Wee Tee Clear Cuts

[Birdhunter2]

Clear-cutting may be the most profitable and easiest strategy for managing a forest, but is certainly not the only option and in my view far from the best option for management or restoration of bottomland hardwood forests in many cases. I don’t know if the SCFC has developed long-term plans and established desired forest conditions for this area and if they have any interest or mandate for good land stewardship for multiple resources, or if their lands are simply for fiber and revenue generation. If the SCFC is only concerned about near term revenue to meet budget goals, then continue to pillage the resource at the expense of wildlife, recreation and the long-term health of the system. If the Forestry Commission is concerned about multiple uses and other values beyond maximizing their revenue, such as considering wildlife habitat needs on our lands, then they should adopt ecologically sound forestry practices as other regions of the country have done. They could specifically learn from management in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, where bottomland hardwood desired forest conditions often guide management and restoration on public and private lands. Variable retention thinning can be used to regenerate shade intolerant oaks and other valuable hardwoods while providing critical forest structure and habitat preferred by many migratory birds, bats and game animals. This strategy still produces fiber and long-term revenue generation. Many forests could be managed as perpetual forests through good silviculture, but my experience is that revenue needs dictate SCFC management more than resource needs and it is easier to paint a line around a clearcut than to learn how to properly mark and manage bottomland hardwoods. Sometimes clear-cutting is a valid strategy, but often times it is nothing more than lazy, or uninformed or just greedy forestry.

[Quackhead22]

Clear-cutting may be the most profitable and easiest strategy for managing a forest, but is certainly not the only option and in my view far from the best option for management or restoration of bottomland hardwood forests in many cases. I don’t know if the SCFC has developed long-term plans and established desired forest conditions for this area and if they have any interest or mandate for good land stewardship for multiple resources, or if their lands are simply for fiber and revenue generation. If the SCFC is only concerned about near term revenue to meet budget goals, then continue to pillage the resource at the expense of wildlife, recreation and the long-term health of the system. If the Forestry Commission is concerned about multiple uses and other values beyond maximizing their revenue, such as considering wildlife habitat needs on our lands, then they should adopt ecologically sound forestry practices as other regions of the country have done. They could specifically learn from management in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, where bottomland hardwood desired forest conditions often guide management and restoration on public and private lands. Variable retention thinning can be used to regenerate shade intolerant oaks and other valuable hardwoods while providing critical forest structure and habitat preferred by many migratory birds, bats and game animals. This strategy still produces fiber and long-term revenue generation. Many forests could be managed as perpetual forests through good silviculture, but my experience is that revenue needs dictate SCFC management more than resource needs and it is easier to paint a line around a clearcut than to learn how to properly mark and manage bottomland hardwoods. Sometimes clear-cutting is a valid strategy, but often times it is nothing more than lazy, or uninformed or just greedy forestry.

Good Post!!

[SOUTHERN WOODS]

Sometimes clear-cutting is a valid strategy, but often times it is nothing more than lazy, or uninformed or just greedy forestry.

Where do you people come from?

[dfasano]

Where do you people come from?

X2

[GBelly]

they come from a mindset of being an outsider in a insiders world.
cant and wont change that. blanket and broad brush thoughts and emotions get in their way of a logical solution.

i dont know the situation down there at weetee. call gene kodama, YOUR state forester and see what he has to offer.

nothing in the light of forestry is ever "good" to the general public.

multiple use is conceptual. few good concepts ever work out JUST right. mother nature assures us that there is no level ground to walk on. we can only help that progression thru what has been trusted upon by those in charge. are they always right? no! will change occur? yes!

i have layed some beautiful hardwood swamps to the dirt in the last 3 years as the markets/society have pushed these ecosystems into a demand of harvest. did i enjoy it? hell yes! my past years in forestry have been pine monoculture mgmt. spending a few years whacking gum/cypress/oak/maple/ashe has been a ball.

its over for me for now. of all the acres i handle in hardwood, I picked a selection of areas that needed to be turned over. society, the consumers(YOU PEOPLE), and a booming market that lended itself well to my investors made the decision easy for all involved.

again, i dont know weetee, the emotions attached, the states situation, the states mgmt plan or what the future holds....

i do know that YOU PEOPLE, THE CONSUMERS DRIVE THE HARVESTS. IF A MARKET DIDNT EXIST, THERE WOULD BE NO ISSUE.

this message has been approved by a tree marking, timber cruising, habitat improver, investment manager.

[PP&WS]

I love cutovers. I get to kill em, then pay my bills and eat.

[GBelly]

and what Tyalor said in the article about leaving large trees in the "clearcuts" is a concept that is dumber than clemsons 2011 run for a national football title.

anyone that has opened up a clearcut and left scattered trees "for wildlife to feed" knows what happens to those hardwoods left standing. they shutdown and die from exposure. i see it all the time. they cant handle it.

[GBelly]

Clearcutting any timber that wasn't planted is gay. End of discussion.

your stock just went way, waaaay down.

emotions over logic. you lose

[GBelly]

I think any and all wetlands logging is bullshit!

another dumbass statement

you are on a roll

[GBelly]

They wanted more age class diversity in their holdings

well put. age regulation is a HUGE mgmt tool overlooked by the uneducated. state lands, fed lands, private lands, nab's lands...diveristy comes in more ways than just pine vs hardwood

[2thDoc]

fuck a pine tree

[JABIII]

Forbs...

[trentsmith]

another dumbass statement

you are on a roll

You sir have lost any respect I had for you. I hope destroying wetlands makes your dick hard.

[JABIII]

:shortsighted:

Please expand on the destruction of wetlands as it applies to timber harvest, Trent.

[BigBrother]

You sir have lost any respect I had for you. I hope destroying wetlands makes your dick hard.

Do you shop at Walmart?

[trentsmith]

Yes I do.

[trentsmith]

:shortsighted:

Please expand on the destruction of wetlands as it applies to timber harvest, Trent.

I'll post some pics later.

[LabLuvR]

Why not just leave the forest alone and let it manage itself. Unless, we are talking about removing those forsake pines, it seems the best course of action, to an outsider like myself.

[bohica]

Yessir, GBelly is really into putting himself out of business by " destroying" things.

[bohica]

Let the forest manage itself....So it becomes a morass of undesirable and invasive species...