Forestry work in the South Seep

FORESTRY: 4 hours: 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM

PC Thinning, brush slashing and broken tree removal in the South Seep in Eastern Wedge unit #5.

Forestry work in the South Seep area of Eastern wedge unit #5. A lot of alder branch pruning, up to the eastern property line and down into the lower part of the seep. Also slashed down ubiquitous old salmonberry and some red elderberry as part of the clean-up process. I do not expect the salmonberry to regenerate successfully in this closed canopy young stand. Heading south of South Seep, there is an immense amount of horizontal hemlock – whole clumps keeled over from what appears to have been an ice or snow loading event. Numerous broken tops on the Doug firs indicate this as well. Remarkable that the alder is mostly damage-free: beautiful, tall, well-spaced specimens. I noticed that some of the alders have broken lower branches – cracked and dangling, indicating snow/ice load damage rather than wind-based damage. Started slashing down the horizontal hemlock clumps (stems only a few inches in diameter) until I ran out of light. Constant drizzle soaked me thoroughly by the end of the day.

Suppressed Doug Fir in the Alder-dominated South Seep.

The lone, emaciated Doug Fir in the center of the photo (with a bird nest to the left of the trunk) was planted right after the clear-cut approx. sixteen years ago. This stand should be full of robust Doug fir, but the naturally re-seeded alder shot up faster and shaded out nearly all of the Doug fir in this grove. Proper management of Doug fir requires control of competing hardwoods and brush. Because there was no follow-up treatment in this stand, the fir has mostly died. Fortunately, the alder came in strong with good natural spacing, so it is a commercially viable alternative.

Note the extensive, shrubby hemlock in the understory. These trees look pretty pathetic, but they are biding their time, waiting for a weather event or humans to take out the alder. When they get an opening in the canopy, they will shoot up to claim it. Hemlock’s lifespan is roughly ten times that of the alder, so they will be here for the long haul.