Starting Out In Your Woodlands

It almost seems a little late to be doing a spring wildflower article, but I’m reminded that it really is still early spring when I walk in the woods around central Wisconsin.  There is something wonderful about seeing the color, sometimes poking through the snow.  The green of spring is refreshing, but the yellow of the marsh marigolds celebrates the coming warm sun.  Even better, some of these early spring plants provide a tasty treat as we get ready to plant and harvest our own gardens.

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When my sister and her husband purchased some wooded property inVernonCountya few years ago, they asked me take a look at their woods and give them some advice on how to manage their trees.  My first questions to them were “What do you want to get from your forest?  Do you want to attract wildlife?  Sell timber?  Harvest firewood?  Enjoy the scenery?”  They responded with a resounding “YES!”  They also indicated they wanted to do the work themselves, something I often encounter when working with woodland owners.

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credit: OSU TTTL

Yup, another entry on the importance of planning, however, this one involves people, not trees.  Did you know that there are about 276,000 woodland owners in Wisconsin, and according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources study, about 60% are 55 years or older?  About 49% of woodland owners are already retired.  In addition to planning for your retirement, are you planning for the future of your woodlands?  Read more »

In past blog entries, we discussed both agroforestry and non-timber forest products.  This month, we’ll spend a little time combining the two with an introduction to hazelnuts.    Read more »

After spending a modest amount of time felling trees with a chainsaw, I have grown to respect those folks who undertake that kind of work as a profession.  Having had my fair share of close calls with falling branches and tension filled stems, I know that I wouldn’t want to spend my life earning a living doing this kind of work.  A few hours here and there is plenty for me to get my fix with the saw.  Even those loggers working from the comfort of an enclosed cab of a harvester need to be vigilant in their actions so as to be safe and efficient while achieving the management objectives.

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Competition is the name of the game in our woodlands. Trees are competing against each other for nutrients. Wildlife are competing for food. Our own desires for our woods can compete against each other. However, you will most likely want to get a variety of things out of your woods (firewood, wildlife, recreation). Understanding what different trees can offer will help you balance all your management decisions. Let’s start by visiting the idea of what makes a good wildlife tree. Read more »

For most of my life, I have been a maul man.  I thoroughly enjoy and get much satisfaction from splitting rounds with a maul.  Even after splitting numerous elm forks and pounding away at wood that was hard pressed to give up clinging together, I still favor a maul.  However, recent events have opened my eyes to a whole other world, and I fear I will not ever be the same again.

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If you are thinking of planting trees in 2012, now is the time to start planning for that project.  The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and private tree nurseries start taking orders in the fall (and specifically October for the DNR) for the spring 2012 planting season, and they do sell out.  Read more »

It was many moons ago, that an argument took place in the woodlot that changed forever how we utilize the wood from the trees we fell.  I was in my early years of tree felling and processing, and so was still taking advice from the older and wiser family members.  Their philosophy at the time was that anything bigger than an inch in diameter was cut up for the wood stove.  But one auspicious day that all changed.

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It is not often that my trusty assistant (who shall remain nameless) and I get into arguments, but the stacking of split wood for drying is one place we constantly butt heads.  He argues that the way they have always stacked wood has worked just fine, so why change.  To which I counter that he has dropped too many trees onto his head.  Needless to say, we don’t haul and stack wood together very often.

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