Sale closure
Anna B Stockstad: Hi, everyone. I'm Anna Stockstad from University of Minnesota Extension.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: and I'm. Dave noly from the Minnesota Logger education program
Anna B Stockstad: in today's Podcast episode. We'll be talking about how to close the sale after harvesting has been completed. So joining us today are 2 loggers from the southeast. Can you go ahead and introduce yourselves, please.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Seth Johnson, of logging Rob Soinsky, a Hawkeye Forest product.
Anna B Stockstad: Thanks so much for you both for joining us today. so as long as you're involved with the harvesting process all the way until the end. And so we'd love to hear more about how to properly close the sale after harvesting has been completed.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: So I I grew up on a family farm a lot of private land, which is what you guys encounter a lot of down here, and probably would have been interested, just didn't know any better, but would have been interested in in actively managing the family farm and the the the woodland there in particular.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: but you know
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: little bit curious about if we if we got in there and and did some harvesting, we certainly have some some logging roads that would be built to to work on that harvest.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: How? What? What keeps once those roads are in there, and once it's opened up, what keeps all the all the neighbors, or even the the tourists, from wandering in and cutting the place up with their Atvs. You know. What do you do to to keep them. Keep them off those roads.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: We generally work with the landowner to what they're looking for. It's a lot easier to keep the people out. If the private land owner is active on site versus an absentee landowner.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: But some things we've done in the past, or we've piled call logs across
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: that main access points. We've put rocks in place.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Well, we've had people dig trenches and pile up dirt so it's a
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: little golly. There drop trees across it just kind of all many different things like that, or we've had land owners put up gates
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: just so they can block the access and then have easy access for themselves, for vehicles or for willers, whether to cut firewood or recreational aspects of the land.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: What happens with the slash? You? You're not taking it all out. Are you?
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: No, the slash down here in southeast Probably 99% of what we do is selective harvest
so, just taking all the good logs Occasionally some firewood comes off the top of the the slashes left on the premises for
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: wildlife.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: So if i'm around, if I if i'm not an absentee landowner, you know, when it comes to like figuring out where to put the landing, and where that space might be able to be. You know
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: it, it might fit a need that I have as a landowner. It's probably better better than if I were absentee. I think I heard. Or do you say a second ago. Set. Yeah, when you're around it's a lot easier that way. You can also keep an eye on what's going on on the site.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Well, it answer any questions you may have rather than just seeing it after the fact. And then. but, like all I wish could have done this different, or something along the lines.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Great
Anna B Stockstad: are Are there any methods that you implement to try to rehabilitate landings and skid trails? So you're trying to limit disturbance and compaction on that onsite infrastructure.
Anna B Stockstad: So maybe you've left some ruts, for example, on some skid trails. Are there any steps that you would take to try to reverse that.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Oh, the sket trail she's talking about. Well, when we can we use low impact equipment, crawlers and so forth on sites. If that helps minimize so compaction.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: trying to eliminate or keep our skin on rubber, tired machines to dry ground conditions or frozen ground conditions
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: as best we can. Not all sites will, and all that. But
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: and then what we like to do, too, is whether the landowner is is on site or absentee.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: We have a plan from the very beginning on on how the property is to be harvested. and what's to be taken where in in certain areas will be selectively marked in certain areas, will be cut for well, life, encouragement.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: all those trails. If there is any type of slope. I'd say greater than 5%.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: We see that it gets seated down with some type of forage that will come and and and help hold those materials in place until the natural vegetation comes back in.
Anna B Stockstad: That makes a lot of sense receding to prevent any erosion and further compaction that might occur just to try to rehabilitate those skit trails and landings. And so I feel like that concept of sale closure is very similar to the idea of Leave no trace, and anyone who hikes or camps would be very familiar with that
Anna B Stockstad: so what are some of those no-brainer leave no trace practices that apply to a harvest site?
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Well, because we selectively harvest large large crowned trees down here compared to what they do up north Lot of times. Our slash
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: is 8, 1012, 14 feet in the air. We'll have the cruise cut. Cut that stuff down to within eye level. so it as the ground vegetation comes the following year. It pretty well
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: helps heal the images that that that individual might
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: incur there. As they're going through the property. it makes it a little bit more pleasurable to look at.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: and you kind of
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: little different subject. But
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: by doing that. A year like this year has been a tremendous help for the wildlife of having a lower tops or deer able to get at them, eat the buds and branches off them
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: with the tough aspect of getting food source this year, with the amount of snow we've had, and then the rain freezing on top of that, so they can't access the
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: in forge underground. So something like that's been a tremendous help for him
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: this year of having the lower tops. and then
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: like, when possible, to If the land owner don't want them like to get any like short chunks or calls out of site.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: so they're not on there. Make sure.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Landings are left, you know, flat and smooth. Not all. Rut it up and
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: stuff like that.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Great, You know I was. I was just out over the last this past weekend with my boys on it Scout camp, and so it's kind of fitting full circle here, leaving the place, leaving your campsite better than you found it. So i'm sure you give you clean up any flags, any markings you You get the
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: get the place looking looking tiny. Now, if only I could learn a lesson or 2 from you guys and get that to apply in an only household and have the dishes, put in the dishwasher instead of on the counter, and mitigate some of the impact of explosion. I mean er erosion from
from the rest of the household at home, when the when somebody comes along and finds that dish that's in the wrong place.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: Now there is a all joking aside of a pretty handy checklist in this.
Dave Nolle - MN Logger Ed Program: I guess we're on a podcast. They don't have to hold it up for a camera here, but in the fmg pocket guide, so that you, so anyone can know that they're following all of those steps. Maybe maybe I should take a lesson there and make a checklist for the kids at home to to follow the checklist, to put the milk back into the refrigerator and to wipe up the spilled milk off the kitchen table.
Anna B Stockstad: Thanks, Dave. I think we can all learn a little bit from the leave. No trace concept. And so thanks Guys so much for joining us today and sharing your thoughts and experiences with sale closure, and once again to our listeners, make sure to keep listening to our next episode that's focused on spills and emergencies.
Anna B Stockstad: Our goal with these podcast episodes is to give you a refresher on the guidelines prior to our in-person field trainings focused on the guidelines so keep an eye out for updated updates, related those trainings, and we'll see you soon. Thanks so much.
