I live in Eastern WA, on 10 acres of Douglas Fir, Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pine, and Western Larch. We have somewhat of a beetle infestation, and I find their larvae in the rounds as I split them. I am under the impression that if I remove the bark from infested rounds, that is better, and will kill the larvae. Is that accurate and adequate? I also take out diseased trees as I see them, but I believe that is more reactive than proactive. We also have a lot of cankers on the pines. I will try to get photos later. Any other pointers on how to improve the health of my woodlot? I am working on thinning (it is seriously crowded), but that is a long-term project. I see no great value in cutting down trees to thin, and leaving them to rot, but am I mistaken about that? (I can, of course, cut much quicker than I can process.) Pointers and suggestions appreciated. Greg
We had lodgepole pine at my last home during the pine beetle epidemic. Removed a stand of 12 trees, 40' high, and atleast 40 years old, heartbreaking. There were several trees closer to the house that we had sprayed 2x year for prevention.
Betting the local forestry dept is your best bet to get a workable plan Usually pretty helpful folks, tree hugger types , meant in a good way
Yeah, I thought of that. Any way that could lead to problems? Not that anything is less than perfect around here.
There is value in cutting trees in a crowded woodlot, even if you can't process all the downed trees. Thinning allows the remaining trees more sunlight so they will grow faster and be healthier. You want to pick out the trees you think are the best specimens or the species you prefer and make sure each tree you want to save has access to a reasonable amount of sunlight on its crown. I have crowded hardwoods, so the structure is a little different from your trees, but I find that thinning just a few seems to make a difference.
