Correcting forest that was top graded

[Twar]

We recently purchased our property and I have spent a lot of time walking it and getting a feel for the land and forest. About 15 years ago it was logged heavily and it was all done on a top grading basis. They took all of the timber quality trees and left junk. Most of what remains are red maples with multiple trunks.

I plan on working to correct and balance out the forest. This will not be a dedicated sugar bush. None of my 40 taps this year are even back in the forest and I could add 20-30 more before needing to go into the forest. I plan on planting some chestnuts, black walnut, and other wildlife trees. I want to keep cherries, sugar maples, and oak trees.

Have been looking at timber stand improvement, but I have so many junk trees that I don't have a keeper in large areas. Should I clear a small opening and then wait for a sapling to start growing?

Any tree I drop will become firewood so it's not going to waste. I have a lot of beech trees starting to take over certain areas and an area with a lot of poplar trees.

Any advice or tips?

[maple flats]

That is a frequent problem, sellers go for the big bucks now rather than what is best for continuing production. I have a rather poor attitude concerning loggers who do that. You can correct it but this will take a long time. I don't know about all of the species you want to plant, but the good news is that sugar maples do very well as understory saplings. Your biggest problem, if you have sugar maple ground will be the deer. As a sapling is planted or new seedling first appears, it needs to get protection. In many forest settings, that is done by simply leaving enough slash on the ground to conceal the sugar maple. Once it gets a hold, mark it or shield it from critters, both 4 and 2 legged. Then open it's space up very slowly. Maybe give it sun on one side, then 4-5 years later on the opposite side, then 4-5 later a 3rd side and so forth. Even with that attention it will likely be 30-40 years old before the first tap can be put in. Think of it as doing something for future generations. On another hand, look for native sugar maples that are already there as saplings or pole size, do the same type of management for them too. As you open them up, the 4th side should be the prevailing wind side, to get the root structure to hold up to high winds.
The other species you mention may be similar, maybe not. While sugar maples hold their own as understory trees and then take over as they get the sun needed, not all trees will do well in the understory.

[Michael Greer]

Cutting firewood and fuel wood is a good way to start. Take out the damaged and diseased trees first, and worry about species later. Every time you take out a faltering trunk, you improve the vigor of the near-by trees and the health of the stand overall. Don't become over-concerned with doing everything in one season.

[WestfordSugarworks]

Get a top notch forester if you can afford it and have them walk woods with you and make recommendations.

I agree with what Flats and Michael recommend. A forester will have a lot of good ideas too and you'll enjoy walking the woods with them, you'll learn a lot too.

[Twar]

My basic plan i have come up with so far is to identify the keepers - oak, sugar maple, cherry, etc. and open them up on one side by taking out a undesirable tree. I also want to start taking out some of the multi trunked red maples as they have wide canopies that shade large areas. I have really been spending a lot of time just walking the woods and getting a feel for the land.
The past logging appears to be 15+ years old based on the stumps.

I am fine with putting in effort. I am young and not planning on moving. Even if I plant a tree that I never tap, I get enjoyment of just watching it grow and seeing the transformation of the forest.

I also don't know if I will ever want to tap that many acres, but i want the forest to be in the best shape possible.

[maple flats]

In NY State and maybe other states there are both NYS foresters who will help without fee. There are also volunteers who will visit your forest and help identify issues and help you make YOUR plan. That is kind of like the master gardener program, but focused on woods and forests. They also do it without fee. However, if you want trees marked you will need to hire a forester, the state forester will not do that for you.
If you are looking to make a Forest Stewardship Plan, the state forester will walk the woods with you, then ask in detail what you want for your goals for the forest. Then the state forester will write the plan up in outline form. After that they will give it to you to verify it is going in the direction you want to go, does it meet your goals. Then the forester will write it up as a final plan and will give it to you, all covered by your taxes, and with no extra fee. I think the only requirement is that the plan must be for 10 acres or more. The plan will give you steps year by year and most are a 10 year plan. They make the whole plan to move towards your goals, and do it in a proper way based on good forestry methods.

[markcasper]

It is a true shame all of the high grading that has taken place in my area during my lifetime. Almost every single woods that I can think of in my immediate area has had one official treatment, and that was to extract the maximum amount of money out of the forest. The motto was "cut the best and the hell with the rest." The sad part is I'm afraid the landowners didn't get alot of it in their pocket, the loggers did. And a few of those loggers are still in business and I can't see how or why? I am actually tapping one of those woods which belonged to my uncle. All of the big wolf trees and garbage trees are still there. And some of these trees are monsters which probably take up a 1/8 of an acre each and all they are is firewood.

[buckeye gold]

I would not worry about planting any trees, manage what is coming back naturally. You see the poplars and red (soft maples) because they are first in a succession woods. I would bet there are plenty of sugar maple and oak seedlings coming on you just need to free them up and give them some light. Forest are very good at re-establishing themselves we can just steer them where we want. It will take time however. I would get rid of the big old junk trees before I worried about some red maple suckers. I have spent a life time on managed tree farms with my family. We have collectively managed over 1,000 acres and I have a cousin who was national tree farmer of the year. They have maintained a harvest plan for 60 years and almost continuously harvested quality timber. I can not understand the mentality of many loggers. Why destroy an entire forest that no one will gain value fromm for 50 years when It can be sustainable and cut almost every 10 years. I have done that on my own land. We do a select cut and cull every 10 years and we cut about the same value each time and even more is left. It just keeps replacing itself. I do not allow big equipment in my woods....No big arse skidders and I penalize for collateral damage. The loggers will do what you want if you demand it in a contract, that is providing you have quality timber.

[markcasper]

I can not understand the mentality of many loggers.

We have a conscious that is why. Many are flat out thieves, although it is not as bad as it was 20 and 30 years ago it seems. Still alot of riff raff trash out preying on unsuspecting landowners however, at least here. Marvin Larrabee, LC Wood Products = Thief....caught them red handed on our property, Bignell Logging and Todd Stainer and son logging, Menomonie, WI, round out the top crooked cutters in Dunn County, WI. Stay the heck away from these thieves and never let them near your woodlot.!!!!!!!

[maple flats]

I had a bad logger back in 1978, since then no logger has set foot on my ground. My issue was not just the 3' deep ruts they left, but also the fact that they drove over lots of good trees up to 6-7" DBH that could have just as easily been driven around. They went out of business 2-3 years later. I guess the word got around. They were supposed to do it when the ground was frozen, they came about 6 weeks before it froze.
When I went to file a complaint, I discovered I was going to be in a very long line. Think many of the fly by nighters from that era have fallen into the abyss. Locally the only ones still operating look to do a good job and have the proper training. New York State Regs are quite strict too, there may have been no regs back then.

[n8hutch]

I've seen my fair share of bad logging Jobs, and there is definitely a bunch of hacks out there, but I have to stick up for a lot of them. Many of the high grade cutting is what the current land owner wants, most of it is land that was handed down from previous generations and the kids want there money so they smoke the wood off it and then put up a for sale sign. I see it all the time, you can't blame it on the logger no more than you can blame Leader for building a new evaporator that you just had to have. If you had your woods cut and didn't get what you wanted it's probably on you, if you didn't get paid your stumpage then that's on the logger.

[Twar]

I wish other people cared about nature a little more. On top of the top grading the prior owner killed an oak with a 15' circumference due to dozing a road and putting in gravel 15 feet from the tree. It was still standing dead when we got the property. We had it dropped due to being in an unsafe location, and it has heated my house all winter.

You just can't replace a tree like that.

I have friends who think I am crazy for trying to manage and improve my little forest (20 acres of forest). They all think it will just take care of itself with no help. I try to explain how cutting some trees down helps the others, grows the selected trees faster, speeds up the maturation of the forest, and is can improve the habitat for wildlife, and they look at me like I'm crazy.

They would rather have a 1/8 acre lot with no leaves to rake and only need to do a dozen passes with a push mower. Maybe I am crazy.

[maple flats]

It will take care of itself if given enough time. However when you manage it properly you can cut that time by a big margin.

[buckeye gold]

I have to agree with n8hutch that there are many good loggers. It also true that it is on you if you get a poor job. If you care you take care of business and vet out who works on your land and you lay down the rules in a contract. I am lucky my family has loggers in it and we have a long history of forest management. I over heard some loggers talking once about logging on my cousin's land (he had marked a sale) and one told the other (who was a hack) that he was stupid for bidding on our timber. The crux of the conversation was guy #1 was a good reputable logger who was telling logger #2 he couldn't operate on my cousin's land like it was used to, the quote was "those people have a whole bunch of rules you'll never keep so just forget bidding on it". They learn who they can gut and who they can't. We have had no problem finding good loggers who play by our rules. If you have high quality timber they will do whatever you ask, because they want to come back for future cuts and they always make money on your land. So it's your game you make the rules.