In Michigan we just recently got the beech blight and Beech bark disease in our area which is killing all our larger trees and I'm wondering what others are doing to deal with it?.. should I get rid of all the beech trees( beech saplings also) even though some of the beech mybe immune to the disease? I know a lot of guys would say get rid of them all but the problem is I only have 3 different species that make up my Sugarbush which are Ironwood, Beech and Maple (the ash borer has already killed all of my ash!)my research on here has said that a Woods with other species helps prevent diseases so that's why I'm wondering. If I take out all the beech and the only thing left other than maple is small Ironwood! Then I also have to worry about Sun scaled trees when i take out the 2 and 3 foot diameter beech tree's with the huge crowns that are dying anyhow! My woods is a old-growth woods with lots of tall maple but also about a 15 to 20% mix of the other mentioned species. When speaking to a Lapeer guy they recommended just cutting 3 feet around every maple tree and leave the rest (which is exactly what I've been doing!)Then when I spoke to a CDL representative they suggested I cut away all the Ironwood. And then again, when I spoke to a local large syrup producer he mentioned getting rid of everything but the maple tree. So I'm just confused on what to do. And just for a reference I would say most of the Ironwood and Beech trees are juveniles compared to the maples and are only about 10 to 20 feet tall at most and are growing inbetween the larger maple trees which are spaced roughly 15ft to 20ft apart unless there is a large beech tree in the area, then I would say 50/60 feet between maple trees! Which brings me to my next question .. if you do leave these other saplings growing in between the maple, how far apart do you thin them without letting in too much sunlight? Any advice or input is appreciated.
P.s
I have 98 Acres to thin so I want to make sure I do it right the first time. Thanks!