Another great video! Really interesting points about thinning and the impact on tree stability-something a lot of people don’t consider when opening up the canopy. I’ve been working on habitat improvements myself, mainly clearing invasives and improving the understory. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes over time. Looking forward to more great content!
Impressive all the work you've put into your place. Also amazing how many rubs you have in that bedding area! A lot of people curve ironwood, but the grouse sure like the catkins, and like you said, it's nice cover with the leaves being retained through winter.
@danielandres6647 thanks! Yah I've read a lot about the benefits of hophornbeam with grouse. I've certainly seen our grouse numbers increase with all the chainsaw work
Great info, I've been taking out honeysuckle all spring summer and fall up to deer season. That was pretty much my whole understory. Next will saw down the midstory where feasible and try to improve the oak and walnut stands. Elm ironwood bitternut hickory hackberry targeted for cutting, shagbark hickory walnut black white red and shingle oak, black cherry trees to save per Forrester. I'm liking the electric chainsaw for most of this work. Arthritis in the shoulder and I don't have to yank the rope.
Been using the 14" Hart 40v for most. It's lasted through four chains and still going strong. Battery lasts a couple hours same as me. Wallyworld 178 beans now, extra battery 158 beans.
@keithbuesing6912 that all sounds like great work! We don't have hickory but they hinge awesome so you should be able to use them as nice bedding structure
Alot of awsome info. I plan on doing this in feb right after our deer season ends. Im not gona get as carried away as what you did but i got alot of mid story trees to cut along with aspen and junk trees
Great stuff Sam, surprised you don’t have much snow? We’re way under average in northern Mi too, love the chainsaw habitat work you gain so much benefit from it. Won’t be long for me, if the snow holds out.
@stevedenoyer5956 it's been another fantastic winter so no complaints here! On a normal year we'd be 2 to 3 feet deep by now. Two mild winters in a row
Another great video. You are taking some risk of losing trees during high winds when you eliminate the support they get from touching the canopies of other trees. This is especially true of trees that have grown tall and narrow and in close proximity to other trees. This happens a lot on new golf courses and other developments. I recommend leaving small groups of trees (3-5) and then create more space between those groups. Think about how much harder it is to push over three people with linked arms in a circle. This is not a concern if you are thinning trees that are protected from the wind.
@virgilholmes6688 great point and one I need to share more often in videos. I do share that with clients a lot. I see this a lot in aspen stands. That's why clear cutting aspen is always best.
Good point, I did a limited forrestry harvest and a high wind came through. There was literally a hundred trees blown over or broken off trunks, many of which could have been harvested but would have been better in ten years
Great information. If I can offer a suggestion for your videos... get a simple tripod and mount your camera to that (even if it's your phone). Way too much swinging of camera makes the videos difficult to watch and makes some people motion sick. Set the tripod, keep the camera stationary while you talk or slowly pan. It doesn't need to be a big bulky tripod. $30 light weight tri-pod and a $15 phone holder would improve the quality of your videos significant and help fuel continued growth of your channel. Again, you have great information - hopefully you can understand that my constructive criticism is intended to make things even better with your videos.
@billwenzel2161 yes thank you for this reminder. You aren't the first to say this. I plan on investing in some solid video equipment this year. But a lot of it is just me needing to slow down. I get excited as I walk around and kinda forget I'm even videoing
@@PFHabitat Sounds good. I've dabbled with making some videos. My most recent work related "semi formal" marketing videos I shot with my Iphone on a cheap tri-pod and they turned out great. Not nearly as much about investing in equipment as much as it is just remembering to set the camera up on a tripod and do your thing. You videos have inspired me to fire up the Stihl. I had 25 acres of aspen clear cut in 2009 and another 30 or so clearcut in 2019 so I have think cover but especially the 2009 cut is ready to be knocked back down in certain areas to get sun to the ground.
You mentioned that you would go back, after sometime, to reset the growth again with your chainsaw. Would you ever use fire say after a couple years to do the reset rather than all the chainsaw work?
@tedrize8419 you can let them go a little while longer to eventually hinge if you need more bedding structure. But if browse is lacking you can go ahead and flush cut them and get the browse going again.
@robertduguay689 i don't simply because our fire windows are so tight here it's tough to find a good window for a burn. You certainly can though to help with the regen
Love the videos! I was wondering if killing giant ragweed would be worth the effort to get sunlight to the ground in my muck woods. I know the ragweed has good protein and the deer eat it when it’s young. I feel it blocks all the sunlight so no woody browse will grow. Its muck dirt. It does make thick cover.
@bvsproductions9021 generally the woody regen out competes the herbaceous growth eventually. I don't mind having some of that mixed in because it does suppress the woody stuff for a few years and gives me different stages of growth in the woods. Plus it's great fawning habitat.
You need a couple hundred Meyers spruce in there. My deer do not browse them in north central MN. The needles are extremely stiff. Holds branches to the ground.
@bucksutherland7807 I've been adding in white spruce to my cuts. Great suggestion though. Those isolated conifers are a great compliment to the bedding cuts.
@@PFHabitat Sam, meyers spruce is SUPERIOR to a ratty/crappy white spruce in so many ways. Meyers is probably the most browse resistant spruce. Its thick dense shape is gonna deter rubbing. The branches wont self prune like a ratty white spruce. Meyers is a better thermal blocker. Its prettier and has outstanding drought tolerance. Its gonna grow slowly like a BHS, but someday when you are an old man you will be very happy that you diversified your planting and left them for the next generation. After 20-30 years white spruce start getting gross and falling apart. I wont ever waste my time with a white spruce again. Meyers spruce will give you fantastic diversity that will easily outlast you and I.
I like BHS as well. But I won't be planting Meyer's spruce for the same reason I don't plant scot's pine, I do my best to stick to native species to my area. I'll plant some hybrids that are crossed with native species. But when a tree originated over seas I just tend to steer clear. Nothing against you planting it, it's just something I prefer not to do if I can find a native alternative
Bunch of native trees in my area are dying. Balsam fir and tamaracks getting hit very hard by disease and killing lots of trees. I'm actually alarmed how fast the balsam are dying. They are the majority of thermal cover in my area. I have planted multiple different spruce, pine, and fir, northern white cedar and Canadian hemlock in case one species gets decimated I will have others that might be resistant. I see all these coexist together at the MN Landscape arboretum without issue. The deer are never gonna know that meyers spruce originated in Asia, but they sure are gonna be happy for their thermal protection. Most food plot seed and all the chemicals people use aren't "natives" either, but that does stop guys from broadcasting it all over their land or recommending it to others.
I understand why you'd plant them and do get that what we plant in plots and tree species like apple trees aren't native. So I'm not a purist. But like I shared, if I can find a native alternative for what I need I'll go that route. It's a shame your natives are getting hit by disease. That's tough to see. We still have ash but it's only a matter of time I'm afraid.
Sam, Do you ever do any kind of habitat work in a marsh area that contains mostly canary grass and some alder? We have a large area like that and are looking for suggestions on how to improve it.
@Coop779 that's a tough one to work in. The canary grass suppresses anything you plant into it. Burning and then staying after the canary grass with clethodim is one thing we've tried. You need to commit to spraying that grass for 5+ years though. Eventually you can plant into it once you knock it back enough
great video! im trying to identify a shrub on a new property in trempealeau co wi. its mainly in open grassy areas. the leaves look like willow or dogwood leaves and it has clusters of small cherry looking berries. it grows more up than out and is around 3-5 feet tall and is loaded with woody spikes coming off the stems. im fairly knowledgeable of trees and shrubs but cannot identify this shrub. the only thing i have found that looks fairly similar is a western sand cherry but i dont think thats it. any idea?
I missed the part about it's leaves looking like dogwood. Yah that wouldn't be it then. I'm not sure then... good luck, I'm sure you'll solve the mystery eventually
Love your passion Sam! Glad your channel is growing. Great content. I'm about 75 miles northwest of you. Lots of big boxelder/ basswood. We also have ALOT OF buckthorn and prickly ash. One thing that I love to do is hingecut a big boxelder/ basswood right on top of a buckthorn/ prickly ash thicket. " soft landing". That can become a MAJOR bedding spot even though it will be a small area. Also, I've hinge cut 1000s of trees mostly Boxelder/ elm and basswood. I tend to cut them high( yep, dangerous ) . Keeping the tree alive is not a concern. I do it for horizontal cover. A living hinge cut tree can still shade out the ground. If you ever travel this way, give me a shout.
@StevenSmith-7t391 it's low on the browse preference list but they do hit the stump sprouts really hard given they're higher in nutrient content then a standing tree
@daveguttormson6315 thanks brother! I love hinging those species as well. And I hinge high, the deer love tucking under those hinges. Tough to beat a well done hinge-cut bedding area
Another great video! Really interesting points about thinning and the impact on tree stability-something a lot of people don’t consider when opening up the canopy. I’ve been working on habitat improvements myself, mainly clearing invasives and improving the understory. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes over time. Looking forward to more great content!
@buydirtlife hey thanks for that! I love hearing that you're knocking out invasives. Keep up the good work!
Impressive all the work you've put into your place. Also amazing how many rubs you have in that bedding area! A lot of people curve ironwood, but the grouse sure like the catkins, and like you said, it's nice cover with the leaves being retained through winter.
@danielandres6647 thanks! Yah I've read a lot about the benefits of hophornbeam with grouse. I've certainly seen our grouse numbers increase with all the chainsaw work
Great info, I've been taking out honeysuckle all spring summer and fall up to deer season. That was pretty much my whole understory. Next will saw down the midstory where feasible and try to improve the oak and walnut stands. Elm ironwood bitternut hickory hackberry targeted for cutting, shagbark hickory walnut black white red and shingle oak, black cherry trees to save per Forrester. I'm liking the electric chainsaw for most of this work. Arthritis in the shoulder and I don't have to yank the rope.
Would love your recommendation on an electric saw. Would like a light saw for the small work.
Been using the 14" Hart 40v for most. It's lasted through four chains and still going strong. Battery lasts a couple hours same as me. Wallyworld 178 beans now, extra battery 158 beans.
@keithbuesing6912 that all sounds like great work! We don't have hickory but they hinge awesome so you should be able to use them as nice bedding structure
Excellent video
Thanks!
Alot of awsome info. I plan on doing this in feb right after our deer season ends. Im not gona get as carried away as what you did but i got alot of mid story trees to cut along with aspen and junk trees
@transamguy9073 any work is good work! Glad to hear you'll be getting at it
Good saw work!
@@jamesfarrow2130 thanks brother!
Great stuff Sam, surprised you don’t have much snow? We’re way under average in northern Mi too, love the chainsaw habitat work you gain so much benefit from it. Won’t be long for me, if the snow holds out.
@stevedenoyer5956 it's been another fantastic winter so no complaints here! On a normal year we'd be 2 to 3 feet deep by now. Two mild winters in a row
Another great video. You are taking some risk of losing trees during high winds when you eliminate the support they get from touching the canopies of other trees. This is especially true of trees that have grown tall and narrow and in close proximity to other trees. This happens a lot on new golf courses and other developments. I recommend leaving small groups of trees (3-5) and then create more space between those groups. Think about how much harder it is to push over three people with linked arms in a circle. This is not a concern if you are thinning trees that are protected from the wind.
@virgilholmes6688 great point and one I need to share more often in videos. I do share that with clients a lot. I see this a lot in aspen stands. That's why clear cutting aspen is always best.
Good point, I did a limited forrestry harvest and a high wind came through. There was literally a hundred trees blown over or broken off trunks, many of which could have been harvested but would have been better in ten years
Great information. If I can offer a suggestion for your videos... get a simple tripod and mount your camera to that (even if it's your phone). Way too much swinging of camera makes the videos difficult to watch and makes some people motion sick. Set the tripod, keep the camera stationary while you talk or slowly pan. It doesn't need to be a big bulky tripod. $30 light weight tri-pod and a $15 phone holder would improve the quality of your videos significant and help fuel continued growth of your channel. Again, you have great information - hopefully you can understand that my constructive criticism is intended to make things even better with your videos.
@billwenzel2161 yes thank you for this reminder. You aren't the first to say this. I plan on investing in some solid video equipment this year. But a lot of it is just me needing to slow down. I get excited as I walk around and kinda forget I'm even videoing
@@PFHabitat Sounds good. I've dabbled with making some videos. My most recent work related "semi formal" marketing videos I shot with my Iphone on a cheap tri-pod and they turned out great. Not nearly as much about investing in equipment as much as it is just remembering to set the camera up on a tripod and do your thing. You videos have inspired me to fire up the Stihl. I had 25 acres of aspen clear cut in 2009 and another 30 or so clearcut in 2019 so I have think cover but especially the 2009 cut is ready to be knocked back down in certain areas to get sun to the ground.
@billwenzel2161 glad to hear you're getting some habitat on the ground!
Thanks!
@@bighilltom thanks for watching!
I wish there was a before pic but nice work
@mikekarpiak5286 good reminder. I have done before and after in a lot of videos but I agree, it really helps with the visual
You mentioned that you would go back, after sometime, to reset the growth again with your chainsaw. Would you ever use fire say after a couple years to do the reset rather than all the chainsaw work?
@Enom20 I don't just because our fire windows are real tight up here so it's tough to find a good time to burn it
Great job, should I recut a maple stump that has new growth above the browse line.Somevgolks say to hinge cut them but they are 1to 2 inch diameter.
@tedrize8419 you can let them go a little while longer to eventually hinge if you need more bedding structure. But if browse is lacking you can go ahead and flush cut them and get the browse going again.
Great video. Do you use fire before cut ?
@robertduguay689 i don't simply because our fire windows are so tight here it's tough to find a good window for a burn. You certainly can though to help with the regen
Love the videos! I was wondering if killing giant ragweed would be worth the effort to get sunlight to the ground in my muck woods. I know the ragweed has good protein and the deer eat it when it’s young. I feel it blocks all the sunlight so no woody browse will grow. Its muck dirt. It does make thick cover.
@bvsproductions9021 generally the woody regen out competes the herbaceous growth eventually. I don't mind having some of that mixed in because it does suppress the woody stuff for a few years and gives me different stages of growth in the woods. Plus it's great fawning habitat.
@ and turkeys!
@bvsproductions9021 true!
You need a couple hundred Meyers spruce in there. My deer do not browse them in north central MN. The needles are extremely stiff. Holds branches to the ground.
@bucksutherland7807 I've been adding in white spruce to my cuts. Great suggestion though. Those isolated conifers are a great compliment to the bedding cuts.
@@PFHabitat Sam, meyers spruce is SUPERIOR to a ratty/crappy white spruce in so many ways. Meyers is probably the most browse resistant spruce. Its thick dense shape is gonna deter rubbing. The branches wont self prune like a ratty white spruce. Meyers is a better thermal blocker. Its prettier and has outstanding drought tolerance. Its gonna grow slowly like a BHS, but someday when you are an old man you will be very happy that you diversified your planting and left them for the next generation. After 20-30 years white spruce start getting gross and falling apart. I wont ever waste my time with a white spruce again. Meyers spruce will give you fantastic diversity that will easily outlast you and I.
I like BHS as well. But I won't be planting Meyer's spruce for the same reason I don't plant scot's pine, I do my best to stick to native species to my area. I'll plant some hybrids that are crossed with native species. But when a tree originated over seas I just tend to steer clear. Nothing against you planting it, it's just something I prefer not to do if I can find a native alternative
Bunch of native trees in my area are dying. Balsam fir and tamaracks getting hit very hard by disease and killing lots of trees. I'm actually alarmed how fast the balsam are dying. They are the majority of thermal cover in my area. I have planted multiple different spruce, pine, and fir, northern white cedar and Canadian hemlock in case one species gets decimated I will have others that might be resistant. I see all these coexist together at the MN Landscape arboretum without issue. The deer are never gonna know that meyers spruce originated in Asia, but they sure are gonna be happy for their thermal protection. Most food plot seed and all the chemicals people use aren't "natives" either, but that does stop guys from broadcasting it all over their land or recommending it to others.
I understand why you'd plant them and do get that what we plant in plots and tree species like apple trees aren't native. So I'm not a purist. But like I shared, if I can find a native alternative for what I need I'll go that route. It's a shame your natives are getting hit by disease. That's tough to see. We still have ash but it's only a matter of time I'm afraid.
Sam, Do you ever do any kind of habitat work in a marsh area that contains mostly canary grass and some alder? We have a large area like that and are looking for suggestions on how to improve it.
@Coop779 that's a tough one to work in. The canary grass suppresses anything you plant into it. Burning and then staying after the canary grass with clethodim is one thing we've tried. You need to commit to spraying that grass for 5+ years though. Eventually you can plant into it once you knock it back enough
great video! im trying to identify a shrub on a new property in trempealeau co wi. its mainly in open grassy areas. the leaves look like willow or dogwood leaves and it has clusters of small cherry looking berries. it grows more up than out and is around 3-5 feet tall and is loaded with woody spikes coming off the stems. im fairly knowledgeable of trees and shrubs but cannot identify this shrub. the only thing i have found that looks fairly similar is a western sand cherry but i dont think thats it. any idea?
@@danwilkinson2489 sounds like fireberry hawthorne
I don’t think that’s it. I took a couple pictures this summer and thought I’d easily find what it was but have not been able to. Thanks for the reply!
I missed the part about it's leaves looking like dogwood. Yah that wouldn't be it then. I'm not sure then... good luck, I'm sure you'll solve the mystery eventually
Do the deer eat the ironwood or do they just get security from them? I’ve got tons of ironwood but the canopy is way above the deer.
Love your passion Sam! Glad your channel is growing. Great content.
I'm about 75 miles northwest of you.
Lots of big boxelder/ basswood.
We also have ALOT OF buckthorn and prickly ash.
One thing that I love to do is hingecut a big boxelder/ basswood right on top of a buckthorn/ prickly ash thicket.
" soft landing".
That can become a MAJOR bedding spot even though it will be a small area.
Also, I've hinge cut 1000s of trees mostly Boxelder/ elm and basswood. I tend to cut them high( yep, dangerous ) .
Keeping the tree alive is not a concern. I do it for horizontal cover. A living hinge cut tree can still shade out the ground.
If you ever travel this way, give me a shout.
@StevenSmith-7t391 it's low on the browse preference list but they do hit the stump sprouts really hard given they're higher in nutrient content then a standing tree
@daveguttormson6315 thanks brother! I love hinging those species as well. And I hinge high, the deer love tucking under those hinges. Tough to beat a well done hinge-cut bedding area