Sugarbush Management Question

[Urban Hillbilly]

I’ve been a hobby guy for 20 years, making about 20 gallons a season. I just moved and my new property also has maples. I’m looking for information on how to manage the woods. I think there are too many trees and I need to do some thinning. I’ll probably be here for a long time.

I’m in Grand Rapids, MI and looking for advice and/or someone to come out and walk it with me. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill

[sjdoyon]

I’ve been using the videos from Cornell and UVM Maple Research Center to assist in my thinning activities.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1HKAnyfYBOA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4T8LuVH25PM

[BAP]

One of the simplest and best things to use as a starting point for thinning trees, is to look up at the crowns of the trees. If the tops are crowded then they need thinning to open them up. You want the tops open enough so that they can grow and expand, but not open too much so that the trees get lots of wind damage and you get too much undergrowth growing.

[maple flats]

What BAP said, but some notes:
1. Leave some other species
2. Don't open the canopy too much at a time. It's best to open just 1 side at a time, then as that side fills in the space, open another side.
3. Opening too much at a time leaves the trees vulnerable
4. Leave a range of age classes so you don't leave just the mature ones
5. Be careful of beach, if you remove beach they will send up new beech from the roots over the entire drip line and can take over the whole area
6. Follow Cornel recommended practices.

[minehart gap]

You might be able to get some on site advice from Jesse Randall of Michigan State University or if your state has outreach foresters.

Another option might be to contact your local county conservation district (sometimes called soil and water conservation district) and your local NRCS office to see what possibilities they might have to offer you

[ebliese]

Steinkraus Forest Management is a small forestry company in SW MI. http://www.steinkrausforestry.com/index.html
Although they do not list Kent County as an area they serve, they do serve Allegan and Barry Counties directly south of you so it might be worth contacting them.

[DrTimPerkins]

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/manual/ Chapter 5.

[220 maple]

Thinning maples in a very dense maple forest is a good idea, the Moyers family at Laurelfork Sapsuckers thinned a woods and increased the sugar content, I was there when they was telling Dr. Abby about thinning and increasing sugar content, she was disappointed that they hadn’t kept better records of the increase! She said they know at Proctor it’s is good idea too thin, but also knows it hard to get a maple producer to cut any maple tree!
Mark 220 Maple