Somewhere Fence

At the top of the hill there is a small area, less than five acres in size, that we have been avoiding for several years. It is the dividing line between us and the neighbor that happens to be a large tract(miles and miles in size) timber company.

We have avoided the trees in this spot because of a storm several years ago that caused powerful winds to rip across the ridge. The clear cut that the company had recently completed denuded the crown of the hill. The winds funneled through the newly created clear ground acreage and slammed into the trees that lined the ridge both on their side of the property line and on our side. The trees that had recently lost the big timber that protected them from the buffeting winds became susceptible to the force of the storm.

The result was a lot of damage that was wildly strewn about. Trees where broken, some were uprooted or tipped over, tree tops hang limply from suspended branches. Tall fir, big leaf maple and wild cherry are the main large wood trees in this area. The fence line that delineates the two properties was lost in the melee. It creates a dangerous situation with so much unstable wood above and tangles of fallen wood with barb wire poking out every once in a while at the ground level.

We heard from the same neighbor that did the original clear cut that they were going to start the logging of the damaged trees on their side of the property line. We all went to the area to flag the established property lines, identify where wire and fence posts were standing before the storm, and to sort out which trees were theirs and which ones were ours. Many had roots on one side of the divide while the above ground portion (80-100 feet) were on the other side. The area is a mess to put it lightly.

The neighbor conceded that any tree leaning over where the fence line is now marked will be cut and set over the property line for our harvest. All wild cherry in the area will all be set over the fence for us to make firewood since there is no market for cherry at the pulp mill at this time and they do not want to leave that much wood laying in the forest after harvest.

We agreed to tear out the fence completely, or clearly mark any areas that we were not successful with the removal (wires and metal are very dangerous for loggers and equipment and all of us want to make sure that everyone is safe while working). We will be replacing and upgrading the fence after all the logging has been completed.

Getting all the fence out is proving to be a bit of a problem because of all the downed trees. Mike made a path into the wreckage and is slowly blazing a trail into the most damaged area. He is logging as he goes, falling timber that he has chosen for log loads, as he cuts off and drags out the damaged trees. I follow up as he opens up a section to locate, roll up and remove the barb wire while searching for each post. The neighbor is scheduled to start logging in the next couple of weeks.