State of the State Forests
By Bill Botti

Here's an interesting idea: managing a woodland could turn out to be a good investment. Ok, I admit it's not exactly a new thought, but it is one that bears repeating now and then. We in the forestry profession haven't always pushed this for a couple of reasons. One is that we haven't always believed it, and two is that it hasn't always been politically correct.

Once upon a time the growth rates of trees in the South so impressed us that we couldn't see the growth rates of our own stands. While our individual trees couldn't come close to the growth of their southern cousins, we seem to be able to support more trees on an acre and thus can come up with similar growth rates when the stand is considered. Yes, we can make money growing trees up here!

Our real problem, however, in recognizing and realizing our forests' potential is our reluctance to place any emphasis on the crassly materialistic idea that one might profit from owning and managing forest land. We have somehow been convinced that this aspect of forestry should take a subordinate role to the non-consumptive forest uses. Profit, after all, is so selfish.

In the case of the state forests, we must keep in mind that we manage the state forest land for all the people of the state and not just those who choose to visit the forest. All have equal shares of ownership. Most of the owners rarely or never even come to visit and most of those who do visit are more aware and thus more directly interested in using the forest for birdwatching, mushroom hunting, deer hunting or just riding around, than using it for profit. Still, it's probably safe to say they would also be interested to know that their land is being managed wisely.

Valuable assets need to be treated as such - especially when these assets are entrusted to your care by someone else.

Well, I'm a poor one to talk about this money stuff, because anyone who knows me well knows I don't know a lot about it. Given a spare moment, I don't pore over my investment portfolio, I'd rather jump in a canoe, or pick a guitar. I do have someone who knows what he's doing to look after my investments, however. He knows I'd rather paddle the canoe or pick the guitar, but he doesn't suggest I spend all my money buying canoes and guitars.

We foresters are the ones who have been hired to advise on the forest investment portfolio. If the growth is invested wisely, there will be ample opportunities for canoe paddling, bird watching, deer hunting, etc. That's our job. There will also be financial returns.

There's a privately-owned patch of woods near here with which I've become quite familiar, having put up two timber sales there. The ownership is about evenly divided between woodland and farmland. We've been as careful as we could in our timber sales not to hurt the productivity of the farmland. That, after all, is important income property. The owner rents it out for about $50 per acre per year. But it just dawned on me the other day that the woodland is producing much more than that. On the basis of our last sale, and projecting current growth rates, I estimate it's growing 350 board feet per acre per year. At current stumpage rates that's about $260 per acre per year- more than 5 times what the farm field is yielding. And the woods yields still more. It produces a variety of wildflowers and wildlife and it's a great place for deer hunting and it looks really nice.

Some years ago I had a discussion of this nature with MFA member and Marquette County forester Bruce Spike. The topic was the Commercial Forest Act, under which a landowner receives a tax break for growing timber on a long-term basis. Then, at harvest time a 10% severance tax is paid to the state as a thank-you for providing the reduced taxes. Bruce said he had never listed his own timber land under the Act because 109c of the stumpage value would be far more than the ad valorem taxes! Good timber well managed pays off.

But what if we don't have good timber? What if it's been hacked over a couple of times removing the best trees? Well, there's still hope, but it may take awhile to get it back into profitable status. Ask your forester. Maybe a treatment in which low quality material is removed for pulpwood or fuelwood will put it back on track.

The state forest lands are perhaps the best example in Michigan if not the United States of the potential of abused lands to recover their productivity. Nearly 4 million acres of cutover land that was not worth the tax money owed is regaining its productivity and returning  well over $20 million annually to the state in addition to all the more popular forest benefits. It is now paying for its own management.

Foresters are continually criticized for doggedly returning to this topic when it's clear that most people aren't that interested. Shouldn't we listen and be guided by what the owners want? Of course we should - that's part of our job. We also need to give sound advice concerning the income part of the forest property. Materialistic? Maybe so, but this, too, is part of our job.

THE SIGN OF GOOD FORESTRY
by Rick Lucas Resource Professional

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, "What do I have to do to get one of those neat Tree Farm signs?" The "sign" recognizes those landowners certified as having met the requirements of the American Tree Farm System and have earned the right to display the Tree Farm sign on their property.

The American Tree Farm System is a nation-wide program encouraging private forest owners to do an effective job of growing trees as a crop. A Tree Farm is a privately owned forest, managed to produce continuous crops of trees with added benefits of enhanced wildlife habitat, improved watershed protection, increased outdoor recreational opportunities and enhanced aesthetic values. In addition, there are also city watersheds, school forests and some smaller public ownerships certified as Tree Farms on forestry demonstration areas.

The State of Michigan joined the American Tree Farm System in 1949. At the present, all fifty states are members. Currently, Michigan has approximately 1,848 certified Tree Farms that include more than 2.4 million acres of forested land. Michigan Tree Farmers manage approximately 13.9% of the forested land in the state.

How does a person become a Tree Farmer? The main requirements are:

• A landowner must own 10 or more wooded acres that are not being grazed.
• The land must have been in the same family for at least one year.
• The property must have a forest management plan written by a professional forester.
• The landowner must be following the recommendations listed in the plan.
• All forest land must be under management.
• The landowner must request Tree Farm status. Normally, this request is to the forester who has written the forest management plan.
• The forester, with assistance from the landowner, must write up a Tree Farm inspection report on the property.
• The forester must recommend Tree Farm status.
• The State Tree Farm Committee must approve this recommendation. Certification approvals must be signed by the State Tree Farm Chairman.

Why become a certified Tree Farmer? Tree Farmers receive a certificate and the Tree Farm sign that marks their land as a place where excellent forestry is practiced. Equally important, is the fact they share the satisfaction that comes from managing their land to the highest standards of good stewardship. Additionally, being a Tree Farmer often means you will grow and harvest more timber and earn more income than you might have thought possible. Lastly, many people are drawn to a Tree Farm simply because they enjoy being in the woods. Some look forward to the hard work of planting and tending. Others take their pleasure in recreation or the natural beauty of their forests. Each year, the State Tree Farm Committee selects an Outstanding State Tree Farmer of the Year. This person is recognized at the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts during their awards ceremony. In addition to being recognized by their peers, there are many more outstanding benefits to being a part of the Tree Farm Program. To learn more about the Tree Farm Program, contact the Local Resource Professional at your county Conservation District office. 

SUCCESS IN OAK TREE PLANTINGS
By Leo E. Hank Holt, Michigan

One of the principles of Quality Deer Management is that deer hunters should be good deer managers and stewards of our deer habitat. That means we should maintain and improve the habitat that is so critical to the whitetail deer.

If you are an avid hunter like me, you have probably read your share of sporting magazine articles where another hunter recommended that you plant a few oak trees. You probably read that planting oaks is one of the best things you can do to improve both wildlife habitat and your future hunting opportunities.

Oak trees have always been special to me. When my father first starting taking me deer hunting nearly thirty-five years ago, we grabbed our bows and headed for a huge mature oak forest where there were lots of acorns and, of course, lots of deer foraging for them. Since that first hunt and my first encounter with a whitetail, I have been fascinated with oaks.

Planting a few oaks sounds like a good idea and it sounds simple, but is it simple? Well, it is simple to plant oak trees, but there are a few guidelines to follow that will dramatically improve your success in planting oaks. Take it from the voice of experience, you can have some false starts if you don't follow these basic guidelines.

Four years ago, I started planting oak trees on my property on Neebish Island near Sault Ste. Marie and in a second location near Raber, Michigan in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Both a DNR forester, Robert DeVillez of Newberry, Michigan, and a private wildlife habitat consultant, Greg Stoll of Manistique, Michigan, recommended that I plant a considerable number of oaks because my 300 acres had only four producing oak trees and no young oak trees growing anywhere.

In the last four years, I have planted about 5,000 trees, most of them red oaks, and I have learned a number of lessons about what one should and one should not do when planting oaks. In my first planting year, I began reading everything I could about oaks and that spring, I ordered 100 white oak and 100 red oak seedlings (along with some other seedlings) from a Lansing area Soil Conservation District. All across Michigan, Soil Conservation Districts have a spring and fall tree sale and this is an economical and convenient way to buy seedlings.

My seedlings came with directions for planting and I tried to follow them as closely as possible, but like many first-timers, I took a few short-cuts, thinking they would not matter. Most important, however, I kept my seedlings out of the sun and I kept them damp, but not wet or soaked in water, until I could plant them.

My first mistake was that I had not determined whether the seedlings I bought would actually grow where I intended to plant them. In my zeal to improve habitat and improve my hunting opportunities, I had selected white oak seedlings. I had read in several outdoor magazines that deer prefer and even seek out white oaks because the acorns are sweeter than acorns from red oaks. I wanted some of those sweet acorns growing near my deer stand!

The problem is, the climate in the far northern Michigan is not suitable for white oaks and white oaks rarely grow north of northern central lower Michigan. My 100 white oaks didn't survive their first harsh winter in the Upper Peninsula.

After this bad experience, I picked up a copy of Norman F. Smith's book, Trees of Michigan and the Upper Great Lakes published by Thunder Bay Press in Lansing, Michigan. Smith describes all trees that will grow in Michigan and where in the state they are most likely to grow. I wish I had read Smith's book before I spent my time, energy and money planting those white oaks.

I also learned from Smith's book that the bur oak, a close cousin to the white oak would grow well in my area and it also has sweet acorns. The bur oak also grows well in wetter soil conditions. The following year, I planted several hundred bur oaks and they have done well.

Lesson number one is to make certain that the trees you intend to plant will indeed grow and thrive in your area. There are lots of good books for sale and at local libraries like Smith's book on trees. Every serious tree planter should own or read one of them.

My second mistake is that I just assumed trees would grow any where I wanted to plant them. I had some general recommendations from the forester and habitat consultant on where I should plant the trees, but I didn't really pay attention to why they selected certain areas for certain types of trees. More important, I didn't understand completely that they selected certain types of trees for certain areas because of the soil most prevalent in those areas.

I went about on my merry way planting trees in all kinds of soils. The problem is, most trees have certain soil conditions where they grow best. Now many of these trees grew a little bit in poor soil conditions, but the amount of difference in their one-year growth when I planted them in the best soil condition was just phenomenal.

For example, red oaks and red pines that I planted in sandy soil conditions where other hardwoods were growing did outstanding in these conditions. Some of the oaks grew almost four feet in one season (when protected by tree shelters). When I planted these seedlings in poor draining soil conditions like clay, they did not grow well and I had high mortality. On the other hand, the bur oaks did very well in the wetter conditions that the red oaks did not like.

Again, Smith's book offered some good lessons on what type of soils I should be looking for when planting certain types of trees. The following year, I more carefully chose where I would plant each variety of tree, carefully matching the soil condition to the tree variety. Lesson number two is don't assume you should plant a particular tree just anywhere, but instead, match the variety of the tree to the soil condition that it likes best. If you see other trees like those you are planting in the area, it is a good bet your seedlings will do well.

Lesson number three was similar to number two because it involves sunlight conditions and matching the variety of the tree to the amount of sun the tree requires to thrive. When I began planting my oaks, I planted some in full sun and I planted some deep in hardwood forests where the forest canopy keeps them from getting any sun. I also planted red pines, white pines and aspen seedlings in both sunlight and shady conditions. Now my red oaks and white pines grew under both conditions, but guess what? Those that were in the sunlight much of the day grew dramatically faster than those in the shade. But more important, is that the red pine and aspen that were shaded died out within several months. Only those that got lots of sun survived.

I consulted a book by Mollie Beattie, Charles Thompson, and Lynn Levine called Working with Your Woodland: A Landowner's Guide published by the University Press of New England and learned more about the concept of dominant trees, suppressed trees and how much sun each variety of tree requires. In this book, I learned how red oaks and white pines can tolerate low sun conditions, but they would prefer more sun so they can become the dominant tree in the forest. If they don't get enough sun, they will still grow, but they will be suppressed and will have very poorly developed crowns as they grow to maturity. They won't become the majestic oaks we had in mind when we planted them.

On the other hand, red pines and aspen (as an example) must have extensive sunlight and little competition in the surrounding area or they will die in a hurry. Now l knew why the perfectly healthy, very green-looking red pine seedlings I had planted in shaded conditions died so quickly, turning a burnt orange color in leas than a few months. Again, I was wishing I had read Working with Your Woodland before I planted that first batch of red oaks and red pines.

Lesson number three is to make sure you know how much sunlight your tree variety requires to thrive and then be certain to clear the surrounding area so that the seedling gets the right amount of light. Once I started taking the time to plant my seedlings where they received adequate sunlight throughout the spring, summer and fall months, my seedlings starting growing at rapid rates. Today, I won't plant a seedling unless I take the time to cut away surrounding trees and vegetation so that the seedling gets the sun it needs and so that it has minimal competition from other plants and trees. After this initial planting, I also visit the tree once or twice a year and carefully spray the chemical Roundup around the tree so that I kill all vegetation with three feet of the tree. This maintenance helps ensure that the seedling has a good opportunity to survive until it can fend for itself against the other vegetation in the area. Experts recommend that you should spray around the tree for three years to ensure it gets off to a good start.

Mistake number four was that l used a shovel to plant my first batch of seedlings - several hundred of them! I had heard about special tree planting tools, but I didn't know what they cost and I didn't know where to purchase them. I also didn't think they were necessary. Wow, was I wrong. It was hours of back breaking work to plant those seedlings with a shovel.

After this experience, an employee at the Clinton Soil Conservation District in St. Johns, Michigan showed me how to use a tree planting bar. She also explained how easy they are to use, how much labor they save and how some individuals use them to plant thousands of trees in a week's time. She also explained that I could buy one at the annual spring and fall tree sales for about $20 or I could rent one by the day. The use of the tree planting bar saves an unbelievable amount of work when planting lots of seedlings and it saves back pain by minimizing the number of times you have to bend over to plant the tree. The planting bar also easily cuts a perfect size hole in the ground about 8 inches deep for dropping in the seedling.

It took me almost a week to plant about 300 seedlings my first year with a shovel. Today, I can plant almost 3,000 seedlings in a week with one person using a tree planter. The tree planter is a fabulous tool that all tree planters should have.

When planting with a tree bar, it is important to be sure you get the tap root of the oak seedling going straight down into the hole. As the oak grows older, this tap root will grow more or less straight down into the soil, solidly anchoring the tree so it can withstand heavy wind storms that it may encounter in its next 300-400 years.

Dr. Douglas Lantagne of the University of Vermont (and formerly of Michigan State University) offers this advice on planting oak seedlings. If the seedlings have long tap roots when you pick them up from the nursery, cut the tap root so that it goes straight down in the hole. Resist the temptation to force the longer tap root into the hole or allowing the tap root to go into the hole in the shape of a "J". If you don't cut the tap root and force the root into the hole, the tree may grow fine for a number of years in its early life. When it becomes a large oak, however, just at the time it would be providing good acorn crops for deer, it may succumb to a wind storm and all your work will be for naught.

Lantagne also stresses that it is important to keep the seedlings out of the sunlight before you plant them and to keep the roots damp, but not wet or completely submersed in water. It seems logical to many first time tree planters that we should keep the roots of the plants wet, especially if we can't plant them for several days. In fact, that's not a good thing and keeping the roots just a little moist is the best protection for them. Finally, it is also important to keep the roots from being exposed to the air. Most novice planters don't know it, but the seedling can die within minutes if its roots are exposed to the air, if the roots become too dried out or too wet, or if the seedling is exposed to too much direct sunlight. These and other good oak planting tips are included in Douglas Lantagne and Donald Dickman's publication, Planting Oaks, for Timber and other Uses, published by Michigan State University's Department of Forestry.

Early in the article I talked about taking a few shortcuts the first year of my plantings. With these shortcuts, I violated many of the planting tips of Lantagne and Dickman. As a result, I ended up planting a number of oak seedlings that were dead before I ever planted them, but I didn't even know it. I wasted hundreds of hours of hard work that I could have made more productive if I had followed Lantagne and Dickman's guidelines.

Lesson number four is buy a good tree planting bar and take special care of your seedlings until you can properly plant them in the ground. If you take too many shortcuts, you will probably regret it later.

The fifth and final mistake I made in my early tree plantings was that I did not protect my oaks from excessive deer browsing. Both DNR Forester Bob DeVillez and habitat consultant Greg Stoll had recommended that I install "tree shelters" to protect my seedlings from deer browsing.

Unfortunately, I did not heed their advice and those first-year oak seedlings that survived my other mistakes were ravaged by hungry deer in the fall and winter. Because the deer found virtually all these seedlings, I didn't get any decent growth in my seedlings the first year. I should have known that I needed to protect the seedlings from deer browse. In Planting Oaks for Timber and other Uses, Lantagne and Dickman include a photo of a 14 year old oak planting that is still a small shrub. The seedling was never allowed to grow into a mature oak tree because the deer ate its flavorful new growth each year so that the seedling never did grow beyond a small shrub.

My own experience was nearly identical. My father, Louis Hank of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and I planted several red oak seedlings in almost perfect soil and sunlight conditions about 15 years ago on a nice ridge that overlooked a winter deer yard. We saved the last seedling and planted it in less than ideal soil and sunlight conditions near my grandfather's home. After 15 years, the oaks near the deer yard are still nothing but small shrubs with the new year's growth thoroughly eaten each year by deer from the adjoining deer yard. The lone tree in my grandfather's yard is almost 20 feet tall and already sprouting a few acorns each year.

Lesson number five is simple: shelter your trees from extensive deer browsing. There are a number of commercial tree shelters on the market that are widely used to protect seedlings from deer browsing damage. Four shelters that I have used are produced by these manufacturers: 

Treeessential Company 2731 Waters Drive Mendota Heights, MN 800-248-8239 www.treessentials.com

Tree Sentry, Inc. P.O. Box 607 55120 Perrysburg, OH 43552 419-872-6950

Tree Pro 3180 W. 250 N. West Lafayette, IN 47906 800-875-807 www.treepro.com

McKnew Enterprises P.O. Box 2128 Elk Grove, CA 97758 (888) 47-BLUEX www.growtube.com/shelters.html 

The tree shelter is a plastic tube from two to five feet tall that is placed over the seedling once it is planted. The shelter is also anchored in place by a wooden or metal stake. Most shelters are secured to their stakes with a plastic tie-on. Before anchoring the shelters, most manufacturers recommend working them into the soil about one to two inches or covering them with additional soil so that the bottom of the shelter is air tight.  Once inside the shelter, the seedling grows like it is in a small green house because the sun penetrates through the sides of the shelter creating a warm, moist environment and the bottom is sealed so the moisture is concentrated and can not easily escape. The seedling is also protected from the wind. These intense, ideal conditions cause the plant to grow much faster than it would otherwise.

Most important, the tasty, nutrient-rich branches of the nursery-grown seedling are protected from the mouths of hungry deer and rabbits. As a result, the tree grows rapidly for the first few years of its life. After a few years, the tree is tall enough so that browsing deer can't keep it from growing. Tree planters should use a four or five foot tree shelter to protect the seedlings from deer browsing.

"Planting oaks without tree shelters in a high-deer density area is like putting out candy for kids," one forester told me. "They will eat everyone of them, and quickly. If you are going to plant oaks, take the time and spend the money to shelter the trees."

I have used the four types of tree shelters for some large scale oak plantings and each of the shelters seem to do the job well. Each shelter has its own advantages and disadvantages. They range in cost from about $1.00 each to almost $3.00 each and some are less labor-intensive to install than others. Some also last longer than others. All of the manufacturers will send you a free sample if you contact them.

Tree planters should be aware of one major drawback from using most tree shelters: the concept of die-back. Die-back occurs when the seedling is growing inside a tree shelter and the growing conditions are so good, that the seedling still thinks it is summer long after summer is over. The seedling does not shut down and go dormant like it should before the fall and winter season. As a result, it might not be prepared for the harsh winter conditions and it can partially die and be forced to grow back the following year. I have come to accept that some of my seedlings in shelters will suffer from this setback. Even so, this drawback is worth it.

Most tree shelter manufacturers do not directly talk to their customers about the possibility of die-back. If you ask their representatives about it, most will give advice on strategies to minimize die-back. Planting oak trees is one of the best things you can do to improve your woodlot and to improve the wildlife habitat where you hunt. I am convinced that following these five simple, but important lessons will improve your chances for success with planting oaks.

Leon E. Hank is a lifelong Michigan resident who owns property he actively manages for forestry and wildlife habitat in Chippewa County near Raber and on Neebish Island. He works as financial controller for the State of Michigan in Lansing and he lives in Holt with his wife Susan and children Jeff and Sarah.