Posts by Peter Smallidge
Woodland owners have different styles of management, from fairly casual to fairly regimented. All different strategies can work, but there are annual maintenance, management and practical activities that are enjoyable, useful and support the objectives of many owners. An owner who develops a list of annual or regular activities, some that may require a short…
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Question: I was visiting a friend’s woodlot last fall. They had logged much of the ash due to Emerald Ash borer and expanded those openings into patches to allow for replanting with walnut. The understory was mostly buckthorn, ironwood, hornbeam and other scrubby species. They cleared the understory, in anticipation of planting, by either scraping…
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Learning to identify the trees on your property will help you enjoy and better manage your land. Woodland owners who learn how to identify the trees and other vegetation on their property are better able to enjoy their land, and will make more informed decisions about their management actions. The terminology associated with dendrology, the study of trees, can be…
Read MoreLow-grade trees may be aesthetically attractive and have other than economic benefits. Considerable attention is given to high-value trees, particularly how to grow them and their value when harvested. The harvest of just the high-value trees from a woodland is known as high-grade harvesting, selective cutting, or simply “high-grading.” This unsustainable practice has also been discussed because it diminishes the ecological and financial value of a woodlot. In…
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Low-grade trees may be aesthetically attractive and have other than economic benefits. Considerable attention is given to high-value trees, particularly how to grow them and their value when harvested. The harvest of just the high-value trees from a woodland is known as high-grade harvesting, selective cutting, or simply “high-grading.” This unsustainable practice has also been discussed because it diminishes the ecological and financial value of a woodlot. In…
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Manipulations of the trees can create new and varied habitats for wildlife. Most landowners own their land for a variety of reasons, though at any point in time one objective might be of more interest than other objectives. For many woodland owners, they are interested in seeing more wildlife, whether as birds or game species,…
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Fall and winter are great seasons to learn about the needle-bearing trees that most people call “pines.” These trees have needles, and may also be called evergreen. Most are within the pine family (Pinaceae), but not all. These types of trees have several common features, but not all species easily fall under these labels. These…
Read MoreIn New York and most of the Eastern states, the greatest proportion of woodland owners have relatively small parcels. A “small” parcel size is not defined, but often considered to be less than 10 acres, or less than 50 acres. The USDA National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) offers a feature to make tables and charts about owner attributes and…
Read MoreIn New York and most of the Eastern states, the greatest proportion of woodland owners have relatively small parcels. A “small” parcel size is not defined, but often considered to be less than 10 acres, or less than 50 acres. The USDA National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) offers a feature to make tables and charts about owner attributes and…
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The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can significantly influence the diversity, longevity and sustainability of rural woodlands, forests and maple syrup sugarbushes. As selective browsers, deer will eat some plants more readily than they eat other plants. Many of the tree species deer prefer to consume are valued by owners as sources of timber, maple syrup, …
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