Linden, Texas
_ As a child I assisted my father (a master Environmental
Scientist) with maintaining 140 acres of forestland with a 20 acre lake we own in
East Texas.
Trail Creation: A complex web of trails littler the landscape. A total of 10 trails radiate around the central lake.
Tree Felling: Process naturally fallen trees into firewood, fell most standing dead timber leaving a few snags for wildlife. Cut dieing, unsightly, or damaged trees. When many large hardwoods get wind-thrown cut into sections, arrange for hauling to local saw-mill and processing into lumber or flooring.
Lake Care: Overpopulated with Largemouth Bass, we fish as much as possible to keep up. Occasionally stock with catfish. Felling trees into the lake to create underwater habitat and structure. Maintaining lake edges for boat docking. Removal of invasive pond weed is in the process.
Timber Harvest: Summer 2012 was a rough year and a large number of oaks died. A logger was hired to come remove the timber from the property and take it to the mill. Thinning was from-below, following all BMPs including a buffer around the lake.
Wildlife Habitat Improvement: Wood duck houses are scattered in the inlets. Bat boxes will be added strategically through the woods.
Trail Creation: A complex web of trails littler the landscape. A total of 10 trails radiate around the central lake.
Tree Felling: Process naturally fallen trees into firewood, fell most standing dead timber leaving a few snags for wildlife. Cut dieing, unsightly, or damaged trees. When many large hardwoods get wind-thrown cut into sections, arrange for hauling to local saw-mill and processing into lumber or flooring.
Lake Care: Overpopulated with Largemouth Bass, we fish as much as possible to keep up. Occasionally stock with catfish. Felling trees into the lake to create underwater habitat and structure. Maintaining lake edges for boat docking. Removal of invasive pond weed is in the process.
Timber Harvest: Summer 2012 was a rough year and a large number of oaks died. A logger was hired to come remove the timber from the property and take it to the mill. Thinning was from-below, following all BMPs including a buffer around the lake.
Wildlife Habitat Improvement: Wood duck houses are scattered in the inlets. Bat boxes will be added strategically through the woods.
Pine, Colorado
_My family acquired a house with some very steep forestland in Colorado
in 2008 and we have been making major improvements to their wooded
backyard.
Tree Felling: Fell standing dead timber, fell unsightly trees (due to sway, forking, diseased, insect damage, inhibiting view-sheds, etc), cut and stack felled and rotting timber, haul wood piles uphill using ATV and trailer, stack firewood and burn rotted wood piles (contact local fire department to acquire brush burning permit). Raise canopy to 6 feet, and then later to 10 feet to increase view-shed and remove ladder fuels, burn cut limbs with brush pile.
Trail creation: A switchback path was scouted, selected and flagged. Using pick axes, shovels, rock bars, and other implements of destruction to dig down the high side to fill in the low side in order to create a reasonably level walking path. Once path was created cut timber from downhill could be hauled using ATV on the trail (previously all wood was hauled by hand using plastic sleds and securing ropes).
Tree Felling: Fell standing dead timber, fell unsightly trees (due to sway, forking, diseased, insect damage, inhibiting view-sheds, etc), cut and stack felled and rotting timber, haul wood piles uphill using ATV and trailer, stack firewood and burn rotted wood piles (contact local fire department to acquire brush burning permit). Raise canopy to 6 feet, and then later to 10 feet to increase view-shed and remove ladder fuels, burn cut limbs with brush pile.
Trail creation: A switchback path was scouted, selected and flagged. Using pick axes, shovels, rock bars, and other implements of destruction to dig down the high side to fill in the low side in order to create a reasonably level walking path. Once path was created cut timber from downhill could be hauled using ATV on the trail (previously all wood was hauled by hand using plastic sleds and securing ropes).