Forest Operations Field Tour - July 19

On July 19 we were joined by 15 co-op members, and guests, at Glen Rosse's woodlot in Scots Bay, Kings County. We took the morning to observe and discuss forest operations firsthand. Special thanks to Glen for hosting the event, and to Mike Manning of Manning Farm and Forest for the equipment demonstrations and offering his valuable insight. 

Glen opened the tour by providing attendees with a historical overview of his woodlot, noting the clearcutting of 25 acres in 1980, the subsequent planting of Norway spruce, and the conditions leading to the need for forest management aimed at enhancing the stands diversity. The tour visited a completed strip shelterwood harvest and a road right-of-way harvest. Here we discussed the economics and logistics of building forest access roads on private land. The most recent road construction on Glen’s property is being completed by Jeff Whitney of Eagle Eye Excavations. 

At our next stop we visited a mature red spruce stand where a gap irregular shelterwood will be taking place. We discussed how stand treatments are prescribed, planned, and laid out to meet landowner objectives, how harvesting equipment is used to complete the work, and how monitoring and follow-up treatments can benefit the stand. Glen likes to add to the diversity of his forests by planting additional hardwood species and he plans to continue to do this post harvest. 

The tour concluded with demonstrations of Mike's equipment. We got a look at the porter, used to transport the timber roadside following strategic trails laid out to avoid wet areas, and challenging terrain. Mike then harvested and processed a few Norway Spruce trees for the attendees before we discussed the economics, capabilities, and limitations of his equipment.