Clearcut disasters

[TheTone]

Welcome to the new normal of clearcuts. Around me (north Idaho) timber companies are cutting at the highest rate I’ve seen in my lifetime and largely not burning anymore due to liability and insurance costs. The new strategy is to spray all new vegetation with herbicide prior to planting. Leaves behind an amazing dead zone and if you speak to the right people maybe the source of hoof rot in elk. The other part I will always hate is the replant rate being several times higher than what was cut and then going back in 5-15 years after planting, cutting down half or more of the trees and leaving them lay so you get a jungle of downed trees to walk through. Wildlife is a very, very low priority to any timber company unless it’s a sensitive or threatened species

 

[Warmsy]

Sounds like my local state forest. At landings, they just push all the brush over the edge. The other day I was ascending from the creek up to a landing I had been to the other day. I had considered it impassable to descend. At one point I was on a4" sapling balance beam 8' off the ground in a sea of brush. If I had fallen, don't think I could have gotten out.

I hate that messy logging. They rarely clear-cut in my area, but thinning practices typically leave the entire forest floor with 6-8' tall sea of slash, which settle to 2-4' after a couple years. And then duff covers it. Animals aren't using these areas, and it's downright dangerous trying to navigate.

I, too, would like to see more holistic, responsible logging practices.

 

[Customweld]

Welcome to the new normal of clearcuts. Around me (north Idaho) timber companies are cutting at the highest rate I’ve seen in my lifetime and largely not burning anymore due to liability and insurance costs. The new strategy is to spray all new vegetation with herbicide prior to planting. Leaves behind an amazing dead zone and if you speak to the right people maybe the source of hoof rot in elk. The other part I will always hate is the replant rate being several times higher than what was cut and then going back in 5-15 years after planting, cutting down half or more of the trees and leaving them lay so you get a jungle of downed trees to walk through. Wildlife is a very, very low priority to any timber company unless it’s a sensitive or threatened species

It's surprising to me that private timber companies still let folks on their ground due to insurance and liability. Keep in mind, their timber ground really is no different than the wheat farmer in the valley. Both are farming a crop, one of them just takes longer to harvest. I'm sure that most were cutting a great a lot due to the astronomical prices of wood products.

 

[TheTone]

It's surprising to me that private timber companies still let folks on their ground due to insurance and liability. Keep in mind, their timber ground really is no different than the wheat farmer in the valley. Both are farming a crop, one of them just takes longer to harvest. I'm sure that most were cutting a great a lot due to the astronomical prices of wood products.

I think we are going to largely see ATV use go away in the future here due to liability, vandalism and tearing up of roads and land, coupled with increased ability of law enforcement to enforce motorized restrictions on timber company lands if they are in an access agreement with IDFG. Could be the best thing to ever happen to northern Idaho deer and elk security in a long time if it pans out

 

[GSPHUNTER]

The land we hunted in NW Wisconsin is owned by Consolidated paper Co. There were areas of clearcut that were all but impossible to navigate because of left behind stumps and ruts left by heavy equipment used in the process. After a few years the ground cover would grow enough to make it difficult to see if you were stepping on a stump or into a deep rut. The only reason we had for crossing those areas was to gain access to know productive hunting ares which otherwise would have required a few miles of walking to access. The area was closed to all but foot traffic for three years because the bear hunters (so I was told) were causing so much damage on spur roads that the Co. got fed up and closed the area. It has since reopened but travel by vehicle is limited to main trails/roads.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Agreed, they're just not going to be able to reach a lot of it. I called in a bull a few days ago and he took a route that took him into a blowdown so bad that after 30 min of crashing around he finally gave up. The blowdown and clearcut look very similar.

Lol I've had them do this in burns. I started realizing I needed to make sure there is somewhere they'll want to walk through.

 

[Customweld]

I think we are going to largely see ATV use go away in the future here due to liability, vandalism and tearing up of roads and land, coupled with increased ability of law enforcement to enforce motorized restrictions on timber company lands if they are in an access agreement with IDFG. Could be the best thing to ever happen to northern Idaho deer and elk security in a long time if it pans out

Most definitely agree. With the population growth and explosion in utv/atv ownership, something is bound to give.

 

[gonhunting247]

There are some new clearcuts around some of the areas I hunt and I'm astounded by the pathetic state of the land and overall waste. There are so many tree tops (6" or more in diameter and 25+ ft long), rejected trees and logs/branches everywhere that 2/3 or more of the clearing is completely impassible - yes, IMPASSIBLE. The number of trees laying on the ground made it look like they wasted 1/2 of them. Clearcutting will always be messy and walking thru them is always a challenge in frustration, but these were so bad the animals won't be able to utilize the vast majority of the clearing. Huge piles of logs and debris just shoved over the edge into the creek. I've hunted hundreds of clearcuts over the years, but these were an abomination on another scale. I get that time is money and loggers can't make the area pristine, but after seeing that I'd like to see some standardized regulations for clearcutting so the areas aren't left unusable.

What you descrided is pretty much the norm in our area for clearcutting these days (private timber/county). Forest service doesn't log much here anymore. Not much burning done these days, except the slash piles on the landings for high lead sides.
The deer, elk and bears will definitely still use it. Some will use it more at different stages of regrowth and decay of slash.
The tough part is the herbicide used at about the 2 and 6 year periods to knock the deciduous growth back to keep it from out competing for soil, water and light that they want the conifers to have. That will definitely limit use for the remainder of at least the year of application. Overall it sucks getting around in them, especially quietly, but they still provide excellent forage and thermal cover at different growth stages. The critters don't have as much trouble with the debri as us !
I wish they didn't nuke the cuts with herbicide, but overall the deer numbers in and near the cuts are way higher than the no logging areas.

 

[jlh42581]

Theres new cuts every year at my house. They are a disaster. No way youre going through it effectively. After a few years they grow up so tight a racked animal cant even walk through it. Sure theyll get in the openings and eat or run the edges but it gets to a point where you might as well forget it.

 

[Wrench]

Welcome to the new normal of clearcuts. Around me (north Idaho) timber companies are cutting at the highest rate I’ve seen in my lifetime and largely not burning anymore due to liability and insurance costs. The new strategy is to spray all new vegetation with herbicide prior to planting. Leaves behind an amazing dead zone and if you speak to the right people maybe the source of hoof rot in elk. The other part I will always hate is the replant rate being several times higher than what was cut and then going back in 5-15 years after planting, cutting down half or more of the trees and leaving them lay so you get a jungle of downed trees to walk through. Wildlife is a very, very low priority to any timber company unless it’s a sensitive or threatened species

That's no joke. Potlatch has laid down some serious wood in the last year or two.