A Request For Help Continued

Continued from June 1 post…

When the downed trees blocked our path, we took off on foot to walk the last leg before we could get to our woods. We had a choice at this point to walk up a fairly steep hill through Weyerhauser trees to get to the back side of our property, or to walk on the logging road with a more comfortable grade but more downed trees to step through and around. We picked walking the road to get a little closer to our woods before stepping off into the forest.

It was a beautiful day to be in the woods for a hike. Mild weather with fluffy clouds kept the sun from beating down on us as we checked out the clearings. We didn’t even have to wear mud boots that had been the case all winter long.

Mike and Nate walked to several areas of our forest. In this picture they are standing in a clearing that was logged 2 years ago and has been already replanted. The grass that is growing right now is taller than the seedlings but in a year the trees will take over the opening in the forest and will stretch up to compete for sunlight.

In the background the trees look dead from this angle. What you are seeing is the dead branches on the lower half of the trees, the green canopy of the trees tower above these small, underdeveloped branches to heights of 75 feet or more. These background trees are about 40 years old and received a lot of storm damage.

Standing inside the tree line and looking up, damage can be seen of trees that were uprooted and leaning against other trees and tops broken out of others.

This walk in the woods was very informative and with the help of the State Forester we addressed several areas that need immediate help to control any more damage and lessen fire danger in our forest.