Why are trees cut like this?

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Dewey
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Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:54 am

Out scouting/exploring right now in marsh and came across these trees on an island.

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Why would they do this? I assume to kill the tree to prevent some disease or insect infestation. Maybe Emerald Ash Borer?

At least half of the trees on this island are cut like this! :?

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:56 am

Your guess is correct.

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:00 am

Wonder why they didn't just drop them all right away? Some fell over so I wouldn't want to be walking across this island in high winds!

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:01 am

Standing dead trees make better wildlife habitat...modern forestry practice.

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby hunter_mike » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:10 am

An area where i bear hunted in a county forest had very similar cuts on every single tree. It was a pulpwood harvest area. I never paid attention to what kind of trees they were cut but i wondered the same thing. Interesting.

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:10 am

I can understand larger trees for habitat but these are no bigger than my thigh. Would make better habitat lying down for ground critters.

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:36 am

I've seen it a lot where I was hunting in Iowa. Sure does make a guy nervous when you set up in the dark and then at first light you see you are surrounded by girdle cut trees on a windy day!

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Milk Weed Seed » Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:40 am

Haven't seen it in the Northeast.

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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:30 am

Jackson Marsh wrote:I've seen it a lot where I was hunting in Iowa. Sure does make a guy nervous when you set up in the dark and then at first light you see you are surrounded by girdle cut trees on a windy day!

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Yea that type of timber stand improvement is all the rage around here. Sometimes its just ash that are cut like that, sometimes its almost all the larger trees (by larger I mean anything bigger than a few inches in diameter) if the timber is primarily "junk" trees like elm, hackberry, locust, ironwood even basswood. The intent is to reduce the canopy so that young hardwoods and such get a chance to grow in the long run. If they cut them completely down it would be just about impossible to navigate some woodlots I have been in where more than 3/4 of the trees got girdled and when the trees are left standing the transition is a little less chaotic. On the other hand, a few years after this timber stand improvement happens the woods grow up thick with brush and briars and that's no fun getting through either....but makes for some good deer habitat at that point...and berry picking in the summer :D
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby seeds » Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:32 am

I've seen areas where all the "undesirable" trees are girdled but not desirable ones - especially on recently acquired state natural areas....Black locust,box elder or larger buckthorn...I suspect girdling reduces sucker growth where simply cutting the tree down encourages suckering.


I have not seen girdle cutting on ash trees in this area but EAB is new here....Guys from MI - are they doing that there?

There's marshes I hunt where in 10 years there may not be a single tree to hang a stand. Every tree is an ash.
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby PeteJ » Fri Jan 03, 2014 2:03 pm

They do this a lot on the forest preserves in Northern Illinois where I shed hunt.
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby wmahunter » Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:06 pm

Down here in the forests when one species of trees takes over and they can not kill it by fire than they hinge cut them down to make room for pine trees. The forestry makes money on pine but nothing on black jacks or oak trees.
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:04 pm

seeds wrote:I've seen areas where all the "undesirable" trees are girdled but not desirable ones - especially on recently acquired state natural areas....Black locust,box elder or larger buckthorn...I suspect girdling reduces sucker growth where simply cutting the tree down encourages suckering.


I have not seen girdle cutting on ash trees in this area but EAB is new here....Guys from MI - are they doing that there?

There's marshes I hunt where in 10 years there may not be a single tree to hang a stand. Every tree is an ash.

I wish. I have never seen it done here on our public land.
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:24 pm

There is often incentive money available to do timber stand improvement projects. NWTF has provided money for these projects as well as other organizations. They often girdle the junk trees in an oak grove to release the oaks and kill the junk trees that rob the soil and sun light from the oak trees. I think they offer about $100.00 an acre to improve the trees & habitat.
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Re: Why are trees cut like this?

Unread postby Kodiakman » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:09 pm

wmahunter wrote:Down here in the forests when one species of trees takes over and they can not kill it by fire than they hinge cut them down to make room for pine trees. The forestry makes money on pine but nothing on black jacks or oak trees.



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