Preparing Your Forest Property for Spring and Summer

Late winter is the perfect time of year to start preparing your forest property for spring and summer.

Hiring a professional forestry management company such as Acorn Outdoors means you’ll maximize the benefits of your property with the peace of mind that it’s being managed correctly and efficiently by experienced foresters.

You’ll work with a forester to come up with a short- and long-term plan for the goals of your unique property.

Some examples of plans you might use are: forest management plan, tax management plan, wildlife management plan, timber management, or wetlands management.

Forest management has a lot of specialized components and techniques that will depend on what your specific wants and needs are for the property, as well as the unique makeup and layout of your land.

If you decide to manage your property for timber sales, the management plan will have different elements than if you have wetlands that you want to manage for wildlife purposes, for example.

Once you’ve determined your goals for the property, you and the forestry experts will determine the various techniques needed to carry out the plan.

 

Preparing to Plant Trees in the Spring and Summer

While it might seem strange to purposefully start a fire to help tree growth, that’s exactly what’s necessary for the success of certain planting projects.

Your professional forester might include an understory or site preparation burn to clear away excess debris and ready the area for planting. A site preparation burn is usually done in May–November and can be used with strategic herbicide application. An understory burn is usually done from October–May. This type of burn is strategically designed to act like a natural forest fire and remove understory growth without harming larger tree growth.

Managed burns should only be performed by professionals who are experienced in fire management. In today’s world, almost everyone understands the dangers of wildfires that get out of control. It’s important to leave such burns to those who are experienced and certified to perform them.

 

Site Preparation Herbicide Application

Your forest management plan might include using site preparation herbicide to chemically control other plants that are competition for young seedlings. This is another area where it’s crucial to work with a professional, as there are specific herbicides used to target the competition – plants vs. those whose growth you’re hoping to encourage.

Herbicide application can be done by helicopter application, or with a skidder, tractor, or hand spraying application from the ground.

 

Soil Preparation for Tree Planting

When it comes to preparing the soil for planting trees, there are multiple techniques your professional forester might employ depending on the type of land/soil.

• If you’re replanting an area that’s already been harvested for timber, the process of shearing might be used to remove stumps and other timber to allow planting crews access to the soil.
• Especially if you have heavy soil, the property might need ripping with a cover disk to break it up and prepare it for the growth of new seedlings.
• Bedding and eco-til are two other planting techniques foresters use to create an ideal environment for seedling trees to grow and thrive.

 

Preparing Property to Prevent Wildfires

As mentioned earlier, wildfires are a prevalent issue throughout the world today. Wildfires are a naturally occurring process, but human development has impacted many aspects of the wildfires we see today, especially their destructive impact.

The good news is, there are things you can do—with the help of professional foresters—to keep your property safe from the impact of wildfires.

You’ve probably heard of a controlled burn or prescribed burn—these are two techniques professionals use to help mitigate the chances of a wildfire starting and/or creating extensive damage.

The professional foresters will create fire breaks, which are areas where they remove any flammable material to keep a prescribed burn within its established boundary.

Preparing Your Property for Recreation

While utilizing your property for timber can be valuable, it can be equally valuable in numerous ways to manage your land for recreation purposes. This is especially true if you have wetlands, river, or lake frontage on your property.

In this instance, you might find it advantageous to combine multiple management plans, such as a wetlands management plan and wildlife management plan to ensure you encourage the health of both the land and the animal species on the land.

Are you interested in hunting on your property? You can incorporate encouragement of specific species into your management plan as well. This might include the establishment of particular trees, shrubs, and grass, invasive species control, and other quality control and management techniques.

 

If you’re a landowner, utilizing forestry management to prepare your property for spring and summer has numerous benefits in both the short and long term.

Contact your local forester and start preparing today to get the most out of your land in the upcoming warm months.