In a "nutshell," a Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) is the application of any forestry operation designed to improve the quality of the woodlot. Ultimately, your woodland property should produce quality timber for the many products used by consumers.
But there are many reasons to attempt a TSI. In addition to growing timber for sale, I want to provide the best wildlife habitat possible to include mast production, protective cover and a level of diversity that will entice all manner of woodland creatures to the property.
Best of all, there is the soothing effect of wandering about among robust pine, oak, hickory or aspen trees swaying freely in the breeze on a bright summer day - I guess they call that aesthetics.
Combining these objectives can be a bit of challenge, however, and that's where your county forester plays an important role. In Green County that would be national award-winning Ray Amiel. In Lafayette County and, until recently, parts of Iowa County, Matt Singer has been providing expert advice for several years.
The forester will advise you on appropriate activities for the TSI site, on improvements to your woods without causing damage to other elements of the ecosystem, and will discuss any cost-sharing assistance that might be available.
I've been fortunate to have Matt help with a number of TSI efforts on my property. He's knowledgeable, helpful and, perhaps most importantly, flexible when things don't go according to plan.
I'm currently working on a TSI through the Wisconsin Forest Landowner Grant Program. The program offers cost sharing for clearing unwanted trees and brush and planting species that are more desirable.
Spindly ironwood, dying elm and box elder - Wisconsin's most infamous weed tree - clog a ravine just west of the cabin. By next May, they'll be gone, the makeover to include an array of pine, oak, shagbark hickory with a few hemlocks thrown in for good measure.
Included in the project is a stretch of the southeast slope where a battle rages between sumac that has probably dominated the area for decades and a more recent invasion of honeysuckle. The latter appears as a rather attractive shrub with an edible crop of berries that would seem to benefit wildlife. However, it also spreads rapidly and is capable of poisoning surrounding vegetation, thus eliminating much-needed diversity.
The victor in this case will eventually lay claim to the entire hillside unless strict control measures are enforced. Rather than trees, I might opt for more desirable shrub varieties like nannyberry, dogwood and high bush cranberry.
Deciding between what to keep and what to lop inevitably forces some tough choices, however. Crooked, forked or disease-prone trees do not make for good timber and usually provoke little sympathy during a TSI operation.
But what about those elderly relics, so advanced in age they have little market value and qualify as so-called "wolf" or "legacy" trees. Their branches extend out in all directions, shutting out sunlight and gobbling up nutrients, thus denying younger, faster growing trees an opportunity to add value to the woodlot.
I have a few of those misfits on the property - and, I must admit, I kind of like them. I hope they will die of old age rather than feel the bite of the sawyer's blade.
There is the aging white oak that has escaped the fate of thousands of other trees, first by the fires that swept through the region and then at the hands of the first white settlers to the region. Perhaps its proximity to the old Lead Road linking the mines of southwestern Wisconsin to eastern markets gave its odds of survival a boost.
The five oaks from which the name of our property derives would also fit this category. The clumped trunks may have sprouted from a tree that died of old age or, more likely, succumbed to the logging operation occurring in the early 1940s.
It's hard to imagine the root structure that now supports their 50-foot "wingspan." The edifice serves as a metaphor for our family of five, suggesting that the strength of one's character relates somehow to the depth of one's roots. I'll leave this legacy for posterity to decide.
DNR forester staff reorganizes
The Department of Natural Resources recently reorganized its forester staff. As a result, Matt Singer will no longer be covering this part of Iowa County.
It's been a pleasure working with Matt since his arrival in the early '90s - I'll miss his always-inspiring site visits. He has offered innumerable recommendations for improvements over the years and, on occasion, called a halt to the misguided efforts of non-professionals.
He helped establish the management plan for our Managed Forest Law acres and assisted with the paperwork for the WFLGP project. Matt has also lent his expertise to groups of high school students on field trips and responds quickly to inquiries.
Perhaps most importantly, he has always been flexible when circumstances warrant. When thigh-deep snow last winter made clearing work difficult, he obtained a six-month extension for completion of the current TSI project.
I'll miss having Matt as a resource, but look forward to working with the foresters out of the Dodgeville office.
But there are many reasons to attempt a TSI. In addition to growing timber for sale, I want to provide the best wildlife habitat possible to include mast production, protective cover and a level of diversity that will entice all manner of woodland creatures to the property.
Best of all, there is the soothing effect of wandering about among robust pine, oak, hickory or aspen trees swaying freely in the breeze on a bright summer day - I guess they call that aesthetics.
Combining these objectives can be a bit of challenge, however, and that's where your county forester plays an important role. In Green County that would be national award-winning Ray Amiel. In Lafayette County and, until recently, parts of Iowa County, Matt Singer has been providing expert advice for several years.
The forester will advise you on appropriate activities for the TSI site, on improvements to your woods without causing damage to other elements of the ecosystem, and will discuss any cost-sharing assistance that might be available.
I've been fortunate to have Matt help with a number of TSI efforts on my property. He's knowledgeable, helpful and, perhaps most importantly, flexible when things don't go according to plan.
I'm currently working on a TSI through the Wisconsin Forest Landowner Grant Program. The program offers cost sharing for clearing unwanted trees and brush and planting species that are more desirable.
Spindly ironwood, dying elm and box elder - Wisconsin's most infamous weed tree - clog a ravine just west of the cabin. By next May, they'll be gone, the makeover to include an array of pine, oak, shagbark hickory with a few hemlocks thrown in for good measure.
Included in the project is a stretch of the southeast slope where a battle rages between sumac that has probably dominated the area for decades and a more recent invasion of honeysuckle. The latter appears as a rather attractive shrub with an edible crop of berries that would seem to benefit wildlife. However, it also spreads rapidly and is capable of poisoning surrounding vegetation, thus eliminating much-needed diversity.
The victor in this case will eventually lay claim to the entire hillside unless strict control measures are enforced. Rather than trees, I might opt for more desirable shrub varieties like nannyberry, dogwood and high bush cranberry.
Deciding between what to keep and what to lop inevitably forces some tough choices, however. Crooked, forked or disease-prone trees do not make for good timber and usually provoke little sympathy during a TSI operation.
But what about those elderly relics, so advanced in age they have little market value and qualify as so-called "wolf" or "legacy" trees. Their branches extend out in all directions, shutting out sunlight and gobbling up nutrients, thus denying younger, faster growing trees an opportunity to add value to the woodlot.
I have a few of those misfits on the property - and, I must admit, I kind of like them. I hope they will die of old age rather than feel the bite of the sawyer's blade.
There is the aging white oak that has escaped the fate of thousands of other trees, first by the fires that swept through the region and then at the hands of the first white settlers to the region. Perhaps its proximity to the old Lead Road linking the mines of southwestern Wisconsin to eastern markets gave its odds of survival a boost.
The five oaks from which the name of our property derives would also fit this category. The clumped trunks may have sprouted from a tree that died of old age or, more likely, succumbed to the logging operation occurring in the early 1940s.
It's hard to imagine the root structure that now supports their 50-foot "wingspan." The edifice serves as a metaphor for our family of five, suggesting that the strength of one's character relates somehow to the depth of one's roots. I'll leave this legacy for posterity to decide.
DNR forester staff reorganizes
The Department of Natural Resources recently reorganized its forester staff. As a result, Matt Singer will no longer be covering this part of Iowa County.
It's been a pleasure working with Matt since his arrival in the early '90s - I'll miss his always-inspiring site visits. He has offered innumerable recommendations for improvements over the years and, on occasion, called a halt to the misguided efforts of non-professionals.
He helped establish the management plan for our Managed Forest Law acres and assisted with the paperwork for the WFLGP project. Matt has also lent his expertise to groups of high school students on field trips and responds quickly to inquiries.
Perhaps most importantly, he has always been flexible when circumstances warrant. When thigh-deep snow last winter made clearing work difficult, he obtained a six-month extension for completion of the current TSI project.
I'll miss having Matt as a resource, but look forward to working with the foresters out of the Dodgeville office.
