Trees a good investment for landowners, loggers

Matt Yancey of the Virginia Tech Extension holds up a branch of invasive autumn olive. Behind him is a sample of invasive ailanthus. According to state officials, excessive deer populations are hard on forest land, but managing woodlands for harvest remains a good investment. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) GOSHEN — In uncertain economic times, few investments seem safe. But according to some forestry experts, trees might be that one safe bet.

During a forestry and wildlife field tour Oct. 15, sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Rob Nelson, a forester who works for Mead Westvaco, explained to a group of forest landowners what to look for in a properly managed forest.

Nelson is looking for land with the kind of trees his employer wants, mostly pines for pulp wood, but he also helps landowners decide how to manage the forests they own to maximize profitability, to protect habitat and to prepare the land for a future generation to harvest the forests renewable resource — trees.

Nelson stands in the middle of a 3,000-acre hunt club near Goshen. The valley around Goshen is slate-based, Nelson says. That means it has poor soil and doesn't hold water well. Hardwoods don't grow well there, but pines do. The property has been cut over repeatedly. The area has provided railroad ties and pulpwood over the past 100 years. Nearby is a woodlot that specializes in railroad ties. The smell of creosote fills the air from the plant two miles away.

On the left, a managed forest wood lot, on the right, an unmanaged lot. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) Half of the property is incapable of growing higher- quality hardwoods, though there are better quality sites. "This is as good as it gets here," says Nelson. A logging road bisects the forest. On the left is a patch of hardwoods cleared last year. The underbrush was removed and the canopy opened up to allow the trees to spread out. On the right the woods are a dense mixture of brush, pines and hardwoods. Little light penetrates to the forest floor. The left is managed; the right has not been managed, yet.

"We pick the best trees and release them from competition from lesser-quality trees," says Nelson.

A mature stand of pines shows some thinning from the original planting 20 years earlier. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) He praises the logger who thinned the forest plot. "Ronnie Simmons of Millboro did the job," says Nelson. "He's a conscientious logger. This is an example of thinning done the right way."

Simmons has a long-term relationship with the owners of the hunt club. He has worked the forest three months of every year for the past 15 years.

Kenny Mohler of the Department of Forestry says, "Getting the best price is not advantageous (to the landowner) if the job is not done well. The relationship between the landowner and logger is important."

In this case, the owners want to maximize mast production. A larger tree canopy means more food for deer, which means more deer, and hunters want more deer on their land. But that creates one of the biggest challenges to managing the forest — too many deer. Hardwoods can regenerate from stumps. But small sprouts on stumps are perfect browse for hungry deer. Too many deer clear the forest floor of the next generation of hardwoods.

Rob Nelson, a forester with Mead Westvaco, stands next to a hybrid pitch/ loblolly pine in a managed lot at a hunt club near Goshen. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) David Kocka is a district biologist with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. He says the white oaks left on the hunt club property have sweeter acorns than other oaks, which the deer prefer. The logging road is covered in grass, helping stabilize the road, keeping it from eroding. It also provides food and a path for deer and other wildlife to follow. He recommends the landowner cut the trees further back from the road to allow more grass to grow.

Nelson says before white settlement, deer numbered about 15 per square mile. With settlement, the population diminished until there were no deer around 1900. That trend reversed itself with the introduction of game management. Today, Rockbridge County has 35-50 deer per square mile. Statewide the past 20 years, there have been 40-50 per square mile, says Nelson. Total state deer population is around 1 million. The northern Shenandoah Valley has 60-70 deer per square mile.

Wildlife managers control deer population by increasing or decreasing the number of days hunters can take does. Kill more does, you'll have fewer deer born next year.

Nelson cited a Pennsylvania study that found 18-20 deer per square mile was the maximum number that allowed for forest regeneration. He concluded that with higher deer populations in Virginia, the hardwood forests were in serious trouble.

"In large parts of Virginia, forest regeneration is not taking place," says Nelson.

Besides light, oaks need fire to regenerate. The prescription for a successful oak forest is periodic, low intensity, understory fires every 7-20 years. That's the historic pattern.

Fire destroys mice habitat. Mice eat acorns, which limits the number of oaks that grow from seed. Fire keeps acorn parasites to a minimum, too. Fire also destroys the thinner-barked trees, such as the invasive species ailanthus, and poplars, reducing competition with the slower growing oaks.

In good soil and under the right conditions, white oak adds an inch every five years.

"Deer, turkey and mice eat acorns, accounting for the loss of 95 percent of the acorns," says Nelson. Acorns that sprout are eaten by the deer. Oaks, though, have a fairly extensive root system, says Nelson. It has slow growth above ground. "A more well-developed root system has competitive advantages," he says.

Oaks reach maturity in about 80 years, then they are ready for harvest, says Matt Yancey of VCE. Yancey says a diverse forest "portfolio" is the best approach. Pines can be grown in poor soil on a landowner's property, and sold for pulpwood. Hardwoods take longer to grow, but the payoff is bigger.

Nelson shows the tour group a pitch pine/ loblolly pine hybrid managed stand of trees. The trees were planted at the rate of 450 per acre. At 20-25 years, a third of the trees are thinned out. The final harvest comes in 35- 40 years from planting. The hybrid is doing well in the dry, poor soil.

A hardwood oak behind Nelson is the same age as a much smaller pine Nelson is standing next to. "Plant pine if you want hardwood to grow later," says Mohler.

The hardwoods grow with the pines. The pines are thinned out, leaving more room for the hardwoods; eventually the pines are gone, leaving only hardwoods behind. "But you have to have good enough soil," Mohler adds.

The layer of soil in this forest is about an inch, and then it turns to shale.

Pitch and loblolly pine aren't tolerant of shade, but white pine is, says Karen Stanley of DOF. The group has left the hunt club and is at another site near Goshen. She's standing in a shaft of sunlight in the middle of a white pine forest. The trees are 20 years old and stand about 30-40 feet tall. Mohler says 1,000 trees per acre were planted there.

Stanley says the trees grow on average 18-24 inches per year. The trees are thinned twice before the final cut and regeneration. The trees here are ready for the second cut, it will be another 15-20 years before this plot of forest land is clear cut to make way for the next generation of trees.

Pines can live from 150-200 years. But as they age, they grow slower. So the trees are cut much sooner to make the most money from them. Besides a cash crop, the pines provide a thermal shelter for wildlife.

The circle is completed. Trees depend on the proper balance of wildlife to survive and thrive; wildlife depends on the proper balance of trees for shelter and food.

Ed Stoots of DOF advises landowners, "If you are selling trees, do your research." Find a good forester to advise you. Find a good logger to cut your trees. Have a plan for how you want your forest to be handled, now and in the future.

Stanley says the government is helping landowners grow better trees and tells the group to check the USDA Web site or DOF Web sites for information on cost-share programs for seedlings and bank restoration.

"Trees are a way to ride out market fluctuations," says Stanley. She explains, "Trees are a crop that lasts 40-50 years instead of one-two years."

A landowner can wait until the lumber market improves before selling, something corn or grain farmers can't do.