Selection Harvest in Queens County

We wanted to share some photos from a harvest that occurred on a member's woodlot in Queens County. This harvest was a second-entry selection harvest, meaning that a previous selection harvest was completed on stand in 2009. Mature hemlock is dominant in the overstory of the stand, but hardwoods such as red maple and white birch, as well as a small component of red spruce and white pine are also found throughout.

The landowner's primary goal for this stand was to develop an uneven age structure, similar to that which would result from the natural disturbance regime in this area, while also harvesting a variety of merchantable wood products. Based on these landowner objectives, and the condition of the stand determined in a pre-treatment assessment, selection harvesting was deemed the most appropriate treatment.

Selection management is a type of uneven-aged forest management treatment which involves periodic, partial removals, which never completely remove the mature canopy of the stand. The purpose of a selection harvest system is to develop an uneven age-class structure over time by removing poor quality trees (both immature and mature) while enhancing the growth of the remaining trees and creating space for new trees to establish. This uneven-aged class structure is the expected condition that would result based on the natural disturbance regime in the area.

We should note that this was completed using a fully mechanized harvest system, meaning modern forestry equipment such as feller bunchers, harvesters and forwarders were used to cut, process and transport wood products. As you can see in these photos, this light harvest has left much of the forest canopy in tact, and the contractor has ensured that wildlife features, such as coarse woody debris and cavity trees were left in the stand to continue providing habitat for a variety of species! This speaks to the skill and professionalism of the operator and truck driver involved in this harvest.

If you any questions about this type of harvest, or have areas on your woodlot that you think may benefit from this type of treatment - direct message, or email info@westernwoodlotcoop.com