TSI

[Shooter77]

The value you are talking about is a basis. Once you have a basis, you can deduct a loss from things like ice storm, straight line wind, beetle damage, etc that effect your timber. Without it you can not.

Yes from what I got from the forester, it will help with any capital gains tax from the sale of timber.

 

[Shooter77]

I meet with the forester today. Spent about 2 hours walking my property talking about habitat and things I can do to improve it. My property is mostly Yellow popular (60-70%) with a mix of Walnut, Black Cherry, Hickory and dead or dying ash. We found 1 oak on the property (8-10" dia). He suggested I work to open the canopy up and cut all the grape vines as they were hurting the tree tops. He suggested getting with NRC about cost sharing program to cut the grape vines. The back half of my land has timber ready to cut and the front side, he recommended waiting 5-8 years, allowing most to grow to appropriate size for harvest by cutting the popular and walnut trees. I feel he was more toward the timber value side then the wildlife.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I feel he was more toward the timber value side then the wildlife.

Which in my experience is typical of most foresters and loggers. Not good or bad, just is. Finding a forester that listens and acknowledges your goals while viewing your property thru balanced lenses might take a little time.

 

[squackattack]

First, it sounds like you have a nice property. (I would love to have soil that would grow walnut.) We all don't have that. Also with the lack of mast he might of thought timber production was easier to accomplish. Getting oak/mast regeneration is very difficult ( almost impossible). I surmise that he is thinking once you have a harvest on the back portion you will have an abundance of "good habitat" for game species. Also the question I would want to know is what type of harvest method you will have implemented( clear cut, shelterwood, etc. or combination) and the layout of it. You could greatly influence wildlife movement with what type and how you harvest. Cutting grapevines out of trees is the canned answer all foresters give. Nothing is wrong with that, but realize that a grapevine in a poorly formed undesirable tree is not a grapevine I would cut. That grapevine has a lot benefits and the tree doesn't. Besides freeing up growing space I would use my time on something else. Again I am trying to guess what someone was thinking and that is dangerous.

 

[Shooter77]

His first comment was about the soil. Said it was really good looking dirt and very dark. I've done 5 soil test on the micro plots I've done there. All of them are in the woods. everyone one has came back 6.1-6.7 ph. He was impressed with the quality of the yellow popular, said I had some of the best stands he's seen. The back 10 acres, trees are 30"+ at breast height. I have about a dozen that it would take 2 grown men to get there arms around. He said I had a lot of board feet per acre of timber and my small acreage actually lays much larger.

His view of the oaks was that my property runs N to S, so he felt it wasn't going to be having lots of locations for oaks and because of the condition of the soil. I do have lot of ash that has died from and fallen or still standing dead. His view was the grapevines were destroying the tops of the trees. there is trees down were the tops were loaded from vines. some of the vines are golf balls to softball size.

 

[BSK]

His first comment was about the soil. Said it was really good looking dirt and very dark. I've done 5 soil test on the micro plots I've done there. All of them are in the woods. everyone one has came back 6.1-6.7 ph.

That's amazing. On my place, forest soils run 4.3 to 4.8 pH. In theory, that's acidic enough to melt your shoes if you stand in it long enough.

 

[megalomaniac]

I would recommend thinking about what you want or what your end goal is (timber production, specific wildlife, aesthetics, etc). Tsi or FSi, whatever you want to call it, is a tool to achieve a desired result. Knowing what you want as an outcome will dictate the type of Tsi you should do. Most likely it will be a couple of types( crop tree release, mid story removal, invasive species control,etc.) for different areas. I would suggest considering doing it so that you can encourage wildlife movement how you want ( making pinch points, bedding cover,etc.). Main thing is that putting sunshine on the ground is going to make things grow and this is what you want for most game species. "Weeds" are what they want,all the while improving the current food you have. If this is out in left field please disregard.

Great and we'll summarized perspective on TSI