Forest Maintenance

We should look into maintaining the forested area by thinning out dense tree growth. We should start with this area next to the shop.

Tree Thinning Strategy

We need to review ways to manage the forests to reduce the risk of wildfires and prevent overcrowding of trees.

• https://forestry.msuextension.org/publications/index.html
  • https://forestry.msuextension.org/publications/fact-sheets/FF_Managing%20Timber%20Resource_PK.pdf
  • https://forestry.msuextension.org/publications/fact-sheets/FF_Alternative%20Forest%20Management_PK.pdf

Notes from "Managing Your Timber Resources"

• Since the forest on our property is along a northeast facing slope the area is relatively shaded and cool which means that our property has a lower fire risk relative to flat or south-facing slopes and supports faster tree growth allowing for dense stands and the accumulation of large amounts of fuel.
• A series of clearcuts would be useful for areas of stands dominated by sick or suppressed trees.
• Larger openings would be of greater benefit from shade intolerant trees such as ponderosa pines, lodgepole pines, and aspens.
• Smaller openings would be sufficient for shade tolerant trees such as Douglas-fir and subalpine fir trees.
• Areas that are composed of large well spaced trees would have supported a fire that stayed on the ground with an occasional tree burning up are often the most productive wildlife habitats.
• In the absence of fire, prolific tree regeneration can occur resulting in dense stagnant stands of small diameter pine and fir trees. These stands not only represent a significant fire danger, but lose their bunchgrass understory to shading resulting in loss of winter range. These areas are difficult to restore due to poor marks for small diameter tree stems making these sites expensive to manage. Thinning and light grazing and maintaining uneven-aged stands are good management alternative for these sites. I believe this is the situation we are currently in.
• Since the growth rate of trees is proportional to the amount of green needles a tree has:
  • trees with less than a third of the entire tree height supporting green needles would be a good tree to be cut since these trees grow slowly, are top heavy and therefore subject to wind breakage, often have a poor root system that will not be able to supply the tree with water during dry periods, and often take close to 10 years to develop a larger crown,
  • trees with 60% to 40% of the tree height supporting green needles are optimal trees to be left in place,
  • trees with greater than 60% crown area is a healthy but requires a relatively large amount of water, nutrients, and space relative to the stem wood it produces.
• By reducing branches near the ground (fire ladders) you reduce the risk of fire climbing into the forest canopy.
• An open forest canopy allows for heat to escape and prevent fire from jumping from the ground to the crown (flash point)

Wood Chipper

I think it would be helpful to get a wood chipper at some point. It's nice being able to pile up branches otherwise it can be difficult to walk without tripping. However these piles could potentially be a fire hazard since I believe we want a fire to be able to run through the undergrowth without getting hot enough to ignite the trees. This may also require us to keep provide a gap without trees between our property and the Wacker's property. This would also help with keeping trees from falling on the fencing.