I too have concerns about attempting a burn, especially with limited manpower and for me having limited experience with controlled burning period....so i met with the TN Forestry Dept and asked questions and I was told $45 per acre and thats their equipment, manpower and experience. Also 10 acre minimum...or the way he put it was $450 minimum which includes the first 10 acres....so I've considered having them do one 10 or 15 acre burn unit...and I tag along, watch and learn...gain experience and most of all confidence....Then the hope would be, in the years to follow, that I could create two or three more burn units which would allow us to rotate and burn each unit every three to four years.
The one surprise to me was when he said that they are close to one year out on the waiting list...and im sure this weather is extending that wait time.
The hang up for us is the proposed Cumberland gas line project which will go through our property...we're waiting to see if or when that construction process will be completed....but after thats settled I'd like to work with the Forestry Dept and start developing burn units.....Zero doubt at $45 per acre the tonnage of forage generated from a burn unit would far surpass any food plot we can plant...but i would continue to plant food plots...enjoy the process...but a patchwork of burn units would not only add tremendous amounts of forage but also add some great diversity to the property.
As far as aerial spray application...I've seen it done on utility line right of ways before and it was effective...but the drift did kill some trees that were not in the easement and that did not go well....many years ago i spoke with the vegetation manager at TVA and asked about future aerial applications and he said they had stepped back from that process due to the number of complaints they received....but they may be able to provide some information on the process....but just like steep terrain is a challenge for burning....I'd imagine it would also be a challenge for accurate aireal application as well? But thats just an assumption.
Yup, TN Forestry is doing a great job,
when they can get to a job. One of my clients is using them for burning, and when they burn, they do a really good job. However, finding the right days to burn has vastly limited when they can work. My client has a long list of places that need burning, but TN Forestry never can get them done. My client is now years behind schedule on his burns.
Drift of aerial spray can be a problem, as can steep terrain, but losing a few surrounding trees doesn't concern me. We've got plenty of oak trees. In fact, the cuts I want sprayed have standing trees in them, and I know they'll be killed (we cut down to 10" DBH, which left isolated trees). But I looked at the areas aerially sprayed on my client's property, and two years after, it's a smorgasbord of deer food and cover. Honestly, even more impressive than when the cut first regrew after timber removal (and I don't really know why).
Again, if fire were an easy option, I would choose fire. But it's not. So the next easiest is aerial spraying.
Yeah, TVA no longer does aerial spraying because of the drift. They now maintain all of the Right-of-Ways with 4-man backpack spraying crews. I've talked to the crews on two different occasions as they sprayed the ROWs that run across my place. Well, "talk" isn't quite right as they don't speak much English (all Central Americans).
