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Go Back in Time

Q) If you could go back in time to when you first started improving your forest, what would you do differently?

A)  Recently, in explaining what obstacles were present when we first started working in our forest, I found that words were insufficient in describing the vegetation, the timber type, or the road situation that we encountered. All the work we did in plowing brush, thinning trees, pruning branches, burning slash and follow-up herbicides could not be accurately relayed by words alone.

Color photos taken at key stages in the development of forests are crucial in explaining the enormity of the work involved. In cases where work will be done over decades rather than years, permanent photo points, easily found in the future will be invaluable. This is especially true in cases where the owners wishes are to keep the land in the family for generations.

Imagine how valuable the photos can be 50-100 years in the future. How many old clear cuts in the 1890s now support a thriving timber stand and how valuable would those photos be in explaining forestry techniques to non-believers?