Thinning and Tapping

[peckfarm]

Our 18 acre sugar bush with south eastern exposure is currently being thinned of ash, damaged maple and yellow birch. The thinning is in the range of %15-%35 of the total basal area. The soil supports blue cohosh and a variety of dark leaved ferns, the drainage is excellent and the stand is surround by 2 roads and 2 fields. The question is: can a moderately thinned stand tolerate tapping the season after the loggers have finished or is there a standard/theoretical waiting period?

[Goggleeye]

We had our woods logged heavily this summer/fall, and I plan on tapping every maple that's not damaged. I couldn't imagine a reason to wait, but then I'm no forestry expert, either.

[maple flats]

Tap all unstressed trees. No reason to wait. From the thinning you will get sweeter sap after a year or 2 from better canopies, but that does not mean you should wait. Any healthy tree is good to tap using the tapping guidelines for good stands. Over 10" tap 1, over 20" 2 and over 30" 3 for gravity, on vacuum consider just 1 up to about 25" and never more than 2.