Every year since 1893 our family has cut down trees in our Maple Forest to improve the overall heath of the remaining stand. When two trees are competing for the same water and sunlight it is proper bush management to remove the weaker one so that the remaining tree will grow stronger with the additional nutrients. Also the goal is to have a wide range of tree ages so that there is always a benefactor tree waiting to be released when the forest canopy of branches is opened up with the dropping of a cull. An even aged forest is something to avoid because replacement trees are not able to quickly fill a space when trees are eventually removed. If sunlight is allowed to penetrate into the forest in random spots throughout the forest it will naturally develop lots of young saplings. We try very hard to drop and skid these logs out of our bush without causing damage to the remaining Maples because they are the future we rely on.
February 29, 2024
