Cutting small trees, lots of them.

[TBark]

Uncle has let me on a piece of his land this fall.
Finally, grouchy old goat LOL. He had loggers in back in 2001.
There is a nice large cleared out area, but the new growth is coming back.
Trees appear to be 6 - 7 ft high and about 3/4" - 1" thick.
Nice green grassy type of undergrowth too. Elk tracks all over too.
He said it didn't matter to him if I cleared some of this out, as long as it's on my dollar, of course. He'll never change LOL.
First thought was crawler / dozer, but that would turn the area into mud.

What would be the best way to cut many hundreds of these small trees and keep the grass.

TBark

[honda450]

Couple of guys and a cuple of chainsaws you could clear quite a bit.

[catnthehat]

One of those big ol' industrial sized Sthil or Husky brush cutters work great..
I just had ours refurbished, and it cuts that stuff no sweat.
I think the blade makes a big difference, I don't use the triangle things, but the multi toothed jobs getrdun.
These things are not cheap ( ours was about $1,000 over ten years ago)
but they last if they are taken care oof....
Cat

[Reeves1]

Wait till the ground is frozen. Go over it with a cat or a hoe with a straight cutting edge on the clean-up bucket.
This will "shave" the trees off & leave the grass.

Only trouble with this, the root system stays, and they'll grow back fast. Best way to do the most damage to Poplars is to cut off at ground level in about June or July: they have nothing to send back to the root system for the winter.

If I were you, I'd just thin them out/make trails.

Forgot to mention, a lot of farmers have "bush hogs". They are big mowers on 3 point hatches. Flailing chains. Trouble with them is, they leave the stumps in jaged sharp points. (you have likely seen this done in ditches on side roads and lease roads)
Not something one would want to try & drag an animal out over !

[JohninAB]

Brush saw be the easiest and fastest if the area is not too big. But it will leave a lot of stickers behind and the trees will resucker and be as bad in a couple of years. As Reeves said best time is late June early July as the trees have used up their root reserves flushing and cutting them then will mean they root system will be sorely lacking in terms of energy to resucker.

Spraying a glyphosphate type herbicide (roundup) will kill the little buggers dead but will also kill the grass if you get it on the grass and will kill any conifers on site if they get hit with the spray before they have hardened off.

[sirmike68]

Hey sounds like you're hunting on my land I just bought! I have they same issue and being a lazier/not much spare time type of guy I searched the net and found these commercial mulching machines that can attach to bobcats or are stand alone machines. Looks like they'll grind everything down into the dirt if needed. I have an email into a company and will let you know what I find out and how much something like this would cost.

[TBark]

Good info,
Thanks guys,

TBark

[Tredeb]

I rented an Walk behind unit this spring. I beleive it was called a billy goat. Essentially, it was a lawn mower on steroids. It worked quite well, but, as mentioned, it left a lot of 4"-6" high sticks although they were beaten badly. You would be able to walk or ride an ATV, but I would not want to drag a deer by hand. The only problem was that it took quite a while to do an area of any size as it only had a 24" swath.

[Kelly & Beth]

Hire a mulcher its only $425-750/ hr. I would say the hoe idea is about the best for minimal damage. Just have to do it in the winter time them mow it with a bush mower in the summer.

[TreeGuy]

TBark, you have an ideal situation there. If the new growth is a pain for you, it's a pain for them. You don't need to clear cut the clear cut. Just find their routes, or CREATE their routes! I don't know how large of an area you are on, but with a chainsaw, and just pushing the cut brush to the side you are going to mechanically create game funnels. No need to bring in the heavy equipment! Use this situation to your advantage. How many hours do we spend finding natural game paths or the so called funnels? You are presented with an opportunity to actually make your own with elk present! Good luck man!!

Tree

[TBark]

Tree,
That makes sense.
Uncle says do a bit, or do it all. no matter to him.
But boy, it's a big area. Likely 90 acres.
So if I said hundreds of small trees, it could be thousands.
But the path / funnell sounds like the plan.

Thanks,
TBark

[TBark]

Here is an aerial view of Uncles quarter. Sorry no LSD, LOL.
You can see the strips left by the loggers in 2001, 12 of them.
Most are burnt out, but some still have solid wood.
Fairly evenly spaced out at apprx 60 - 70 yards appart.
but boy they are long, some at the top end are about 500 - 600 yds.
The dark spot is a dug-out, as Uncle has cattle on 'til Sept 1st.
2 nice creeks, one to each side, there are good elk track in each creek bottom. And some nice trails into the saplings. But as it sits now, one wouldn't see anything 20 yards in front of you.
No neighbours, a nice tucked away piece of land.

The best suggestion, and thanks guys, is to cut away some trails between these rows. To flatten the burned strips, and cutting away all growth would be a massive and expensive job.

TBark

[Haligonian]

I remember doing quite well cutting down thickets with one of those gas powered weedwackers with a blade on the end in lou of the normal plastic wire.

Just swing and they come barreling down.

[Reeves1]

Making trails by hand means keeping them clear by hand. You can do the same with a 200 size hoe and it will be 11-12 ft. wide. Then you can maintain these trails with a quick cutting with a tractor.

With those wind-rows , you could pile up a few to make "observation" platforms, 10-20 ft high.

No need to work up a sweat like that Tree guy does !

[TBark]

Here are a few pictures.
The stumpage is mostly burned, some remains though.

TBark

[Reeves1]

Couple 12 hour days with a hoe (230 size with a thumb) , rented bare rate , would have that cleaned up nicely ! All told, maybe 60(ish) an hour + fuel , about 500 liters.
What can I say: I'm a hoe operator ! (over 20 years on them, from mini to 700 size)

[Tuc]

T.... are you refering to saplings? Thats all I see in those pics. You would be in there for ever with a chain saw, not to mention the chain saw doesn't do good in that kind of stuff...catches and pulls becuase that stuff is very flexable. Your chance of getting cut (hurt) is greater.

I think I would leave it be and maybe you have a few more years of good elk hunting before it gets too high. Find their routes in and out of the heavy timber, set up and wait. OMO

[Ishpah]

I'd spend my time finding the routes to the field and then start building some blinds/stands to cover the area for different wind conditions.
If you're bent on bushwhacking, use the heavy bushwhacker by Stihl and use the saw blade that looks a little like a chain saw. You sharpen them in similar fashion. These will take down trees to 2 inch diameters.

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by Reeves

Making trails by hand means keeping them clear by hand. You can do the same with a 200 size hoe and it will be 11-12 ft. wide. Then you can maintain these trails with a quick cutting with a tractor.

With those wind-rows , you could pile up a few to make "observation" platforms, 10-20 ft high.

No need to work up a sweat like that Tree guy does !

Reeves, ya got that right. There's days that this cat is sweating like a hooker going to confession!

But seriously, I'll stick with the saw and funnel theory. I've used those stupid trimmers with the blades on them before, and they have been a nightmare. Within an hour you have dinged so many hidden rocks that they are useless. At least with a saw, you are up close and personal and have the flexibility to rip out both large and small stuff, and yet be able to SEE what you're cutting. However, Tuc did make a good point in regards to safety. Ear and eye protection is a must, and a good set of chaps can be worth their weight in gold in clearance situations.....do I need to mention boots? I didn't think so. Also with the saw you can work your way into areas that those slacker CAT operators can't! Either way, TBark good luck and let us know how it works out for ya!

Tree

[sirmike68]

Reeves I'm embarrassed for asking but what do you consider a hoe? Is a hoe another name for a bulldozer or is it a tractor with a back-hoe on it.

[Big Moose]

Greg Greg Greg , man you wanna extra job or something? 2 isn't enough. After the ground freezes higher a cat and clean the whole thing. In the spring higher a tractor with a breaking disc and clean it up. The grass will be back by july then keep it mowed.

[Reeves1]

sirmike68 - also known as an excavator.

I had to move a sod pile out of my barn yard....over the 9'6" pipe poles.

[TBark]

BM,
That would work too.
Someone mentioned this breaking disc earlier.
I assume this is dragged behind a tractor ?

TBark

[qbochar]

If you want to prevent the growth, the spray them, and not with roundup or 2,4-D but a product called Restore from Dow Agro Sciences. It is a range and pasture chemical that will take care of the saplings and young trees but will leave the grass alone. Restore uses the same active ingredient that is in Garlon 4 which we use in the Industrial vegetation control business for the control of brush. You spray the areas where you don't want the trees to grow and then when they die you can knock them down however you want.

This would be your most cost effective method. If you want more info. please pm me and we can talk

[Tuc]

The elk eat the grass loaded with chemical and you eat the elk. No thanx, not I.
Your not talking about weeds in a flower garden here. Elk moose and deer are browsing on this stuff and you want to spray it with chemical. Un ah, not a good idea nor environmental friendly.

[Ishpah]

Chetwynd2007017.jpg
Leave the bush alone and they will come!

[qbochar]

So you are telling me your never harvest a moose or elk or deer that hasn't eaten grass that has been sprayed. I am not talking about grandmas front yard or flower garden. I am talking about fields or ROW's like cutblocks or cutlines, road allowances, etc.

If you feel that it is not environmentally sensitive hey thats fine. Just rrying to offer you a less expensive means of defeating your brush problem.

Quentin
Vegetation Management Specialist

[sirmike68]

qbochar, is that how most of the cutlines stay open? On my property beyond the fence there is about 40 yards of straight grass befor the treeline and exactly on my fenceline is where all of the sapling/willows/shrubs are growing.