| West
Virginia Slopes |
Fores-@aol.com |
| Jul
11, 2005 22:55 PDT |
Bob:
In looking at your mentions on the steepness of slopes for
logging, it is a
little tough here in WV were there entire counties with average
slopes that
exceed 50% and a few where over half the land is 70% or steeper.
I think steepness is often a function of the size of the
landscape that is
being considered and I think that in New England where
everything has been
glaciated there are practical considerations associated with
hard smooth bedrock
close to the surface on such steep slopes and the combination of
erosion and
water problems that can occur.
Oh how I hate walking on slopes so steep that you get the
willies if you
pause for a while and forget you are standing on ground so steep
that any
equipment you drop will bounce hundreds of feet before it
stops...these are the
conditions where you really appreciate the value of an ancient
tip up mound.
Russ Richardson |
| Re:
West Virginia Slopes |
dbhg-@comcast.net |
| Jul
12, 2005 04:19 PDT |
Russ:
I shudder to
even imagine logging on 40% up here, let alone 70%. From my
observations, where it has happened most of the top soil is
missing and regeneration is scrubby compared to what it
otherwise would be. If the idea of logging on steep slopes is
scary to me the thought of heavy equipment is down right
terrifying. I suppose a new equipment driver might feel the same
way.
From your
experience and perspective:
(1)
How well is logging on steep slope in WV being done?
(2)
How much soil is being lost?
(3)
How is the ecology changed when mature forests are removed from
the slopes?
(4)
What are the options available to minimize damage?
(5)
Who employs them?
Just wondering.
Bob
|
| Re:
West Virginia Slopes |
Fores-@aol.com |
| Jul
12, 2005 23:47 PDT |
Bob:
Every now and then I have to remind myself that I only work on
private
property and although much of what I see is beyond my control
everything I do is
guided by my conscience and I feel my environmental ethic has
helped me much
these past 30+ years I've spent crawling through the woods.
In some areas of WV the topsoil in the coves can be black and up
to 16"
deep. Erosion has long been a problem but I think that erosion
after a forest
fire dwarfs the erosion caused by harvesting. The unique layered
geology in WV
actually makes logging on steep land a relatively simple process
as there
tend to be level benches on most mountainsides and road building
normally is
concentrated in those areas. Road and trail planning is critical
and the
threat of destabilizing the soils on acres of ground is a
hallmark of poor harvest
planning.
Reduction of erosion and improvement of water quality has been a
major state
wide emphasis of the WV DOF and the timber industry for several
years and
erosion problems are rapidly lessening.
The soils here are very alive and active and the damp climate
causes woody
material to breakdown incredibly fast and this factor aids in
speeding up an
areas recovery from logging. In 2003, we had a severe ice storm
in this part
of WV and two growing seasons later any piece of yellow poplar
under 6" thick
breaks when you step on it and 4" oak limbs crumble from
tops when you touch
them. Research at Fernow Research forest in Parsons, WV has
determined that
the water quality impact of logging is gone in less than two
years.
The impact on the forest understory can be dramatic as some
plants die back
and go dormant when exposed to full sunlight Some understory
plants go crazy
in the extra light and produce seed...black Cohosh and pokeberry
in
particular.
So much with the post harvest forest condition depends on the
people
involved with the harvest, their sense of environmental ethics
and the forester (or
not) overseeing the operation to be actively considering the
future of the
forest. Much of what goes on is short sighted plunder with
lingering problems.
In my travels through WV I regularly see bad things happen to
really good
woods but I also see things happen that make me smile with hope
and optimism
for the forest.
There are some extremely good workers in the woods that cause
minimal damage
and my favorites are loggers that use only bulldozers or a
combination of
dozers and smaller skidders. Our landscape is too small a scale
for large
applications of cable logging systems.
The recovery of the forest can be quite rapid as 30"
diameter yellow poplar
stumps disappear in ten or twelve years and saplings can grow to
6" in
diameter and 45 feet tall in fifteen years.
I know a young forest shares almost none of the characteristics
of an old
forest but the productivity is not lost, it is just
reappropriated.
As the movement of invasive plants continues to race into the
deepest bowels
of the Appalachian hardwood forest it is becoming increasingly
likely that
the days of natural regeneration of hardwoods may be coming to
an end and the
work you are doing to recognize and document the composition,
diversity and
vitality of older woods will become an important resource to
future
researchers.
Russ |
|