Thoughts on tapping logged woods?

[wanting to get into it]

Neighbors logged out their woods a couple of years ago. 16" cut, everything smaller was left. I don't have or need the trees to tap. But my new sugarhouse is going to be right next to their woods. I would like to run a little tubing this year and was thinking of asking if I could tap their trees and run the tube right to the sugarhouse. I only want about 50 trees and they are close to the sugarhouse. Is it worth asking them?

[tuckermtn]

a 16" diameter limit cut is pretty conservative- usually its around 10"- having said that, there are a lot of variables- if the loggers did a careful job, there should be minimal basal scarring and if it was done in the winter, little soil compaction. Plenty of sugarbushes have had harvest in them- thats what sugarbush management is all about- in many cases, the remaining trees will have less competition - and more sweet sap...

my .02 worth

[3rdgen.maple]

Heck if the trees are there and it will save you trucking sap it is a no brainer. You can always do what people around here do. Move the posted signs further into their land and call them your trees. Okay don't do that it is a story for another day.

[wanting to get into it]

Yes, they made a mess out of the woods. Well, to some it would seem this way. To me, I see firewood, firewood, and more firewood. Seasoned to perfection. And 3rdgen, those were my thoughts being so close to the sugarhouse. Now, on your other comment of moving the signs. The logging outfit was afraid of cutting anything too close to the property line they left some real nice, big oak standing for fear of cutting our trees. Hmmm, move the line back you say? Does that mean these nice oak are mine? :rolleyes:

[3rdgen.maple]

Okay quick version. Had I say Had a neighbor who came here from another state who thought he was gonna live the big life and make millions off from the fisherman. Well after he spent way more money than he found he could recoupe, things started to get a little funny. Built a new lodge, did a building material scam, place burnt down (hmmm) he rebuilt a bigger better one, it burnt down (hmmmm) built an even bigger one. Cutting firewood oneday he comes out and says I am cutting on his land. Nice little arguement happens, then I find a big patch of weeds (hmmm) in the center of my land. Call drug task force out. Next thing you know his place is up for sale. But before he does this he post his and some of mine and some of the other neighbors land in the dead of the winter. Someone buys the place out. I find the posted signs neighbors find theirs confront the new owner about it he hires a new survior and come to find out that the 200 acres of land he bought is really about 40. Part of that 200 acre claim was the power companys land along the river as well. Previous owner suddenly comes up missing. New owner payed over 750,000 for the property and the lodges. OUCH.

[wanting to get into it]

sounds like the previous owner was a crook. I think the other has more money than brains. I know we purchased our house and land two years ago, before I signed any papers I made two calls. One to the property inspector for the house. Yeah the bank had theirs, but I also had my own. The second was the surveyor. It was just for my own piece of mind, and I wanted to know exactly where the property line was. Good thing too, the neighbor came over and met us after we moved in and kept talking about how they planted these pine trees thirty years ago on the property line. Hmm, they sure looked like they were on my property. One way for sure to tell was to stretch a string line from pin to pin. The string won't lie. Now if they want to get technical I will get a GPS rover from work. Punch in the coordinates for the pins and watch the little guy on the screen. I love working road construction and having all the little toys when I need them. Not to mention the winters off to ....... Oh yeah, make some sweet stuff.

[Beweller]

When a logger says 16 inches, he does not mean 16 inches at DBH. He means 16 inches measured on the stump, at the largest diameter he can find.

Residual trees after a 16 inch diameter limit cut ar unlikely to exceed 12 inches at DBH.

Check thoses trees before you tap.

[KenWP]

I have a couple 8 inch trees tapped because I will never see them big in my life time anyways and they are mine. I have this neighbour figured I was on his land also. He kept saying I had to cut fire wood on the other side of my property. Now I am sort of a miserable person so I opened up the property line this summer and he can now see from pin to pin . He never opened his mouth again. Of course I find out he used to grow weeds in the one clearing that turned out to be mine.

[wanting to get into it]

Those trees are 16" DBH I had already walked about 250 yards in and took a look at what was left. But I agree with you, some loggers are like politicians and I say some cause not all loggers are like politicians.:lol:

[PerryW]

There's nothing like sap that runs right to the sugarhouse! And since the woods were recently logged, it means the maples have less competition and should (eventually) produce more sap and sweeter sap.

You need to find out exactly how many sugar maples are on the piece of land and if they are practical to hook up to a tubing system.

I usually give a gallon of syrup for every 60-80 taps I tap on other people's land.

re: surveying: I work in the surveying field, and believe me when I say a string between two pins is more accurate than the GPS.

[wanting to get into it]

Perry, I totally understand the string method. With all of this technology out there we still run string line on our new roads we build. Too many variables with GPS. GPS is good for reference. Now, ATS which I am sure you are familiar with is more accurate than GPS. We have that set up on our graders and is a close second to the string. With GPS our tolerance is + or - a 10th. ATS is 3 hundreds. When you are talking stone grade and concrete the span of a road that = big money.:)

[Haynes Forest Products]

I like it when the county comes out and fixes a few bends in the road, widens the skirts and then chip seals everything. Now all the right of ways changed and it turns out 20 years later Im the only guy that has access to his property:o All others are buying and selling 5ft strips of land from one another:lol: