Recreation can often be an important aspect of a landowner's objectives. Many
people use their woods for picnics, campfires, or just walking. My
silviculture professor at Purdue was very well known in his field and he had
worked many years as a forester. The one lesson he always pounded into our
heads was the first question in forest management should be, "What are the
landowner's objectives?". This is the first question I ask when meeting with a
new client and it is not uncommon for me to have to explain the question. Many
landowners have not thought about their objectives for their wooded properties.
Too often I have started marking a timber harvest to find a one acre clearing
in the woods where the owners have built a firepit and have chairs sitting
around. They are obviously concerned about recreating in the woods and it
changes the way a forester marks the timber to be removed.
When there are areas to be used for recreation a forester will leave a buffer
zone around that area for aesthetic purposes. He will also encourage the
loggers to fell trees in such a way as to provide screening as well as a source
of firewood. The skid trails used by the loggers can be planned to provide a
means of access to certain areas such as ponds or lakes. Skid trails can also
be much easier to walk than a deer path. Buffer zones along the edge can be
left to maintain the view from a landowner's house or cottage.
Another recreational activity that is often considered is hunting. The
management for this activity is covered under wildlife however, there are other
aspects. I have seen landowners ask that a particular tree be cut high because
they have always used that tree as cover when deer hunting. If known in
advance a forester could leave the whole tree. Hopefully this answers most of
the questions and I plan on adding more at a later date.
Last update on Tuesday, February 10, 1998
©Copyright 2000 by David A. Leedy