CONSERVATION CORNER

Timber Thinning Important For Wildlife and Your Pocket

by James L. Cummins

The thinning of trees is an important step in the wildlife management process, as it is an important step in improving your pocketbook.

My mother has part of her family's land in Montgomery County. It has been in her family since 1833. Part of the land (25 acres) that was farmland in 1937 (that is the oldest aerial photo I have found) has grown up in a thick stand of green ash and sweetgum. Another part (also 25 acres) was growing a mixed stand of pine and upland hardwoods. Some of the oaks had died as a result of stress from the 2001 drought.

Nevertheless, my mother is primarily interested in income and I am primarily interested in wildlife. To reach both goals, we needed to do what my wife says is a "junk" cut or timber harvest.

First, let's discuss what we are going to do. We hired a forester to mark the trees for cutting with a paint gun. On the upland site, he marked sweet gum and pine that were very old or were crooked and taking up space (sunlight and nutrients) for straighter trees. On the bottomland site, he marked primarily sweetgum, sycamore, green ash and oaks (those that are very old and diseased). He also marked trees that were too close together so the stand would be evenly spaced and each tree had plenty of water, nutrients and sunlight. All of this will help provide for a quality tree.

Both high quality (straight) and low quality (crooked) trees are good for wildlife, but only the high quality tree is the best income producer. Small trees are unsuitable for sawtimber because they are too small. Ten to fifteen years from now, both types of trees will be big enough for sawtimber, but only the straight tree will be used for sawtimber. The crooked tree will be used for pulpwood. It will be worth only about $6.00, whereas the straight tree will be worth about $25.00. The first tree will have increased in value at an annual compound rate of 5%, whereas the second will have done so at 19%. As investments, one is great, the other is a loser. You want to eliminate the losers now to increase available water, nutrients and sunlight.

I have written this column because of the strong need for good quality forest management in Mississippi. It is good for wildlife (and keeps my mother happy). And you can make your forests/wildlife habitat into superb investments. This won't happen unless you do something now and do it right. And you can teach your children or grandchildren how to do it. It'll be their job before you know it.

So, by taking care of your big-dollar trees, you'll protect the environment better than anyone, create forests that will regularly produce income, produce all the timber we need and maintain great areas to hunt and fish.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.