bethfm]

Arborist Visit

Hi guys. Based on your and other advice, I had an arborist visit the farm for a "consultation," understanding that I need to try to get a forester to help me develop a long-term plan for managing my trees. The arborist looked at the mature trees around the house (not our woods) and, a surprise to us tree-novices, 3 of the most mature trees are American Elms that, we hope, have avoided contracting Dutch Elm Disease. I wasn't aware any elms were still standing...when I was living in Winona, MN, a main thoroughfare fronting my house was lined with huge elms and all were removed one summer. Lusk tells us to keep watch this summer and if dead patches appear on the elms at their crowns, it is likely they are diseased. Anyone know of healthy elms anywhere, and is there anything that can be done to make them resistant to Dutch Elm Disease?

We have a huge Ash tree. This is the first Ash I remember seeing...anyone know how common these trees are?

Our 5 large oaks are healthy--4 are white oak and 1 is red, so no stem rot as I feared.

Once I get a forester, I'll check with y'all to make sure I'm getting good advice.

Anyone know where to determine the market for walnut? 2 of our mature walnut trees are dead and need to be removed. We'd like to sell the wood and don't know how to go about that.

Thanks everybody.

Beth

 

[WOLF_RIVER_MIKE]

I've still got several mature elms on my place. Probably more living than dead. I'm losing some oaks though, I think from drought the last three summers. This year we have had a lot of rain. These oaks (mostly post oaks) are losing there bark. Sheds off in chunks, can be shin high at the base. Standing there naked like bones. Makes for some good firewood though. Little bark and no limbs for 50'.