I am down in Durham to join the board of directors of the Forest History Society. I went for the orientation today and we visited the future society headquarters.
The Forest History Society has an extensive collection of books and documents related to forestry. They also publish books and videos about forestry and ecology.
This is the Forest History Society webpage, gateway to blogs, publications, and videos. The pictures are from the new headquarters. As you can see, it getting on toward being done. There is a lot of exposed wood and the structure is wood, as befits the mission. Lots of the material is donated by forest product industry. Notice especially the beautiful ceilings made out of southern pine.
One thing holding up the completion is the shortage of labor, especially skilled labor. I am hearing this all over the place. Unemployment is so low that it is hard to get anybody to do hard work, or sometimes skilled work. We are facing that problem planting and harvesting trees, and evidently with building too.
We also have our customary beer (or in this case for CJ wine) drinking pictures.They had a dinner for the board members that Chrissy and I got to enjoy.
Chrissy came with me to the farms today so she could take pictures of me with my trees to give perspective of size.
First two pictures are my longleaf pine in Freeman, planted in 2012. We (DoF Adam Smith) burned them in February 2017. Next two are from the SMZ. There are some very big loblolly there, beautiful. Last is one of the baby longleaf (2 years old) on the Brodnax place.
I mentioned the longleaf and had pictures of how they had grown. The first two pictures are t2-year-old loblolly from the Brodnax place. Last is the 22-year old loblolly recently thinned in Freeman. Good to show the size with a human scale. The 2-year-olds are doing very well. As you see, some are more than six feet high and they are coming over the brush. You can well understand why people plant loblolly. They are so easy.
Chrissy & I are in Durham, NC for a meeting of the Forest History Society. I am interested in forests and I am interested in history, so I am going to be on the board of directors of that organization.
The Forest History Society has a research collections on books and documents related to forests and ecology. They also publish a magazine on forest history and one on ecological history. They are just finishing a new headquarters. I expect to see it tomorrow and will include some pictures and texts. Durham is the home of Duke University. The city was in long term economic decline, but has been doing better since it became part of the research triangle. Recently, it was featured in the book “The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation.”
Anyway, we got to Durham this afternoon. Seems a nice place there are lots of places to get a beer and we visited two of them.
The first, featured in the first two pictures, was the Bull & Burger. Next we visited “Taproom.” You pay by the ounce and fill your own cup. We tried a few different kinds and then settled down to a game of shoots and ladders. We used to play this game as kid. It is only random chance, but there is moral lessons. If a kid does good things, he climbs a ladder. If she does bad things, she slides down the shoot. As I recall, I won.
I attended the Sustainable Forestry Initiative meeting in Charlottesville today. My part consisted of a few short comments about tree farm, and I do not going to talk about that or report on the meeting itself, but listening to the discussions gave me a few insights and ideas that I do want to mention in an informal way. I am also leaving out names and attribution, not because it is a secret – on the contrary, these meetings are open – but because I am mixing my own impressions and not reporting only theirs.
Converting pine buffers to hardwood Virginia best management practices (BMPs) say that we should leave riparian borders along streams, lakes and wetlands. These are places where we do little or no harvesting. The intact forest protects the waters of the Commonwealth, provides places for wildlife (wildlife corridors) and adds to the diversity of the land. During our recent harvest in Freeman, we cut in around 65 acres, but left around 25 acres untouched as stream management zones/riparian barriers, i.e. almost a third of our land is off-limits. I am glad to do this, and I am proud that it is a general practice among Virginia landowners. I think the SMZs are among the most beautiful and interesting parts of our tree farms.
There are some very big loblolly pines in our SMZs. My guess is that that they are more than 60-70 years old, maybe more. I noticed that many are in straight lines, indicating that they were planted – in less enlightened days, they planted right up to the streams – but I did not give it much thought. At the SFI meeting, they were talking about the subject of pines in the SMZ. Left to its own devices, the SMZs are likely to develop into hardwood forest, since these areas would have been wet and not as likely to burn as in southern pine ecology. It is natural from the ecological point of view. The pines represent a medium succession environment. Pines would grow naturally after a disturbance and gradually be shaded out absent another disturbance. This might take a long time, not decades but into the century mark. But it can be a problem for forestry. How?
Persistence and proliferation of old-growth pines Loblolly pines are prolific seed producers. In a natural system, they seed into disturbed areas and quickly establish a pine forests as an early step in natural succession. This is what the big loblolly pines in the SMZs do. The problem comes with our own use of adjacent land. A harvest is a disturbance, the kind that the loblolly will naturally seed. We don’t want them. We usually replant with genetically improved pines. These grow faster and straighter, and they are much more resistant to disease and rust fungus. The volunteers will NOT likely outcompete the planted trees, but they will compete with them, weakening the whole system. The thickly growing trees are more subject to blights, especially the southern pine beetle. It would be easier if the big loblolly were not in the SMZs, within range of our planted pines.
BMPs allow us to harvest the big pines in the SMZs and that might be a good strategy. I did not do it this time because of weather. I asked the logger to get the big pines IF and only if it would not create significant damage to the soil and water. There was a lot of rain this year, and the logger decided that he could to go into the SMZ without creating a lot of tracks and erosion, so he left them alone. I am glad he did not get them. Some are very majestic. They are on their way to being old-growth. Eventually, the hardwoods will come to replace them. This will not happen in my lifetimes, but that is okay with me.
The cleansing fires I have a plan for the seeding – fire. When we burned the longleaf in 2017, I saw that the fire killed almost none of the longleaf (grateful for that) but almost all the volunteer loblolly. If we start burning at around 4 years and then do it every 3-4, we will control the volunteers in the same way nature would have done.
Speaking of SMZs, externalities and riparian tax credits I mentioned how we do not harvest in stream management zones and how that might put a significant part of our land off-limits. I only recently learned about Virginia tax credits that you can get for NOT harvesting in SMZ. This is fair, IMO, since we pay the property taxes on land that we do not use and by its non-use provides useful benefits for the larger community, at least for everybody who needs water. This year, we got a credit on our Virginia taxes for not harvesting in our SMZ. The agreement is that we did not harvest this year and will not harvest for at least 15 years.
The guy from DoF told me that very few people know about and even fewer take advantage of the riparian tax credit, so my ignorance was common. They are trying to get the word out. Protecting a SMZ is what economists would call a positive externality. Negative externalities are easy to find. Your neighbor’s charcoal grill belches smoke into your bedroom window, for example. Positive externalities are harder to see, since we often take good things for granted. The riparian tax credit is a good example of a small-scale public-private partnership. The landowner does his part by protecting the SMZ, for which the government compensates him for the public good.
WOTUS I learned that I was completely wrong about something I thought I knew, confirming the old adage that “It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you; it is what you know that ain’t true.” There was an Obama era regulation that regulated even dew points and intermittent streams on private lands. I was worried about this regulation, since it seemed to me that I could not reasonably understand and comply. I talked to somebody about it (the old talked to “some dude) who told me not to worry since I was too small a fish to be bothered. This as cold comfort. I don’t want to break the law and be safe only because I am obscure. But I was less worried because I heard (again the “some dude” news source) that the Trump folks had rescinded. They did not. But not to worry. Virginia is subject to WOTUS, but I am not as long as I am engaging in forestry activities and conforming with Virginia BMP. Virginia BMPs are considered sufficient to be in compliance with the rules. The rules may still be rescinded, but whether or not they are, it will not change my behavior or responsibilities. So I fretted about something not a problem.
Challenges of a good economy – labor shortages Unemployment is so low that it is hard to find people to do the necessary work. This may impact how and if we can take advantage of all our forests resources in Virginia. A shortage of truckers is a long-term problem, as is a shortage of cutters and workers to run heavy machinery. The trees can wait, but they cannot wait forever. They continue to grow and develop.
Ironically, trees can get TOO big to be useful. Saw timber is processed in mills that are set up to take trees that are not too big and not too small. The Goldilocks tree is 28-34 years old for loblolly. If they get too big, some of the really straight ones can be used for utility poles, but the less perfect ones are wasted or they are cut up and make into chips or pulp, a less valuable use.
Those big pines I talked about up top in the SMZs are probably already too big to be commercially viable. This is okay with me. As far as I am concerned, they will live out their lives and die naturally in around 100 years. By then they will just be big pine remnants among the hardwoods. Or maybe the whole climate will be so different that it is not something I can conceive. This is not a worry for me.
Solar – not so green as you think A distressing development is that forests in Virginia and North Carolina are being clear cut and converted to solar farms. This is to provide “green power” to the likes of Google or Facebook. I hate this. If you clear cut a forest, you have not destroyed it unless or until it is not allowed to come back. Nothing is eliminated until it is replaced. The solar farm destroys the forest and eliminates it by replacing it with those panels.
I just don’t get it. There are acres and acres of parking lots not only near but in cities. It gets pretty hot around here in summer. It would be nice to have some shade. I look for shady places in parking lots, usually w/o success. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a solar array to park under, kill two bird (and no trees) with one stone? Why not?
We heard about 6000 acres bring cleared in Spotsylvania County. This may be the biggest intact woodland in the county. At least half of this will be converted to a solar farm. Just say no.
Anyway, these are the ideas I took from the meeting. I contributed little but got a lot. Glad they let me stay. The meeting was at DoF in Charlottesville. It is a two-hour drive, but the road Hwy 29 is a pleasant drive. Reminds me of going to get Mariza at UVA, so generally nice memory.
The Longleaf Cooperators is an informal group of people and organizations interested in restoring the longleaf pine ecology to Virginia. I went down to the Garland Gray Virginia nursery. More on that below.
I stopped at the Freeman place on the way down and enjoyed a beautiful time in the morning quiet dews and damps. We thinned the 22-year-old loblolly pines to 50 basal area and made quarter acre clearing in each acre. The DoF will burn under the trees and in the clearings and we will plant longleaf pine in December. By “we” I mean the kids and me, i.e. Mariza, Espen, Alex, Brendan and Chrissy.
It will not be very scientific. I have the planting sticks and the longleaf come in plugs. They are planted something like 10×10. You take four steps, push in the tool. Plant in the pine and push the dirt in with your foot. It is hard work, but rewarding.
It is great that they are willing to help, and I think it will be a wonderful experience that will continue to pay aesthetic and emotional dividends for lifetimes. Thank you.
I spent some time walking in the clearings, enjoying the immersion in nature and looking at the fire lines that Adam Smith at DoF has put in. I just love what we are creating, and it is a wonderful feeling just being in these woods. I will not see the completion of this project. As a matter of fact, nobody will see the completion because it is never done. That is a big part of the wonder. We can be part of the never ending change.
I have no artistic talent. (I tried to study “saxette” in 6th grade. Teacher told me that I was talent free and not to come back.) I cannot play music or paint pictures. This is my creative outlet. What I like about it is that I do not do it by myself, but rather can immerse myself in the greater whole of nature and human community. This is why I want the kids to be part. It is their share and years from now they can look at what they helped create and marvel. The plan with this tract is to thin, as we did, burn as we will, and plant longleaf. It will create a kind of uneven aged forest, the type you might have found here in 1607. It will be not merely sustainable but regenerative. And this is more broadly what they longleaf cooperators are working to do. The longleaf ecology is the most diverse in non-tropical North America. There are a great variety of plants and animals in longleaf pine ecology and 920 documented species that live ONLY in longleaf ecology.
Notice that I usually do not call it a longleaf forest but use the clumsier term “longleaf ecology.” This is because a longleaf forest is more than the trees. The marvel of the longleaf ecology is that it is as much a grass and forbs system as a forest. Fire keeps the forest open, so that sunlight gets to the surface where a great variety of plants can grow, and animals can thrive.
In 1607, it is estimated 93 million acres of longleaf ecology thrived in southeastern America. Today there are only around 3 million acres and a few years ago there were only 200 in Virginia – NOT 200 acres. We are talking 200 trees. That was it. We are coming back now.
On our Freeman place, we are working to reestablish this WHOLE ecology. We are planting “pollinator habitat” with warm season grasses and wildflowers. I think it is already beautiful, as you seen in the pictures, but it will get better.
Forest Stewardship Plan for John Matel and Christine Johnson, Brodnax Tract Introduction This Forest Stewardship Management Plan covers the examination of approximately 135 acres of forestland in Brunswick Country, near Brodnax, Virginia. The tract map is included. The tract is mostly flat. It includes approximately 117 acres of pine plantation, 18 acres of steam management zones. The land was likely cleared for agriculture at one time, but has been forest for at least 70 years, as evidenced by old loblolly pines planted in rows that remain in some of the SMZs. Overall wildlife habitat and forest health are being maintained and improved by thinning, burning and planting feed and pollinator habitat in patches in the woods and along the powerlines, and maintaining soft edges. No endangered species of plants or animals were noted on the tract. Forest Stewardship Management Plan Landowners: John Matel & Christine Johnson Forested acres: 135 Total acres: 135 Location: Brodnax, Virginia Prepared by: John Matel This Forest Stewardship Management Plan was designed to help guide the management activities of the natural resources on the property for the next ten years. The plan is based on our goals in harmony with the environment around you. Project recommendations are for your consideration. The Goals for Managing the Property:
Innovations in forest management to restore longleaf ecosystem
Soil and Water Conservation.
Improvement of wildlife habitat.
Experiment with patch burning
DESCRIPTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARCELS: Tract 1 Acres: 20 Forest Type: Longleaf pine Species Present: Loblolly & longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: Longleaf pine planted 2016. Volunteers of other species same time. Size: Planted 2016. Currently small Quality: good. IMO a little thin with longleaf. Trees/acre: Thinly stocked for our management objectives, but enough, since we want to allow growth of grass and forbs. Growth Rate: excellent. Recommendations: The vegetative nature of this parcel provides benefits to wildlife due to the diversity of ground covers and understories. We plan to
Do understory burns every 2-4 years. This will over time make the stand more exclusively longleaf
Create field borders on this parcel
Maintain and enhance diverse and native ground covers
Tract 2 Acres: 30 Forest Type: Loblolly pine planted 2016 Species Present: Longleaf & loblolly pine, sumac, some oak, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: Planted in 2016 Size: Tallest around 8 feet high in 2018 Quality: Excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked. Trees are widely spaced on purpose to allow wildlife and understory growth Growth Rate: Excellent Recommendations: Parcel will be burned o/a 2021, a cool season fire to clear hardwood and thin volunteer loblolly. Density will be maintained low enough to allow growth of forbs and grass for wildlife habitat. Tract 3 a, b & c Acres: 45 Forest Type: Loblolly & longleaf pine. Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: Loblolly planted 1992. Longleaf pine planted 2018/19 Size: chip and saw to sawtimber, loblolly; longleaf are seedlings Quality: excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked, although purposely thinner than standard management due to our desire to maintain wildlife habitat. Growth Rate: Excellent Recommendations: Tract a, b & c will be burned in alternatively to create and maintain wildlife habitat and maintain a fire regime more like pre-settlement patterns in Virginia. This tract also includes pollinator habitat planted in 2018 along the edges. We hope and expect this to seed into the sunny forest. Tract 4 a, b & c Acres: 24 Forest Type: Loblolly pine. Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: Loblolly planted 2007 Size: mostly pulp; some chip and saw Quality: excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked, maybe even a bit too tight. Shade does not allow much to grow on the ground under the trees. Growth Rate: Excellent Recommendations: Tract a, & c will be burned in alternatively to thin in lieu of pre-commercial thinning. Track 4b will be left unburned as a control plot
PARCEL SMZ Acres: 18 Forest Type: Mixed hardwoods and pine. Species Present: Loblolly pine, ailanthus, American beech, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: 40 to 80 years Size: Various sizes including significant saw timber. (10 to 18 inches in diameter) Quality: Good to excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked Growth Rate: Good to excellent Recommendations: This parcel is in place to protect water quality and to provide wildlife corridors. We will periodically examine the SMZs for invasive species and treat as appropriate. Beyond that, this area will be generally left to natural processes, with interventions only in the case of some sort of disaster, such as fire or particularly violent storms. Wildlife Recommendations Field Borders Field borders are established along woodland edges and major drainages. Field borders create vegetative transition zones between cover types. Such zones are much more attractive to wildlife than the abrupt change that often occurs, for example, between field and forest.
Daylighting consists of cutting most, not all, trees in a specified area to encourage and accelerate the growing and non-shade tolerant plants. Existing shrubs, vines and herbaceous (non-woody) plants should be left undisturbed to the extent possible. Woodland edges should be daylighted to a depth of 40 feet, recognizing that remaining trees will quickly reach out to shade the opening. Field borders established by daylighting have the advantage of taking no acreage from existing open land. Where the loss of open land is not a major concern, a natural border can also be created by allowing woody plants to invade and encroach into existing open edges. “Encroachment” borders, like those daylighted, should be wide, at least 30 feet. Where grass is well established, this should be destroyed by plowing or by the use of a herbicide. This will speed up the invasion of the more desirable “border plants.” The establishment of field borders using this practice requires the least expense and labor. If natural borders seem undesirable (perhaps from an aesthetic standpoint); the planting of shrubs is an option frequently used. Additionally, with the use of these, the results are more reliable, and, in the long run, maintenance will be less (natural borders will be invaded with trees that should be cut back periodically). The transition from field to tree line should be gradual in height. Here, shrub plantings also have an advantage. By proper selection and arrangement of shrub varieties, the border can be a stair step from field to treetop. Taller growing shrubs, such as Mountain Ash should be placed next to the woods. Lower growing varieties, such as the shrub dogwoods or bi-color (VA-70) lespedeza should be placed against the taller varieties. The total depth of a shrub border should be at least 20 feet. The final touch to any border is the establishment of a herbaceous strip along the open side. These may not be necessary, if the border joins an annually tilled or recently fallowed field. If not, a strip 10 to 20 feet wide parallel to and adjoining the border should be plowed or disked. This can remain fallow for up to two or three years, allowing annual native plants to grow back many of which provide excellent wildlife food and cover. Or, if desired, these strips can be seeded using one of the warm-season grasses, white clover, Korean or Kobe lespedeza, or one of the locally well suited agricultural grains. Borders need not completely rim every field or fringe every wood line. Yet, they should be employed to the greatest extent possible. Good field borders provide food, cover, and security. Perhaps equally important, they provide a most favorable “edge,” a critical component in the habitat chosen by most wildlife. Open Fields Probably the best practice to enhance open fields for wildlife is the establishment of field borders. These have been described. Thinning Tract 3 This area was thinned in 2017 to 50 BA. Thinning will increase their ecological value to wildlife. Thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor which stimulates the growth of forbs, legumes, and other herbaceous material. Tree tops left on the forest floor provide temporary cover and nesting places. Thinning can also increase mast production of healthy oaks and hickories. Snags All Snags, dead or deteriorating trees, are an important habitat component in forests for wildlife. The availability of snags on forest lands affects the abundance, diversity and species richness of cavity nesting birds and mammals. Two to four snags per acre should be maintained in the forest. Such trees provide forage, cover, perches, and nesting sites for wildlife species such as raccoons, bats, flying squirrels, snakes, owls, woodpeckers, bluebirds (near open areas), and wrens, to name but a few. When snags are lacking in a forest, they can be created by girdling trees of poor quality or health. A prescribed fire in 2018 left a couple dozen trees dead. They will be left as snags. Forest Openings
This area benefits from the development of forest openings to encourage the development of low growing plants. There are opening on all tracts Prescribed Burning Periodic burning is a tool used. Please see above. Logging Roads Soil erosion can be prevented through the careful location and maintenance of logging roads. Dominion Power maintains an access road along the power lines. This is the only regular road on the land. Broad base dips and drainage ditches should be placed 20 feet apart on steep slopes and 50 feet apart on medium slopes. Loading areas should be seeded in game food after harvest. When logging is complete, ruts and gullies should be filled and the road should be out-sloped slightly. Closing of roads to unauthorized traffic will prevent damage to newly sown grass or wildlife food. More information is available in the enclosed brochure. Skid trails, haul roads, and log decks should be seeded with a mix of orchard grass and ladino clover. Prepared by: _John Matel____________________________ Suggested Schedule of Management Activities
Year
Tract
Activity
2018
3a
Growing season burn
2018
3a
Understory plant longleaf
2019 2020
3c & 4c 3b & 4a
Winter burn Winter burn
2021/22
1 & 2
Winter burn
2022
SMZ
Remove invasive species
2023
3b & c
Clear cut harvest
2023
3a
Harvest leaving 8 seed trees per acre
2023
4a, b & c
First thinning to 80 BA
2023
3 & 4
Spray
2024
3b & c
Plant with Longleaf pine 400/acre
2024
3a
Seed tree regeneration
2025
1
Winter burn
2028
1 & 3b & c
Winter burn
2030
4a, b & c
Thinning to 50 BA
2030
3a
Remove seed trees
2030
1, 2, 3b & c
Winter burn
This schedule may need to be adjusted depending on financial needs, timber markets, timing of actual harvest, and availability of contractors.
My article for the next issue of “Virginia Forests.” I was a city kid, but my urban Milwaukee public schools featured nature and forestry programs. These sojourns into nature changed my life. I would not be a forest owner and conservationist today without those experiences. Today more people live in cities and even small towns kids often lack intimate contact with working nature common in the past – fewer hunt or work on farms. Even fewer are involved in forestry.
Disconnected from Working Nature A disconnect from working nature fosters destructive outlooks, among them the mistaken idea that humans and nature are separable and maybe should be kept apart, that that nature is fragile and needs walls to keep humans out.
Some places should be walled off – places so unique, beautiful or so crucial that it is best for humans not to tread, at least not often. But most conservation must be done on private lands, on lands humans use. Not understanding that fundamental truth will make our world less sustainable, less renewable and less resilient.
Sustained Profit Goes with Ecological Sustainability We can manage land both for profit and for ecological sustainability. It is the best way – the only long-term way. I know from personal experience and observation that it can be done. This is not a truth easily conveyed to people without similar experience. Show them a harvest and they see the “destruction.” The easy narrative is that harvesting is stealing from the earth and that the best thing we can do is keep people, their machines and their civilization the heck out of the woods. How can we tell what we know to be true to people unprepared to hear it?
Engaging Means Also Listening Engaging is more than telling our story to others; it is listening to theirs, understanding their concerns, maybe even changing our own outlooks. We cannot tell people more than they are ready to hear. By listening first, we can find ways they understand. This will often mean showing as well as telling and sharing our passion for forestry and welcoming them be part.
Most tree farmers delight in showing their land and telling about it. Many of us open our land for visits and field days. Do this and more. Elsewhere in this issue are articles about education about forestry. Our part is sharing our experience, our long-term experience of sustaining and regenerating land, while producing forest products and even making a reasonable profit, because most conservation is done on private lands by people willing to get their hands dirty.
The answer is that we cannot tell them. We must show them and share the experience. The key to understanding ecological relationships is boots-on-the-ground, along with an indispensable ingredient – time. The key to understanding is how relationships develop over time. If they see the destruction of a harvest, show them what it looks like five or ten years later. Explain that even right after it is wonderful wildlife habitat. This is what nature education should give young people – and older ones too. This is what we need to strive for in forestry education, not a single visit but engaging over years.
Forest Stewardship Plan for John Matel and Christine Johnson, Freeman Tract Introduction This Forest Stewardship Management Plan covers the examination of approximately 103 acres of forestland in Brunswick Country, near Freeman. The tract map is included. The tract is mostly flat. It includes approximately 65 acres of pine plantation, 25 acres of steam management zones dividing the property roughly in thirds. A power line right of way goes down the middle of the property and covers around 8 acres. The land was likely cleared for agriculture at one time, but has been forest for at least 70 years, as evidenced by old loblolly pines planted in rows that remain in some of the SMZs. Overall wildlife habitat and forest health are being maintained and improved by thinning, burning and planting feed and pollinator habitat in patches in the woods and along the powerlines, and maintaining soft edges.
No endangered species of plants or animals were noted on the tract.
Forest Stewardship Management Plan Landowners: John Matel & Christine Johnson Forested acres: 95 Total acres: 103 Location: Freeman Virginia Prepared by: John Matel This Forest Stewardship Management Plan was designed to help guide the management activities of the natural resources on the property for the next ten years. The plan is based on our goals in harmony with the environment around you. Project recommendations are for your consideration. The Goals for Managing the Property:
Innovations in forest management to restore longleaf ecosystem
Soil and Water Conservation.
Improvement of wildlife habitat.
DESCRIPTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARCELS: PARCEL Z Acres: 58.1 Forest Type: loblolly and longleaf pine Species Present: Loblolly & longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: loblolly planted in 1996. Longleaf interplanted 2018/19 Size: loblolly are chip and saw and some saw timber Quality: excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked for our management objectives, i.e. thinned to 50 BA to allow greater wildlife habitat including grasses and forbs. Growth Rate: excellent. Recommendations: The vegetative nature of this parcel provides benefits to wildlife due to the diversity of ground covers and understories. We plan to
Do understory burns every 2-4 years
Create field borders on this parcel
Maintain and enhance diverse and native ground covers
PARCEL Z1 Acres: 4 Forest Type: longleaf pine planted in 2012 Species Present: Longleaf & loblolly pine, sumac, some oak and bald cypress Age: Planted in 2012 Size: Tallest around 15 feet high in 2018 Quality: Excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked. Trees are widely spaced on purpose to allow wildlife and understory growth Growth Rate: Excellent Recommendations: Parcel will be burned every 2-4 years in order to maintain longleaf pine and early successional habitat under them. PARCEL Z 2 Acres: 7 Forest Type: Loblolly & longleaf pine. Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, some bald cypress Age: Loblolly planted 1996. Longleaf pine planted 2018/19 Size: chip and saw to sawtimber, loblolly; longleaf are seedlings Quality: excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked Growth Rate: Excellent Recommendations: Half of the parcel was clearcut in 2018 and rest heavily thinned. The clearcut will be planted with longleaf pine 10×10 of a little tighter and interplanted with loblolly on the rest. PARCEL SMZ Acres: 25 Forest Type: Mixed hardwoods and pine. Species Present: Loblolly pine, ailanthus, American beech, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple. Age: 40 to 80 years Size: Various sizes including significant saw timber. (10 to 18 inches in diameter) Quality: Good to excellent Trees/acre: Adequately stocked Growth Rate: Good to excellent Recommendations: This parcel is in place to protect water quality and to provide wildlife corridors. We will periodically examine the SMZs for invasive species and treat as appropriate. Beyond that, this area will be generally left to natural processes, with interventions only in the case of some sort of disaster, such as fire or particularly violent storms. Non-Forest Border About 8 acres of the property is under power lines. This is managed as a long border area. It is planted with native grasses and forbs and will be managed to maintain early succession habitat by the use of fire and mowing.
Wildlife Recommendations Field Borders Field borders are established along woodland edges and major drainages. Field borders create vegetative transition zones between cover types. Such zones are much more attractive to wildlife than the abrupt change that often occurs, for example, between field and forest.
Daylighting consists of cutting most, of not all, trees in a specified area to encourage and accelerate the growing and non-shade tolerant plants. Existing shrubs, vines and herbaceous (non-woody) plants should be left undisturbed to the extent possible. Woodland edges should be daylighted to a depth of 40 feet, recognizing that remaining trees will quickly reach out to shade the opening. Field borders established by daylighting have the advantage of taking no acreage from existing open land. Where the loss of open land is not a major concern, a natural border can also be created by allowing woody plants to invade and encroach into existing open edges. “Encroachment” borders, like those daylighted, should be wide, at least 30 feet. Where grass is well established, this should be destroyed by plowing or by the use of a herbicide. This will speed up the invasion of the more desirable “border plants.” The establishment of field borders using this practice requires the least expense and labor.
If natural borders seem undesirable (perhaps from an aesthetic standpoint); the planting of shrubs is an option frequently used. Additionally, with the use of these, the results are more reliable and, in the long run, maintenance will be less (natural borders will be invaded with trees that should be cut back periodically). The transition from field to tree line should be gradual in height. Here, shrub plantings also have an advantage. By proper selection and arrangement of shrub varieties, the border can be a stair step from field to treetop. Taller growing shrubs, such as Mountain Ash should be placed next to the woods. Lower growing varieties, such as the shrub dogwoods or bi-color (VA-70) lespedeza should be placed against the taller varieties. The total depth of a shrub border should be at least 20 feet. The final touch to any border is the establishment of a herbaceous strip along the open side. These may not be necessary, if the border joins an annually tilled or recently fallowed field. If not, a strip 10 to 20 feet wide parallel to and adjoining the border should be plowed or disked. This can remain fallow for up to two or three years, allowing annual native plants to grow back many of which provide excellent wildlife food and cover. Or, if desired, these strips can be seeded using one of the warm-season grasses, white clover, Korean or Kobe lespedeza, or one of the locally well suited agricultural grains. Borders need not completely rim every field or fringe every wood line. Yet, they should be employed to the greatest extent possible. Good field borders provide food, cover, and security. Perhaps equally important, they provide a most favorable “edge,” a critical component in the habitat chosen by most wildlife. Open Fields Probably the best practice to enhance open fields for wildlife is the establishment of field borders. These have been described. Thinning Parcel Z This area was thinned in 2018 to 50 BA, with clearings of approximately ¼ acre in each acre. Thinning will increase their ecological value to wildlife. Thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor which stimulates the growth of forbs, legumes, and other herbaceous material. Tree tops left on the forest floor provide temporary cover and nesting places. Thinning can also increase mast production of healthy oaks and hickories. Snags All Parcels except the grassland: Snags, dead or deteriorating trees, are an important habitat component in forests for wildlife. The availability of snags on forest lands affects the abundance, diversity and species richness of cavity nesting birds and mammals. Two to four snags per acre should be maintained in the forest. Such trees provide forage, cover, perches, and nesting sites for wildlife species such as raccoons, bats, flying squirrels, snakes, owls, woodpeckers, bluebirds (near open areas), and wrens, to name but a few. When snags are lacking in a forest, they can be created by girdling trees of poor quality or health. Forest Openings Parcels Z This area benefits from the development of forest openings to encourage the development of low growing plants. Approximately twenty ¼ acre openings were created by cutting all the trees in these areas. The area will be planted with longleaf pine and burned every 2-4 years to maintain the longleaf and maintain early successional habitat under them. Power Line Right-Of-Way The power line right of way is planted with native grasses and forbs and maintained in early successional habitat by fire and mowing. Prescribed Burning Periodic burning is a tool used. Please see above. Logging Roads Soil erosion can be prevented through the careful location and maintenance of logging roads. Dominion Power maintains an access road along the power lines. This is the only regular road on the land. Broad base dips and drainage ditches should be placed 20 feet apart on steep slopes and 50 feet apart on medium slopes. Loading areas should be seeded in game food after harvest. When logging is complete, ruts and gullies should be filled and the road should be out-sloped slightly. Closing of roads to unauthorized traffic will prevent damage to newly sown grass or wildlife food. More information is available in the enclosed brochure. Skid trails, haul roads, and log decks should be seeded with a mix of orchard grass and ladino clover. Prepared by: _John Matel____________________________ Suggested Schedule of Management Activities
Year
Parcel
Activity
2018
Z
Thinning to 50 BA
2018
Z, Z1, & Z2 & power line
Prescribed burning
2018
Z 2
Plant longleaf and bald cypress
2019
Z
Plant longleaf (December)
2021
Z & Power line
Prescribed burning
2022
Z1 & Z2 & power line
Prescribed burning
2023
SMZ
Remove invasive species
2024
Z & power line
Prescribed burning
2025
Z1 & Z2 & power line
Prescribed burning
2026
SMZ
Remove invasive species
2028
Z
Harvest loblolly sawtimber
This schedule may need to be adjusted depending on financial needs, timber markets, timing of actual harvest, and availability of contractors.
I hate to look at it, but I have to learn from the mistake. The lesson that I take is not to do a fire during the growing season, especially when they trees are throwing up new growth. Southern pine can survive scorching, but if the fire gets too hot & knocks out the new candles, the tree dies. I lost a couple dozen.
You can see the damage on the first picture. Look closely at the middle of the picture that dead ones and the live ones next to them The two live ones right past the middle have fire marks on them. The surface fire went under them too, but did not kill them. The second picture looks down the road. Trees on both sides were burned, but they did not die, at least not yet. Picture #3 is the stump. Picture #4 is me after the cutting. Hard to see, but my shirt is soaked through with sweat. It was good exercise, but I will not do it again. Last picture is some of our wildflower/pollinator plantations. It looked really good in person. The photo did not do it justice.
I also think some of the trees died because their roots roasted. The fire dwelt a too long on the edge, smoldered for days.
Nature is resilient and something good will happen.I have still not decided what to do. I might under plant with longleaf, or maybe just let the natural regeneration of loblolly. My guess is that there is a little more than a acre killed. Letting it be natural or planting won’t make that much difference.
I thought I would take advantage of the bad situation by cutting down one of the dead trees and counting the rings. I did own this land when the trees were planted and the previous owner did not have perfect records. Cutting the tree was a mistake. I had only my hand saw and I get really tired about half way through. I had to finish, however. Could not leave a half cut hazard. I cut the tree about waist high and counted 30 rings. I may have missed a couple and it took it a couple years to get waist high, so those trees are probably around 32-35 years old. The rings showed that the tree grew very fast at first, but then slowed a lot, probably because it got crowded out. We thinned this tract in 2017, so it was too early to see results, especially because it was killed early in the season this year. Also down on the farms I did my usual walk around. It is looking good. Wildflowers are past prime and settling down for winter. They grew a bit longer and thicker this year with all the rain. The pines are done with their last splurge and hardening for the cooler weather. I thought I needed some comparisons, so I took pictures of my car near the trees. Could not get very close to the trees for fear of getting stuck. The car has all wheel drive but is not an all terrain vehicle.
Alex and I were at the ruins at Mesa Verde about this time last year. We also visited Choco Canyon. Chrissy and I later visited several Pueblo sites in New Mexico. It is a fascinating study.
The Pueblo lived in a fire prone landscape for more than 500 years. We can learn from their adaptions, even if we live in very different ways. They removed fuels both by frequent but small surface fires and by using wood as fuel in their settlements. In effect, they kept the woods clean.
To a very great extent, the “natural” forests the early Europeans found were the creation of these humans.
Had an interesting expedience talking to one of the guides at Choco Canyon. We agreed that we (i.e. modern Americans) could take valuable lessons from these earlier inhabitants of the land. Then she said an interesting thing. She said that she regretted that those good practices were not part or “our” heritage. My belief is that this heritage is the common heritage of humanity and that is a part our heritage worth knowing more.
My first pictures show the front and back of my Mesa Verde T-shirt. Other three are left over from last week. #3 is the 21st Amendment Bar and Grill. Chrissy and I went there for a beer before the Smithsonian program mentioned in earlier posts. There was a funny incident on the road in front. A women tried to cross against the light. A car came by and beeped at her. She was so enraged that they threw her McDonald’s bag at car as she drove away. No doubt, the driver was punished by this woman wasting her meal. Picture #4 is Jackson Park and last is a view from Earth Day Park.
Fire & Water Some of my forest is flooded. I have never seen the water this high. Of course it is worse in North Carolina, but our farms are less than 20 miles from North Carolina.
I did not see much storm damage. That flood won’t hurt the trees. I was a little worried that the rushing water would undercut some of the riparian areas, but that seems not ot have happened.Parts of my road are a little rutted, but that comes and goes.
A little less happy news from the area we burned in May. The fire got a little too hot in patches. I was worried that some of the trees were killed and it looks like about a dozen of them won’t be coming back.
Fire is complex. You can estimate its behavior, but it can always surprise you. I suppose I will under plant the dead trees with longleaf in December. The other option is to let the loblolly fill in by themselves. Probably both will happen. I feel bad about my trees, but it is part of the way the pine ecology works.
The thinned pines in Freeman are looking good. The open forest is more like the “original” Virginia and it is very good for wildlife. I saw deer and spooked two covey of bobwhite quail, at least a dozen quail. Hawks and buzzards are flying around. Bees are buzzing, butterflies floating. The cut over has bloomed with wild flowers.
Longleaf are looking good. They are candling out for the last time of this year. Some of the paths are drowning in bog. My boots got soaked and I finally just stopped trying to avoid the water. I should have brought some extra socks. Pictures show the pollinator habitat. I included one of the power-line right-of-way. We have eight acres under those lines and it could seem like a waste, but I kinda like them. It is essentially a long narrow strip of permanent pasture. You can see that it is full of grass and forbs, and the power company helps maintain the access road. The last picture is a clear cut in the foreground. This was – believe it or not – clear cut in May, i.e. only three months ago. See how fast it comes back. We will plant longleaf this winter.
