Do you plant trees?

[ponytug]

I remember bucking elm with a two man saw as an adolescent, and then splitting it. It felt like each log was never going to give up the fight. Definitely a wood that warms you twice.

A couple of years later, I was home for a visit and went out to split some wood for the fire. I took a might swing with the axe at the log, bracing for the fight of elm and the two pieces went flying ten feet either side of me. The current wood was oak, much easier to split. Ooops. Time to dial it back.

Yes, it warps and splits, but it was a durable wood in its time.

There are hybrids now available that are Dutch elm disease resistant. There are a few American elms left that had resistance, or were located too far from other elms to catch it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[JasperFrank]

The tree to have planted, 25 years ago, here in Jasper Oregon, seems to have been the Ponderosa Pine. My neighbor planted those, which made no sense to me, as they are a Central Oregon Tree.

I, thinking I knew better, planted Red Cedar. His trees did great and are 30 feet tall now and healthy. What I didn't know is that Ponderosa were common in this area, but had all been logged off in the 30's. You just didn't see them any more.

Very few of the cedars i planted survived.. Maybe one in 10. And of those, very few are 30 feet. i blame the elk on this, as they are the destroyers of trees. i have a cedar "shrub," and another 30 foot tree that are right next to each other, planted at the same time. Its just that one was molested as a seedling by an elk or a buck and never grew right after that.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

The tree to have planted, 25 years ago, here in Jasper Oregon, seems to have been the Ponderosa Pine. My neighbor planted those, which made no sense to me, as they are a Central Oregon Tree.

I, thinking I knew better, planted Red Cedar. His trees did great and are 30 feet tall now and healthy. What I didn't know is that Ponderosa were common in this area, but had all been logged off in the 30's. You just didn't see them any more.

Very few of the cedars i planted survived.. Maybe one in 10. And of those, very few are 30 feet. i blame the elk or this, as they are the destroyers of trees. i have a cedar "shrub," and another 30 foot tree that are right next to each other, planted at the same time. Its just that one was molested as a seedling by an elk or a buck and never grew right after that.

That is super frustrating. I will nurse a tree along for years, until it’s a beautiful 20 foot tall specimen and overnight a whitetail deer will completely destroy it rubbing his antlers. And leave a nearby, scrubby, zero value tree completely unmolested. We have way too many deer and it would seem that the primary control on their numbers is cars hitting them on the highway.

 

[newbury]

That is super frustrating. I will nurse a tree along for years, until it’s a beautiful 20 foot tall specimen and overnight a whitetail deer will completely destroy it rubbing his antlers. And leave a nearby, scrubby, zero value tree completely unmolested. We have way too many deer and it would seem that the primary control on their numbers is cars hitting them on the highway.

But why should you care? You've already made the point that the state should regulate the forests.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

But why should you care? You've already made the point that the state should regulate the forests.

So no one in a regulated industry should care about anything that effects them? The tobacco farmers in my state are intensely regulated and they still care very much about getting their crops planted and harvested successfully. Many people have a knee jerk, negative reaction to any form of public oversight and that’s not something that can be reasoned away.

 

[lman]

I knew a lawyer that farmed on the side. He ran over a deer antler in the field and tried to file a claim for his tractor tire with the Dept. of Natural Resources. It didn't go far. Only a lawyer would come up with an idea like that.

 

[Oaktree]

If American elm is anything like Siberian elm (that are invasive species in the west), the grain is too twisted to saw into boards. It’s even difficult to split for firewood.

Yeah, American elm is nasty to split too, stringy wood with twisted grain. Not every piece, but a lot. Burns OK, but needs a hot fire to get it going.
Maybe 40 years ago I helped a friend clear a lot of dead elms on his uncle's property for a share of the wood. Didn't have a splitter at the time. Man, that was a lot of work splitting that with a sledge and wedges! Wouldn't want to do it today.

 

[Oaktree]

I have been a practicing forester “out west” for 40+ years. Your comment is dead wrong and you have no clue what you are talking about.

Curiously, does the USFS give permits to take dead & down wood on national forest land in the west? They do (or at least did) here in N.H. I'd find a section that'd been logged 6 months or so earlier and get the tops, etc. Hasn't been much NF logging lately close enough to make it worthwhile so I don't know if they still do it.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Curiously, does the USFS give permits to take dead & down wood on national forest land in the west? They do (or at least did) here in N.H. I'd find a section that'd been logged 6 months or so earlier and get the tops, etc. Hasn't been much NF logging lately close enough to make it worthwhile so I don't know if they still do it.

Just heard this week on news they are starting to log again.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Curiously, does the USFS give permits to take dead & down wood on national forest land in the west? They do (or at least did) here in N.H. I'd find a section that'd been logged 6 months or so earlier and get the tops, etc. Hasn't been much NF logging lately close enough to make it worthwhile so I don't know if they still do it.

I know that they do in Idaho.