I'm just telling you what they did. And now, in the same terrain, they clear cut. And the reason why they clear cut is because it's cheaper and easier for them to do it that way. That's according to an old hand forester with whom I'm acquainted, not just my opinion.
Back when felling a tree was much more labor-intensive, they used to selectively log the more hilly areas, too, and drag the trees to the top of the hill. This was not particularly kind to the land in the drag line areas, but logged areas were also not so prone to the erosion and flooding problems that accompany clear cuts, either.
Beyond that, it's not honest to imply as you have that clear cuts are used only on unhealthy stands. Standard practice these days is very often to clear cut everything in healthy stands -- take a flight into Seattle to see that this is the truth. They do this because it's technically easier for them to do so, not for any forest health reasons.
Does a 200% slope qualify? Yep. I've done it. Go take a look. 40-48" dbh too. I climb as well.
Have you ever cut on a mountianside? If so, who did you fall timber for? Did you fall the trees upwards on the hill or down, or did you fall them sideways?
Almost always uphill starting from the bottom and rastering up the slope. I had to bend leave trees out of the way because our felling corridor was less than ten feet wide. We high-leaded the logs out using a fir on the ridge as a gin-pole. All it took was a Cat loader and a 5/8" bull line over a high lead snatch block on a choker.
Clearfell or clearcuts are one of the most IMPORTANT TIMBER MANAGEMENT TOOLS available to the foresters.
It's illegal to do that around here. There are other places where it is indeed the best thing to do because of blowdown problems or because the re-entry times are on the order of a hundred years due to slow growth rates. Around here we can re-enter in 15 years, take a 60% cut of trees over 12" dbh, and still obtain sustained yields.
It is a tool that is used to spot out unhealthy stands to be replanted with better yeilding and healthier timber types. Does Aspen require clearfell as do other shade intolerant trees?
I'm seeing more group selection techniques. I'm even seeing understory cable yarding with dog-legged corridors (you can't even see them when they are done). When these guys are done, after two years, most people would swear that there hadn't been a logging job on the site. That happens more frequently to agricultural monocultures. Often those "unhealthy stands" are so because they were planted for production and the optimal harvest date had long passed. Around here the goal is uneven-aged stands.
Since when do we have umpteen thousand experts on timber and forest health when not one of these geeks has ever held a saw in their hands or hooked a chokker or ran a log loader.
Excuse me, I've done the former, but not the latter. I've got a 28" 0-44 skip tooth and a topping saw. I've set chokers on a 110° day. On the other hand, do you top? I do. I do it for fun, not as a profession, although my trees are pretty serious (up to 180 feet).
The point of my little vignette is this, there are all sorts of conditions that vary radically from place to place. There are different goals, styles, and methods even within those differences. There are also some simple truths that do translate between locations. Thinning and prescribed fire, when well executed can save an overgrown stand, release nutrients, kill pathogens, and improve the general health of groundcovers. I wish I could broadcast burn, but the condition of my neighbors' properties precludes it.
Got a problem with that?
Does a 200% slope qualify? Yep. I've done it. Go take a look. 40-48" dbh too. I climb as well.
Have you ever cut on a mountianside? If so, who did you fall timber for? Did you fall the trees upwards on the hill or down, or did you fall them sideways?
Almost always uphill starting from the bottom and rastering up the slope. I had to bend leave trees out of the way because our felling corridor was less than ten feet wide. We high-leaded the logs out using a fir on the ridge as a gin-pole. All it took was a Cat loader and a 5/8" bull line over a high lead snatch block on a choker.
Clearfell or clearcuts are one of the most IMPORTANT TIMBER MANAGEMENT TOOLS available to the foresters.
It's illegal to do that around here. There are other places where it is indeed the best thing to do because of blowdown problems or because the re-entry times are on the order of a hundred years due to slow growth rates. Around here we can re-enter in 15 years, take a 60% cut of trees over 12" dbh, and still obtain sustained yields.
It is a tool that is used to spot out unhealthy stands to be replanted with better yeilding and healthier timber types. Does Aspen require clearfell as do other shade intolerant trees?
I'm seeing more group selection techniques. I'm even seeing understory cable yarding with dog-legged corridors (you can't even see them when they are done). When these guys are done, after two years, most people would swear that there hadn't been a logging job on the site. That happens more frequently to agricultural monocultures. Often those "unhealthy stands" are so because they were planted for production and the optimal harvest date had long passed. Around here the goal is uneven-aged stands.
Since when do we have umpteen thousand experts on timber and forest health when not one of these geeks has ever held a saw in their hands or hooked a chokker or ran a log loader.
Excuse me, I've done the former, but not the latter. I've got a 28" 0-44 skip tooth and a topping saw. I've set chokers on a 110° day. On the other hand, do you top? I do. I do it for fun, not as a profession, although my trees are pretty serious (up to 180 feet).
The point of my little vignette is this, there are all sorts of conditions that vary radically from place to place. There are different goals, styles, and methods even within those differences. There are also some simple truths that do translate between locations. Thinning and prescribed fire, when well executed can save an overgrown stand, release nutrients, kill pathogens, and improve the general health of groundcovers. I wish I could broadcast burn, but the condition of my neighbors' properties precludes it.
Got a problem with that?