Managed Forest update Ontario

[RuralKanuck]

Ok I just reread my earlier ramble through my woods see:- (My Managed Forrest plan in SW Ontario) but rather than extend that one I am going to start over here on the subject of thinning the 10acres of pine in the winter of 24 but I still monitor my original post for folks who may wish to comment there.

When I last updated this little ramble through my efforts to manage my 32 acres of forest I was still looking for a company to thin the 10 acres of reforested White Pine which was becoming very overcrowded and dying off from the overcrowding.
After much searching I did find a local company that would cut a percentage of the trees not knowing exactly the size of their logging machines that they used to do it. Had I known either the damage to the trails for access or the amount of timber they deemed unsuitable for their use (anything other than 6” plus dia of 8 to 10 ft of straight timber) that would be left scattered throughout the cut area I would have had second thoughts about having it done.
But it is done now and I have patched up the trails enough to get my smaller tractor and other small buggy back to both the logged area and the hardwood section behind those trails. There are some sections that were newly created to hall the logs out that would cost me more for fill and large equipment to fix than I received for the timber removed, all I can say is its been a learning experience and I hope the following will help others from make the same mistakes!

Just to start this thread I will post a couple of before and after pics, more come as I describe the whole thing and the aftermath.

 

[Paco Dennis]

It is a common sight for me. I helped cut Eucalyptus and such in California Conservation Dept. They were 1/2 mile fire breaks near Oakland, Ca. Then I have lived in a Missouri forest for 40 years. 30 of which we logged eighteen acres. Mainly for firewood. So the tractor, and paths, and the fallen tree mess...I can relate to. This was in a small Buddhist monastery, so there were several grown men that could help.

 

[againstthegrain]

Cutting the trees is the fun part, then the real work begins.

 

[RuralKanuck]

Yep, cutting was easy cos the other guy with his big machine did it but the mess he left not so much fun as most of it will be left lay rotting for years, just getting a couple of small trails open did me in at near 80!
Next up some pictures (and comments) of said machines.......

 

[againstthegrain]

Forests are messy, messes are healthy and productive. We both have a keen interest in forestry @RuralKanuck , but I think we view things in completely different ways. I'm glad you're getting to manage your forest as you see fit.

 

[JustDave]

That does seem like a lot of usable wood left on the ground. I looks big enough to make boards. What is actually taken to the mills is what the mills are looking for, and a lot of usable timber is left and burned if the mills don't currently need it.

 

[RuralKanuck]

Some of those logs are prob yet to be collected in that pic Dave, they take anything over about 6" dia and has a straight length of 8 to 10 ft but run it all through their cutter measuring and cut what does not measure up into shorter pieces, in my case that seems to be mostly 3 to 5 ft. In my case the one section was particularly bad in that regard due to an infestation of insects years ago that took the growing tip out and caused then to branch or grow crooked.

 

[RuralKanuck]

For those who have not seen an area of pine logged I will post below a couple of pics of the machines used in my bush, they are so wide that they do not fit up the original 6ft rows and so they totally remove every 3rd row and straddle it going in.
This would leave a nice clear trail to be used later if they just would leave their cut unused tops and trash to the side, they leave far too much on the cut breaks and in my case then drove over much of it with their huge machines! They reach in with the cutting arm, cut the 60' plus tree off at the base and lay it over, strip off the side branches and cut it to length with this machine at about 30 to 40 tress per hour, I think they take more time moving than cutting!

Its been a real learning experience for me and I do not imagine all loggers work the same so if the following stumble through my freshly logged mature pines can help folks avoid the same pitfalls please ask and I will try and illuminate.

The main points I would make are to ensurethe newly created row breaks are kept free of drooped pine and tops,try and have those pines cut very close to the ground so that yousmaller tractor will go over them without taking the sump from it! Try and have them cease work in wet or frost out conditions,particularly when collecting and hauling log loads out, in my casethe weather was very changeable and the ruts are a foot or more deepon the main trail out (hard to do and make man and machine idle).
They had pulled off a job where they stopped cutting of because it was too wet, I hate to think what his place looks like, though at one point they did put tracks on the collectorto get the last few loads out!!

Here they are in my bush …....

 

[BJintheUK]

Interesting thread. White Pine is used in the production of small light aircraft and ultralights such as the Minimax, that is amateur built from plans. I have one, I didn't build it, but I bought it this year, and it's currently 34 years old. The thing about wooden planes is that the wood, once cut, sealed with epoxy and glued together, has no definite lifespan. Instead it will last as long as it stays straight. If it warps over time then it has to be replaced, but if kept in a dry hangar, and out of direct sunlight for most of its life then it will last indefinitely.

The wing spars in particular are very important to get right. There are four of them on the Minimax and each one is 12 ft long. So cutting the trees to 8' or 10' is too short for that use. Shame, but I suppose they have a use for the shorter lengths.

 

[RuralKanuck]

Most individual residential homes over here are built using 8' pine, built my own of it but not my own pine as must be 'approved'! I can only assume that home construction is where it is going, oh boy do I have a deal for MODEL plane builders, the longer stuff from here would be far too knotty for your use anyway LOL!

 

[SueBee]

Wow, I stumbled on to this thread and find it very interesting.

 

[JustDave]

Most individual residential homes over here are built using 8' pine, built my own of it but not my own pine as must be 'approved'! I can only assume that home construction is where it is going, oh boy do I have a deal for MODEL plane builders, the longer stuff from here would be far too knotty for your use anyway LOL!

Western White Pine sells at a premium. It doesn't have as much structural integrity as those types commonly used in rafters and joists, but it lends itself well to finished work. I don't usually buy it because of the price, but I used it for fascia once about 10 years ago, and it's held up to the weather nicely, better than other types of wood, it seems to me. I was cautious about it when I used it, but have been pleasantly surprised.

 

[RuralKanuck]

When those logger went back to the one section of pines they had to widen my trail back in order to get their huge machines back there to cut and gather the pines. In doing so they had to remove some mature Ash trees which they set off to the side for my use later. Having spent quite a bit of time with my little TC30 tractor loader getting things to the point where I could actually use that bit of trail again I decided to haul them out to the wood yard.

My original plan was to just look and see what it would take with my young Collie keeping me company but he decided that a run back in the other 30 acres was much more fun! I just watched his tail leaving as he totally ignored my calls to return to my side, I think he has the 3yr itch eh.
That being the case I figured as I did not have to watch him I may as well haul those logs, after hooking up the hydraulics to the 3ph winch things went relativity well and I pulled out 8 or 9 20 footers. It was on the last 3 when everything went tilt, as it always seems to do on these kind of jobs, the winch drive got jammed against a log end threw off the chain so I was unable to unhook the logs.

Did finally manage to get the tractor broke loose from its load and pull it over to the front of the shop and look things over, chain jammed good. Looks like its going to be a job for me and my son tomorrow, hell I got almost 2 hrs in before things went tilt AND the dog returned an hour later NOT covered in burrs.
Thats a productive day in this near 80 yr olds mind.