December 2017 Blog Posts (5)

Rehabilitating Degraded Woodlands

Almost 3 million acres of forest in the Northeast is poorly stocked from some combination of exploitive harvesting, poor soils, disease, or insect infestation. An additional 7.5 million acres is one poorly executed harvest away from being of degraded condition. Exploitive harvesting, also known as selective cutting, high-grading or diameter-limit cutting, is a destructive and…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on December 23, 2017 at 9:37am — No Comments

Responsible Forestry

Golden Goose Forestry

Paul Hetzler

What do you call a dairy farmer who spends decades improving the genetics of a herd, then abruptly sells all the best animals to start a new herd from scraggly, unproven stock? Crazy, perhaps, or foolish at the very least, right? (Or maybe someone with a gambling debt).

Under normal circumstances, no livestock farmer culls their best animals to start over with random ones. Yet it’s common for a woodlot owner to sell all the large,…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on December 10, 2017 at 9:17pm — 1 Comment

Predicting long-range weather outlooks

Weather or Not

Paul Hetzler

Weather modeling has become quite a big deal in recent years, with meteorologists falling all over themselves to report what the latest models say. It sounds like a fun job, and I am trying to find out how to apply for a position. No doubt I could model categories like “large stationary front” or “high pressure system” pretty well. If it involves appearing in a swimsuit, though, forget it.

I love it when a radio announcer chirps “clear and sunny”… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on December 8, 2017 at 8:59am — No Comments

Yule enjoy this tradition

Yule Logs

The tradition of burning a Yule or Christmas log has largely fizzled out in most parts of the world. Although often depicted as a modest-size birch log, the monster Yule logs back in 6th and 7th century Germany were tree trunks that were intended to burn all day, in some cultures for twelve days, without being entirely consumed. It was important that an unburned portion of the log remained after the marathon Yule-burn, because this insured good luck in the upcoming year. The Yule… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on December 7, 2017 at 7:07am — No Comments

Pining for a Better memory

Pining for a Better Memory

During the Christmas holiday season, new memories will likely be made, and recollections of past seasons may be recounted as well. But the holiday season itself can aid in remembering events of long ago.

Speaking as a guy who can hide his own Easter eggs and still not find them all, I marvel how Father Christmas, who is a few years older than I am, manages to keep track of so many kids and presents. Lucky for us that the most enduring memories are those with… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on December 6, 2017 at 7:08am — No Comments

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Replanting after timber harvest with climate change in mind

Started by Ben T. in Woodlot Management Feb 14. 0 Replies

Hi Everyone,I’ve been wondering what tree species are going to thrive over the next 50+ years as the climate warms in New York and I’m curious if folks are enhancing plantings of particular tree species for future commercial harvest with warmer and…Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

Picture of a hemlock with rust colored bark.  When I cut a nearby tree, also with rust colored bark, it was infested with HWA.  Attached picture shows a Logrite ATV arch in use.Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

The hemlocks in my woodlots have been infested with hemlock wooley adelgid (HWA) for at least three years now.  Lately I've noticed some of them having a rust colored bark and I wonder if this is normal and that I just didn't notice it previously? …Continue

How to control mature white pine and hemlock to allow enrichment planting of hardwoods

Started by Peter Smallidge in Woodlot Management Nov 28, 2023. 0 Replies

I had a question about control of mature white pine and hemlock to improve sunlight for enrichment planting of hardwoods.  Following is my response, but I would like to know if anyone else has any experiences to share with control of these to…Continue

Story in Northern Woodlands Magazine on Deer Impacts

Started by Brett Chedzoy in Woodlot Management Aug 8, 2023. 0 Replies

This Spring we had an opportunity to speak with writer John Litvaitis about the big picture of deer impacts on the hardwood forests of the Northeast.  I posted the original story from the summer edition of Northern Woodlands to the…Continue

Ash blonding effect on lumber quality

Started by Jeff Joseph in Woodlot Management. Last reply by Jeff Joseph May 5, 2023. 2 Replies

Question: In Peter Smallidge's most recent "Ask a Professional" column for NYFOA's Forest Owner magazine he stated that some log buyers will reject ash that shows outward signs of "blonding" on the bark. Is this because the wood will change…Continue

The American Chestnut: A New Frontier in Gene Editing

Started by Brett Chedzoy in Woodlot Management May 2, 2023. 0 Replies

https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/policy/042823/the-american-chestnutInteresting discussion the difference between efforts with the American Chestnut and other…Continue

Growing Black Locust for Pleasure and Profit

Started by Brett Chedzoy in Woodlot Management Apr 20, 2023. 0 Replies

In early March I was invited to present on the opportunities for growing black locust as a timber cash crop at the Rural Landowner Conference in Allegany County.  Ryan Trapani from the Catskill Forest Owners Association asked afterwards if I would…Continue

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