Selective Harvest

[DPR]

I own hunting land in Leslie, Michigan.  I would like to have a selective harvest completed on approx. 25 acres.  Looking for a reputable individual who handle the entire transaction.  I have had a bad experience with a broker.

Does anyone know who I could contact or any other ideas?

Thank you

DPR

[Tom]

Click on the link at the upper right of the page *Find-a-Forester-sawmill.  It might be of some help in finding a Registered Forester.

I'm sure one of the Mich. Foresters will be here to help shortly.

[Gary_C]

There is just one answer to your question. Hire a professional forester that works for you to handle the entire sale. A forester can mark the trees for cutting, solicit bids for the cutting, and supervise the logger to make sure the work is done right and you are paid fairly for the trees.

Yes, there is a cost for the foresters services, but I can guarantee you you will receive more net return from the sale when you have a professional forester watching out for your interests.

Plus, you will not have to come back to this forum with a sad story about how you were taken by some unscruplous logger.  8)

[bigtreesinwa]

I own hunting land in Leslie, Michigan.  I would like to have a selective harvest completed on approx. 25 acres.  Looking for a reputable individual who handle the entire transaction.  I have had a bad experience with a broker.

Does anyone know who I could contact or any other ideas?

Thank you

DPR

I'm not sure what your level of interest is in the land. I'll assume that you enjoy being outside since you like to go hunting.

I'd suggest learning a bit about timber value and trying to pick which trees you'd like to harvest prior to hiring a forester to manage the timber sale. Valuable trees are straight, tall, and free of knots/branches while less valuable trees may be crooked, short, or generally not pretty to look at. Best looking trees usually make most valuable wood.

The reason why is you'll be much happier with your result if you have a good understanding of what you have on your property and have an idea of what you'd like it to look like after your harvest.

After you have a good idea of what you'd like to see, you can hire a forester, he can offer suggestions, and take it away from there.

[Ron Scott]

I'm a little too far north, but you should be able to locate a professioanl consulting forester in your area or contact your local conservation district forester for advice. Go to the Association of Consulting Foresters of America, Inc Web site at
www.acf-foresters.org to locate a forester near you.

The following photo was recently taken at one of the northern hardwood research sites on the Dukes Experimental Forest in Marquette, Michigan. It indicates the best management prescription for a selection harvest.

[LeeB]

Educate me a little here Ron. What does the 70sq/ft per acre mean?

[Riles]

If you cut a tree cleanly, you would look down at the stump and see a near circle. That circle has an area that can be measured in square feet. Now cut down every tree on the acre of land, measure the square footage, and add them up. That's the basal area per acre (or that acre, at least). 70 square feet is the recommendation in the sign. Now put all the trees back on the stump, using enough glue that they don't fall off again.  ;) Once you get to 70 square feet, you can stop putting them back up.

Alternately, you could find some way to measure the tree and do the math stuff without cutting 'em down.

[Tom]

Or, you could go  to this old thread on PRISMS and find how confused I became on the subject.  :D :D

[BaldBob]

Please don't assume that 70 sq. feet of basal area is the "BEST" stocking recommendation.  It simply is the basal area that yields maximum growth rate FOR THAT SPECIFIC SITE with the mix of age/size classes present there.

[John Mc]

Sometimes, the term "selective harvest" is just code for "highgrading". There have been some stories around here of landowners being approached by loggers offering to "thin your forest, to give the trees room to grow". Done right, that can be a good practice. Unfortunately, it sometimes ends up being a "take the best and leave the rest" type of job, which leaves the landowner with junk. Not only does this remove a lot of the current value of a woodlot, it takes the best stock for providing genetically good seeds. A good forester can help you avoid this sort of thing.

John Mc

[Ron Scott]

It is important to recognize that the selection method of harvesting is often misapplied in practice by loggers who have not had formal training in uneven-aged silviculture.

The selection method aims to develop a stand with a range of tree-age classes, from saplings to mature trees that will sustain the stand indefintely. High grading, Diameter Limit Cutting, and Mature Tree Removal is not the selection method of harvesting, but are practices often reformed by the misinformed.

[WDH]

Like Tom said, use a prism.  That is a lot easier than glue and not near as much work .

Basal area is a measure of tree density.  It gives us an idea of how well the site is occupied. 

A 14" DBH tree has about 1 square foot of basal area (do the math).  So at 70 square feet of stocking on an acre, there would be 70 14" DBH trees.  If the trees were10 " in DBH, there is less basal area per tree and therefore it takes many more than 70 trees to give 70 square feet of basal area (127 trees per acre). 

The formula for basal area is .005454 multiplied by the diameter squared.  I use basal area a great deal in my work.

[Woodhog]

I went to a woods meeting once and they were doing this basal area thing, if I remember they were using a pencil held out at arms length and turning in a complete circle, was this the same thing???

They also did something to estimate the height of the trees, myself and another old fellow would watch them do the height thing,I cant remember how they did it and we used to look at the trees and for everyone they measured from the ground we could tell the exact number of log combinations, ie. 2  -16 footers plus a 12 or a 10  plus a peice of pulp with just a glance at the tree, while they scratched and scribbled with their pencils and paper. :D

[clearcut]

Basal area is estimated by using a point, a fixed angle, and some clever geometry.

It turns out that at its widest point, my thumb is just about a 10 factor.  I hold my arm out straight and give the tree a thumbs up. If the tree is fatter than my thumb it is "in" and counts for 10 square feet of basal area per acre. If my thumb is fatter than the tree the tree is out and does not count. Holding my thumb over one point, I circle and count all the "in" trees, those that are fatter than my thumb. So if I have 12 trees in the circle fatter than my thumb, then I have an estimate of 120 square feet of basal area per acre. A prism, Cruise-All, Cruiser's Crutch, and all the other devices do the same thing as my thumb, only much more accurately. They provide the fixed angle. The fixed angle is calculated to make the math in the woods easy, 5, 10, and 20 are the common sizes.

Now for the geometry - an "in" tree has a diameter that can be converted to a basal area. The acreage of the plot that particular tree is on can be calculated from the fixed angle. If you assume that an "in" tree is just in, that is just as fat as my thumb, and measure the distance to the tree (horizontal limiting distance), then you know the radius of the plot. Calculate the square feet of the plot, convert to acres and you have Basal Area per Acre. Each tree diameter has a corresponding plot size (radius). When used for timber cruising this method is called variable radius plot cruising.

Basal area per acre is an expression of density. It incorporates tree size and the distance between trees, and the number of trees per acre. Basal area per acre gives a target to shoot for in a given stand at a given place with particular species. The 70 square feet of basal area per acre for that stand, on that site, of that age, with those species is a point where all the trees are relatively free to grow, but there is no space wasted.

The tools and techniques that you use to measure a tree or forest stand depend on what you need the information for. If you are trying to develop a detailed and accurate inventory then you use real tools and get precise estimates. If you are trying to quickly estimate the basal area then this rule of thumb is close enough.

Experience also counts.  I know inventory foresters that can accurately estimate tree diameter to the nearest 1/10th of an inch. I have a friend who was a procurement forester for a lumber mill for many years. He could walk a short way into a stand and give a remarkably accurate estimate of how much wood is there - his job depended on it.

[tonich]

Experience also counts.  I know inventory foresters that can accurately estimate tree diameter to the nearest 1/10th of an inch. I have a friend who was a procurement forester for a lumber mill for many years. He could walk a short way into a stand and give a remarkably accurate estimate of how much wood is there - his job depended on it.

Never count on it!
Although I consider myself experienced enough, I do use a caliper to measure every 5-6 tree diameter. This is a good correction for my eye estimation.

As for the basal area, it is very useful, when it comes to thinning. It is a decisive factor in all the thinnings a do, but still not the limitation one.
Regarding regeneration cuttings, canopy/canopy class should be taken into consideration first.