All Blog Posts (253)

Woodpeckers help locate EAB infestation

This is the best time of year for finding EAB infestations. Several localized ash trees with woodpecker damage is a good sign to followup. Take pictures, gps coordinates and report new infestations (especially finds not mapped by DEC) to: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72136.html

I found this tree while out walking my dogs, I would have been skiing if there was enough snow. I returned to peel and verify using a draw knife. Then…

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Added by Michael Griggs on February 27, 2018 at 4:53pm — No Comments

Invasive Forest Pests: ISAW is February 26-March 3

Invasive Species Awareness Week



In Grade 3, a brilliant joke made the rounds. We’d hold up a sheet of blank white paper and announce it was a polar bear in a snowstorm. Genius is relative for kids. But the first time I drove into a whiteout made me realize how accurate that “art” project was. Anything can hide behind a veneer of snow.



This leads me to ask why February 26-March 3 was chosen as “National Invasive Species Awareness Week.” By this time of year, our awareness… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on February 12, 2018 at 3:51pm — No Comments

Forest-tent Caterpillars

Not in Tents, Just Intense



Winter is not a season when people think about tents, except maybe to be glad they do not live in one. I do have friends who love winter camping, and the fact they have never extended an invitation is evidence of how much they value our friendship.



Oddly enough, winter is a crucial time to look for signs of forest-tent caterpillars (FTC). In spite of their name, FTC do not weave a silken tent-like nest as do the eastern-tent caterpillar and other… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 26, 2018 at 2:19am — 4 Comments

New Online Tool Helps Producers Estimate Carbon Stored in Soil --- https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/home/?cid=STELPRDB1119532 ;---------------------- New Online Tool Helps Pr…

New Online Tool Helps Producers Estimate Carbon Stored in Soil --- https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/home/?cid=STELPRDB1119532 ;

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New Online Tool Helps Producers Estimate Carbon Stored in Soil ---…

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Added by Alicia Rose on January 25, 2018 at 5:26pm — No Comments

Forest Regeneration Strategies at the Arnot

Many of you have visited Cornell's Arnot Teaching and Research Forest over the past year and noticed some big changes, namely several large regeneration harvests aimed at replacing aging stands with new ones that are as good or better as the old ones in terms of future quality and value.  For those of you who won't make it back there anytime soon but are interested in following the progress, I'll provide periodic updates here.

Added by Brett Chedzoy on January 16, 2018 at 6:40pm — 44 Comments

Preventing Tree Breakage

Cradles and Cables

We are a clever lot when it comes to helping our kids settle into bed at night. Apparently, the story of how Jack broke his head fetching a pail of water, with Jill falling down the well after him, or the charming bubonic plague ditty “Ring Around the Rosie,” is supposed to calm small children. The veiled threat about abandoning an infant in a tree on a windy night always made my kids hush up. “Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop; when the wind blows, the cradle will…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 14, 2018 at 8:18pm — No Comments

4 Things You Didn't Know About Garlic Mustard  YouTube

4 Things You Didn't Know About Garlic Mustard 

Decline of Garlic Mustard  @ 5:14

The reason Garlic Mustard is so successful-deer  @7:18

Added by Lew Ward on January 12, 2018 at 12:44am — No Comments

Timber Theft

Timber Theft

Only the crunch of gravel mars the predawn quiet as a truck, headlights off, rolls to a stop. Working quickly, professional bandits round up your unsuspecting timber. As your herd of prized trees is prodded toward the tailgate ramp, their soft mewling is barely audible amidst all the rustling…

While it does at times parallel cattle rustling, with skilled thieves whisking away a few exceptionally valuable trees in an early-morning or weekend raid, timber theft…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 8, 2018 at 1:38pm — No Comments

Preventing Salt Injury to Trees and Shrubs

Every winter brings its annual a-salt on roads and walkways. In icy conditions, salt can be a good thing, but too much of it is worse than a bad pun. Cars, equipment, and concrete suffer in obvious ways, but damage to trees and other woody plants is much less invisible. Salt injures trees and shrubs by several means.



When road-salt spray hits twigs, buds and, in the case of evergreens, foliage, such direct contact causes yellowing of needles, and subsequent death of evergreen twigs… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 5, 2018 at 2:35pm — No Comments

When Trees Go Over the Hill

Senescence is the decline in vigor that happens to all creatures great and diminutive as they close in on the life expectancy of their species. People my age suddenly find it hard to read the phone book. Though I suppose by definition anyone still using a phone book is old enough to need glasses, right?



The onset of this process varies—you probably know of families whose members frequently retain good health into their 90s and beyond, and other families where that is not the case. Of… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 3, 2018 at 7:59pm — No Comments

Don't Let Firewood Bug You

All of us are using more heating fuel this season than in recent winters, and there is still plenty of cold weather to come. It’s bad enough that our wallets are thinner, but those who heat with wood have the additional burden of more time spent lugging in fuel. And to add insult to injury, uninvited guests occasionally show up with the wood.

Firewood, I’ve been told, comes from “trees” which seem to be covered in “bark,” under which insects can hide. As the wood we bring inside warms…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on January 2, 2018 at 3:50pm — No Comments

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

Forget About Reforestation

Forget About Reforestation

Paul Hetzler

Squirrels have been criticized for hiding nuts in various places for future use and then forgetting the places. Well, squirrels do not bother with minor details like that. They have other things…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on November 20, 2017 at 8:29pm — No Comments

Giving Thanks

Thanks for Giving

Paul Hetzler

Many historians feel the Pilgrims would have all perished during the winter of 1620 if not for food provided by the Wampanoags, on whose land they settled. The following spring, the Wampanoags gave the Pilgrims seeds to plant, as well as a tutorial (possibly an App; we can’t be sure) on the production, storage and preservation of indigenous food crops including corn, beans, and squash.

That fall—no one is sure if it was October or…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on November 20, 2017 at 8:19pm — No Comments

Forest Landowner Liability

Hi, Everyone.

I searched the web for New York State landowner liability and found the attached document. It looks a little dated but the content might be accurate.

Liability%20considerations%20for%20NY%20Woodland%20Owners.pdf

Then I searched this site and noticed that the posts on this topic here were from 2012 - 5 years ago.

I need to confirm for someone…

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Added by Tim Levatich on November 17, 2017 at 1:05pm — No Comments

Controlling Thinning - Some Concepts and Methods

The title of this blog is that of the recent webinar by Dr. Ralph Nyland, presented on June 21, 2017.  The webinar is archived at www.youtube.com/ForestConnect and there is a direct link below.

Ralph focused his presentation on three topics. 

  1. How much residual basal area (relative density) should you leave during a thinning? The short answer is 60% relative density, allowing regrowth to 80% before thinning again.…
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Added by Peter Smallidge on June 21, 2017 at 9:30pm — No Comments

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Forum

Replanting after timber harvest with climate change in mind

Started by Ben T. in Woodlot Management. Last reply by Patrik Schumann on Tuesday. 1 Reply

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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