DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Pre-commercial thinning (PCT) is one of those stand improvement projects that I think is a perfect fit for the do-it-yourself small woodland owner.
Some landowners forgo PCT as it’s difficult on a short rotation to recover the cost of thinning. However, if you’re managing your small woodland as a hobby and aren’t as concerned with labor costs, if you’re growing your timber on a longer rotation, if you’re seeing signs of competition and drought stress, if you’re in a high fire risk area, and in particular if you’re managing young alder stands—PCT is a very valuable practice for improving timber quality and the resilience and biodiversity of your forest.
On my family’s “homestead” property, which we’ve had for over 20 years, I’ve been PCT-ing both young alder and Douglas-fir stands for the better part of 15 years. Alder on highly productive soils responds really well to thinning, and I’ve found that two light PCT passes, spread about 5-8 years apart before the trees reach 20 years of age, has put my stands on a very good trajectory for high-quality timber. The current stocking of my alder now ranges from 180 to 240 trees per acre, with many of the trees exhibiting signs of high-value veneer grade timber. For both alder and Douglas-fir, I’ve simply been cutting out the suppressed and storm-damaged trees, then thinning lightly for optimal crown spacing. By doing this, I’ve been able to keep the trees in a robust growing phase, which will likely delay the timing of my first commercial thinning, but ultimately lead to a much higher value harvest.
I highly recommend PCT in high fire-risk areas or where there’s been a substantial amount of natural in-growth of tree seedlings amongst the initial planted stand. On nearly any site, if the stocking density exceeds 350 trees per acre (average 11’ between trees), you should consider PCT. Thinning reduces competition and stress amongst the trees, allows you to retain the highest quality timber trees and the right species for your site, and provides material that you can use for wildlife habitat piles and constructed downed logs if habitat structures are missing in your forest.
PCT is also a commonly funded practice through the NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which typically pays in the ballpark of $300/acre. Over the next two years, NNRG will be conducting studies of the costs and benefits of PCT in both hardwood and conifer stands. I encourage you to share your experiences, costs, labor, etc. with us so we can better understand what works — and what doesn’t — for the wide range of scenarios where PCT is being considered.
Kirk Hanson
Director of Forestry
(360) 316-9317
kirk@nnrg.org
P.S. If you're interested in trying to thin in your forest but lack the technical know-how, check out this SAWW Chainsaw Safety & Precision Tree Felling class happening next week in Chimacum, WA. It's a good opportunity to learn some DIY forest management skills (and become a safer chainsaw handler).
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Have you harvested in the last 5 years?
If so, we need your help!
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NNRG is partnering with Oregon State University on a research project to understand the range of outcomes local forest owners have achieved from timber harvests using uneven-aged management techniques such as thinning.
This is an opportunity to help other forest owners understand harvest options. If you're willing to share your recent harvest information, you can complete the survey online, through a PDF on your computer, or on paper.
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A Tale of Two Thinnings
Kopel Family Forest, part of NNRG's forestry program, and Ferris Family Forest, a member of NNRG's FSC® group certificate, are both commercially thinning their forests—a strategy that works to achieve both landowners' goals for their lands.
Kopel Family Forest
"Mount Rainier is right in your face!" says Irene Kopel about her 40-acres of forestland in the Nisqually River Watershed, situated 20 miles from the big mountain. Irene's top priorities for her land include (eventually) building a home for her family, maintaining the truly stellar views of Mount Rainier, and keeping the forest itself healthy.
As former industrial timberland, most of the stands in Kopel Family Forest were densely planted 28 years ago with an eye toward shorter rotation harvest cycles. Now, the trees are beginning to compete too much for water and soil nutrients. Irene is thinning her forest to reduce competition for resources so that woods continues to flourish.
Ferris Family Forest
Just a few miles away, Ruth Ferris was coping with a similar situation in her forest when she inherited management of Ferris Family Forest several decades ago. The forest had been selectively logged for its biggest trees 40 years earlier and while a few large cedars remained, most stands were overcrowded with mid-size evergreens. Ruth, having taken several forest management classes, was doing some thinning herself by hand. Eventually she decided that a commercial thinning operation was necessary for the health of the forest.
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The Rhyme & Reason Behind Pre-Commercial Thinning (aka PCT)
All this talk of thinning―we think it's time to establish a common understanding of what we mean by pre-commercial thinning, and what it can do for a forest.
Forest ecosystems have a natural carrying capacity and can sustain only a finite number of trees and vegetation. As seedlings grow bigger, they begin to compete with one another for the resources they need to survive, resulting in some trees dying-off.
Over time, forests thin themselves naturally. In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, this development phase, known as competitive exclusion, can last 50-100 years. That can be a long time to wait if you want to grow trees for harvest in your lifetime or create some aspect of complex habitat structure.
Young-stand thinning (aka pre-commercial thinning or PCT) is a silvicultural practice that entails removing the individual trees that are declining in a forest―often they are smaller and have less robust crowns―and are less than 20 years old.
Young-stand thinning helps the remaining trees better access the water, soil nutrients, and light they need to grow vigorously and resist insects and diseases. It also helps release the space and light needed to activate understory vegetation growth and thereby improve habitat and food available for wildlife―increasing overall biodiversity.
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NNRG Director of Programs
NNRG is hiring a full-time Director of Programs based at our Seattle office.
The Director of Programs is responsible for much of NNRG’s research and education programming, as well as NNRG’s entire membership program for forest owners. This person works closely with NNRG’s Director of Forestry to design and implement projects that advance our understanding of ecological forestry and to communicate those findings to landowners, public lands managers, and forest practitioners.
This is a full-time salaried position, with salary depending on experience. Compensation also includes competitive vacation, retirement, and health-insurance benefits.
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Pandora Moth Returns to Central Oregon. What is causing recent defoliation of pines in forest areas to the west and south of Bend? Robbie Flowers, Forest Entomologist with the USDA Forest Service answers this question and more related to Oregon's ongoing Pandora moth outbreak.
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Many Forest Insects are Mistaken for Tree Killers. Amy Grotta of OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension sorts through some of the facts and fiction around forest insects. "The vast majority [of forest insects] are simply going about their business and doing no harm to us."
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The resources below describe young-stand thinning in more detail and include thinning strategies for small forest landowners. Additional resources are available on NNRG's Thinning & Selling Trees webpage.
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