It’s a farm. When I say to the family I’m going to the farm, Jeff groans and argues that our property in Biscuit Hollow is NOT a farm. No cows, no barn, we don’t plow and plant. I understand what he means. But by many definitions, it is a farm. Like any farm, it is our responsibility to nurture the crops, care for the soil, be good stewards of the land. And ultimately, manage the land in such a way that you receive a return, hopefully, an economic one.For me, the greatest return is to enjoy the sense of heritage this particular piece of ground offers. But I am not a rich man. And therefore in order to preserve this heritage, I am compelled to seek out and maximize any possible economic return. So we nurture the crops.
The crops? One could argue that the wildlife is a crop. And even brings an economic return through lease hunting. Unfortunately, this return is somewhat out of my control and is limited.
The timber resource is by far the most valuable crop on the farm. And the most neglected. So I did what any good government employee does, I hired a consultant to develop a plan. Based on what the consultant forester saw (no pun intended) in the woods, they recommended based on silvicultural science a “scrag” sale. Basically, the woods have been high-graded for years, only the best trees have been removed, and low value timber have become a high percentage of the stand. Taking out this lower value timber will open up the woods which will benefit future saw timber production and wildlife. Not much money is made by the initial cut, but future value should be improved, in theory. And ultimately, the goal is to manage a wood lot for a saw timber sale every ten years or so. All the while maintaining or improving the recreational and wildlife aspects of the woods.
So they started a couple of weeks ago, first on Mom’s woods which will take about a month or so, then they’ll start on mine.
They will also create some new roads or trails in the process, like this one behind the red camp.
