'Walk in the Woods' puts forestry education into action

What better classroom could there be than the great outdoors?

One of the main purposes of the Carlton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is to teach people how to care for the natural environment.

Throughout this past year, Carlton SWCD Forestry Technician Kelly Smith was instrumental in coordinating a series of "Walk in the Woods" events for local landowners to learn how to care for their forests. During the walks - sponsored by the Kettle River Woodland Council chapter of the Minnesota Forestry Association - Smith and other forestry professionals brought information about the many decisions and activities needed to plant, care for, use and harvest trees. Each also highlighted a certain area of stewardship.

Spring

Last spring found landowners at Alan Finifrock's property east of Moose Lake.

Originally owned and farmed by his parents, Finifrock learned as a child how to plant and care for trees after his parents decided the land was better suited as a forest. These early experiences started an annual tradition of tree plantings and other forest projects Finifrock has shared with family, friends and neighbors.

In fact, during the walk, two other attendees, Will Salo and John Schwock, recounted stories of several of Finifrock's forest projects: Salo helped with harvesting aspen 30 years ago, and Schwock assisted in planting 10,000 spruce and pine trees in 1997.

Several of Finifrock's projects have required outside funding and labor assistance.

According to Smith, "there is funding assistance available to help get forest management projects done. Red pine thinning and young forest habitat are two of the eligible practices." Red pines planted in the early 1950s on Finifrock's land were thinned in 1991 to improve the health and growth rate of the remaining trees. And last winter, with assistance from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Finifrock worked with logger Justin Salmela to harvest 11 acres of aspen to create a forest habitat for golden-winged warblers and other birds and forest creatures.

"If there isn't enough timber volume to attract a logger, then federal, state, or local funding can make up the difference" to get smaller projects accomplished," Smith explained.

Annual tradition, fueled by enjoyment of the land, plays a huge part in carrying out Finifrock's projects. He takes great pleasure in helping his children, grandchildren and others learn valuable work skills through forest improvement projects. The biggest benefits for Finifrock are the ability to ski and hike in his forest, the chances to observe wildlife, and the feelings of peace, quiet, and satisfaction from a lifetime of work, growth, family and friendship.

Summer

The summer "Walk in the Woods" was held in Bob Asproth's forest near Mahtowa. The walk emphasized how to steer the direction a forest takes by determining the time of year and the amount of area where timber is harvested.

"If forest is harvested in winter, large aspen areas tend to regrow as mostly aspen," said Smith. "Because Bob's was a summer harvest, a mixture of maple, birch, oak, and aspen are regenerating."

Diversity in tree species and age, Smith added, lead to "a more resilient forest better suited to handle insect, disease, and storm damage."

Small group selection, which is harvesting small patches within mature forests, provides no-maintenance wildlife food plots as well as places to plant other trees. However, this type of harvest is an expensive logging method and only works well for certain types of forests and harvest situations.

However, if small patch harvesting is balanced with larger area cuts, the whole project is more affordable and attractive to loggers. In Asproth's case, Carlton County foresters Greg Bernu and Mark Westphal explained how the County had stands of aspen ready to harvest near Asproth's property. They notified Asproth, a neighboring landowner, that a county land harvest was planned and a harvest opportunity was available for his own forest. Asproth was interested, and the harvests were combined into one operation.

The access through Asproth's land made a summer harvest possible, and the summer wood - added to the larger combined harvest - yielded a higher price for both Asproth and the County. In addition, logger John Palmer appreciated the ability to work on Asproth's better-drained land during summer rainy periods and was agreeable to the extra work of grubbing out stumps and grading an area for Asproth to seed as a wildlife and pollinator food plot.

Fall

The fall "Walk in the Woods" was on property along the Kettle River just upstream of Rutledge. Owned by Paul Dickson, a knowledgeable and experienced consulting forester and owner of Dickson Forestry, Inc., Dickson shared some ways he produces income and reduces expenses with his forest, especially the red pine.

To begin with, Dickson enrolled his property in a 50-year Sustainable Forest Incentive Act (SFIA) covenant "to keep this property from being subdivided and developed," noted Smith. The annual payments are enough to cover Dickson's property taxes on this land.

Another income producer is timber harvesting. Some timber buyers - like Bell Timber who thinned Dickson's stand two years ago - look for tall, straight trees with less taper to use for poles and house logs. Buyers for lumber prefer short, thick trees for making 2x4s, etc. Pulp markets keep changing and, currently, there is not much market for red pine pulp. However, white spruce has a good pulp market with its long, strong, white fibers making up 40-50 percent of local pulp.

Dickson figured that the current value of his standing timber is about $2,500 an acre which gives him a 5-10 percent return on his property investment. He plans another timber harvest in about 10 years, taking another one-third of the trees.

Done right, timber harvesting can improve the health of a forest.

"When pine have less than 30 percent of the trunk in live branches, it's time to thin them.," Smith said. "Thinning pine plantations improves timber growth rate, tree health, and resistance to insect, disease and storm damage. It also allows seedlings underneath to get the next forest started."

In addition, Dickson talked about the work his family is doing to clear out buckthorn and Amur maple infesting 15 acres of forest along the river.

"Invasive plant infestations lower wildlife habitat quality and keep forests from renewing themselves," reported Smith.

In areas that Dickson has cleared, native plants and young trees are returning which will prevent bank erosion, improve water quality, and provide excellent fish and wildlife habitat.

While landowners enjoy being able to hunt, walk and explore their forests, Smith emphasized. "all of us are benefiting from the wood products," as well as the benefits to rivers, lakes and wildlife.

"These woods walks provided forest landowners the contacts with forestry professionals, information on project assistance, and the ability to share experiences with other forest landowners," he added.

Kim Samuelson is Carlton SWCD's elected supervisor for District 4. If you would like to host or attend a future "Walk in the Woods," or would like more information about managing and generating income from your forest and how Carlton SWCD can help you, please contact Smith at 218-384-3891.