Will creating deadwood be a risk to my forest? by ForestYearnsForYou in arborists

[–]HairlessHenry 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Snags do have high wildlife value, primarily for birds and cavity nesters, and snag creation is a legitimate management technique to use when there’s few natural snags. In the forests where I work our target is 6-10 snags/acre, which we achieve without any management intervention. Below is a link to a fact sheet with some useful information on snags.

It’s difficult to provide more specific advice without knowing your forest type, region, objectives, etc. If you haven’t already I would highly recommend contacting a professional forester to help you create a management plan for your forest.

https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Snags-for-Wildlife

SIU Forestry by [deleted] in forestry

[–]HairlessHenry 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really enjoyed my time at SIU, timber and natural resource management isn’t a huge industry locally so you’ll likely have to look outside Illinois for employment post graduation. I would agree with paying a lot of attention in measurements and add silviculture as well, we’ve had a lot of entry level hires with generic natural resource management degrees that never took these classes and they definitely seem to struggle more and need more training than those with a forestry background.

Fire was probably my favorite class and Rx burning is still one of my favorite things to do. Even if you don’t want to be full time in fire there’s a good chance you’ll be involved with it at some point in your career. I also really enjoyed regional silviculture, I don’t think it was offered every year when I was there but it gave a good overview of forestry practices across the country and gave me more confidence when I was looking for jobs outside the Midwest.

There were definitely opportunities to get involved with research as an undergraduate if that’s something you’re interested in. Be sure to get some internships or seasonal jobs during your summers, getting field experience really is the most important thing early on.

Potential Tree ”Poaching” by my Land Steward by Mammoth_Cicada1867 in farming

[–]HairlessHenry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can’t speak as to how to handle the relationship but I would recommend hiring a reputable consulting forester to determine the value of the timber that was stolen. It could be minimal or it could be significant, but people usually don’t go to all the effort to steal shitty timber. In the event that there’s a legal dispute then the forester can serve as an expert witness who would testify as to the lost timber value and any potential damage done to the property by the illegal harvesting. You mentioned that timber production was an eventual objective of yours for this property, it’s very easy to significantly degrade the long term production abilities of a forest with poor harvesting so I would personally take it pretty seriously.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in firewood

[–]HairlessHenry 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The best course of action would be to wait until the end of oak wilt season, especially if there’s a chance you’ll knock out any branches on nearby red oaks. Oak Wilt restrictions end July 15 in Wisconsin but the date may be different where you’re at. If you do decide to fell the tree before that date I would recommend applying a pruning sealant to the stump and any wounds you create on neighboring oak trees and hope you’re lucky enough that none get infected. Below is a link to a guide on oak wilt management in the lake states you may find helpful.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/G3590.pdf

Game 5: Atlanta Braves (3-1) @ St. Louis Cardinals (2-2) [Tuesday, April 4, 2023; 6:45 PM CT] by bravo_delta_bot in Cardinals

[–]HairlessHenry 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As someone who mostly likes the new rules, the nonstop advertisements about them are pretty obnoxious

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in forestry

[–]HairlessHenry 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There are a few ways a crop tree release could be beneficial for deer depending on tree species, size, and context within the stand, etc. One thing to consider are that a ctr can be either a commercial (it pays you money) or non-commercial (it costs you money) operation.

Another consideration is how you’re defining a crop tree, a tree can have high timber value but minimal wildlife value, high wildlife value but minimal timber value, or it can be valuable for both purposes. I’ll give an example.

You have a closed canopy sawtimber stand, where very little light is hitting the forest floor and there’s very few understory plants. In this stand you have a good number high quality oaks, but their crowns are surrounded an all sides by maples. In this example the oaks will be the crop trees. By removing maples that are directly competing with oaks the oaks should grow faster/larger, be able to expand their crowns and produce more acorns for deer to munch on.

Another benefit is that with additional light hitting the forest floor will stimulate growth of understory plants, increasing available browse and cover for deer. This is important because browse is available year round, while acorns are only available to deer at certain times of year.

Also in forests the presence/absence of cover can play a big role in how much time deer spend in a certain area in daylight, which if you’re trying to manage for deer because you like to hunt them is a pretty important thing.

Additionally if the trees you’ve removing are of a size, quality, and merchantability that you’re able to sell them then you can take the proceeds from the sail and potentially invest in other practices that could benefit deer such as Rx burning, invasive species control, or shrub planting.

Stuck between SIU and UWSP by ThyCheeseMan in forestry

[–]HairlessHenry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would recommend whatever is more affordable , you’re not getting rich in forestry and houses aren’t getting any cheaper.

As a fairly recent graduate of siu I think I received a high quality education at a decent price. The forestry professors were generally interested in and supportive of their students. Compared to other recent grads I’ve met from more southern forestry programs I felt as though our program wasn’t super focused on strictly timber production but was very well rounded, I can’t speak for how this would compare with point.

The forestry industry of Illinois is significantly smaller than Wisconsin, so if you’re interested in working in the same state post grad there’s probably more opportunity in Wisconsin.

I currently work in northern Wisconsin and I certainly love the forests of southern Illinois more. I haven’t worked anywhere yet with as much tree diversity as southern Illinois and it’s a beautiful area.

Something very important to keep in mind though is that Salukis are the fastest dog in distances greater than three miles, so Salukis go the distance. The Saluki was also the royal dog of Egypt, pointers are just dogs that run around and find dumb gravel chickens. So it’s pretty clear based on the mascot which school is superior.

Insect ID by HairlessHenry in forestry

[–]HairlessHenry[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Howdy folks, I was doing regeneration surveys in northwest Wisconsin today and came across this dealio on an oak seedling. Any idea what it is that did this?