What do you guys use for cruising?

[SwampDonkey]

For what Ron said about trespass, a fixed plot is about all you can do. Then use tree length tables or find the relationship between stump and breast height diameter from nearby standing trees, maybe on an adjacent property. Done a few of those. One time we did it to collect levy from a Quebec mill for private wood. The levy is for management on woodlots and marketing. It's not used for profit.

[banksiana]

Lately doing 100 percent cruise.  Count every *DanG tree and sample a set percentage for dbh and height.  Stupid as [I have typed a profane word that is automatically changed by the forum censored words program I should know better] and I am sick of it. 

[SwampDonkey]

Are they doing growth and yield or something there banksiana? Otherwise if the stands are uniform, seems it's wasted $$ for that kind of intensity. I believe that has been proven a  long time ago. Maybe someone thinks all those studies are worthless. :D

[petefrom bearswamp]

I did both a random 10 factor plot cruise and a 100% on a 57 acre woodlot of my own.
I am retired and had lots of time.
The big surprise to me was that the total volume for both cruises was within 3 MBF.
Lucky with the prism I guess.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Point cruise with a 10 factor prism or angle gauge 90% of the time. The other 10% is a mixture of 20 factor prism cruising and some fixed plot cruising.

[SwampDonkey]

The reason I like circular plots on my lot is the trees are young, and with the thinning I've done I know the spacing, but the fir grows twice and fast as the planted spruce. That is, on the raised sites. I want to measure more than 4 to 5 trees in a plot and I measure them down to 2" in diameter because I want to see how the rate of growth is from an early age. The last cruise was in 2007 and worked out to be 2.5 cord per acre in 14 years. Another 6 years (this fall) will be interesting, that will be year 20 since the harvest.

[kczbest]

I guess I'm just old school, but I prefer strip cruising.

[mesquite buckeye]

Hope that's not the forester's version of strip poker. : : : ;D

[banksiana]

Are they doing growth and yield or something there banksiana? Otherwise if the stands are uniform, seems it's wasted $$ for that kind of intensity. I believe that has been proven a  long time ago. Maybe someone thinks all those studies are worthless. :D

No, straight up timber sales, and low dollar species I should add, like junky hardwood pulp.  Agency policy from a backwards agency with no balls to step outside the comfort zone and look through a prism. 

[SwampDonkey]

Seems odd.  And I bet it's all contracted out at low rates to because efficiency and government don't mix. :-\