Do you do clear cutting?
Yes, we do — when it’s the appropriate solution for you.
The term “clear cutting” is widely misunderstood among the general public, who often confuse it with land clearing.
Land clearing is typically done to remove an entire forest to prepare land for development into home sites, commercial and industrial installations, and the roadways needed to support them.
It’s destructive and we don’t do any of this work.
The appropriate use and benefits of clear cutting timber
Clear cutting, on the other hand, is a valid forestry practice and is used often in sustainable forest management. It is nothing more than selectively harvesting a large swath of trees (but not all of them) in a strategic way to trigger natural regeneration and rapid new growth of trees in a forest.
This is because removing a large number of trees from the overhead canopy allows sunlight to reach the forest floor, where it couldn’t before. It boosts the growth rate of smaller plants and produces a large volume of new trees naturally.
This new growth from the forest floor also generates plenty of what foresters and hunters call “browse,” which is how we describe young saplings that deer browse through forests looking for, because they eat the young stems and tender shoots. This is an essential part of their diet that they actually cannot survive without, especially in winter.
Clear cuts, when thoughtfully planned and done in strategic places will also give you space in the woods to create and plant food plots with grains and attractive legumes for deer. This is a fundamental aspect of wildlife habitat cultivation, and we do it all over our service area. It’s very beneficial to deer and they thrive when it’s done well.
This practice also maintains the health and productivity of the forest long term, and helps to prevent soil erosion. The nutrient-rich remains of stumps and top branches that loggers leave behind in clear-cut areas support long term plant growth, resulting in a very healthy forest and a thriving habitat for many types of wildlife.
In cases where clear cutting is considered, we plan it carefully to ensure the ongoing vitality and resilience of the forest. We do this in close consultation with you to determine the best harvesting strategy for your timber, so that we can protect its health and productivity for future generations.