[Sdpg] Pioneer Forest Ozarks Missouri

[sdpg-admin at arashi.com]

hi Everyone
       discovered this story about Pioneer Forest in the Antiochian Fall 
2001 the alumi newsletter of Antioch College Yellow Springs Ohio . An 
amazing story of loading practise sustainability for over 50 years by one 
Leo Drey .
					wes

Pioneer Forest http://www.pioneerforest.com/PF_Home.html


        Pioneer Forest is a large, privately-owned forest located in the 
heart of the Missouri Ozarks.

        We have used single-tree selection harvests in managing the forest 
for more than half a century to restore
        high quality oak-hickory forests, establish truly sustainable 
harvests, and protect significant natural
        communities.

        We offer free initial consultations and contracting for forest 
management on your land if you are located
        in the Ozark region of Missouri.

        In addition to our own research efforts we invite others to 
consider our large forested setting for your own
        research project.

        We have natural areas and forest reserves throughout the forest 
which are exemplary plant and animal
        communities, represent the intrinsic character of these Ozark 
landscapes, and which protect rare species.

        Pioneer Forest offers outstanding recreational opportunities for 
day-hikes, forest drives, overnight
        backpacking, and long-distance hiking.


     More About Pioneer Forest...
     Pioneer Forest is part of the oak, hickory, and pine forests of the 
Missouri Ozarks.  This region is part of
     the most extensive elevated landscape between the Appalachian 
Mountains to the east and the Rocky
     Mountains to the west.  The topography here is largely erosional with 
the greatest relief (generally 700
     feet) occurring along the major rivers.  Bedrock here is dominated by 
the more soluble dolomites,
     limestones, and sandstones and as a result includes many classic karst 
features.  Situated in an area of
     spectacular springs, towering bluffs, losing streams, and numerous 
caves. these lands include
     significant portions of the spring-fed watersheds of the Jacks Fork 
and Current rivers.

     Beginning in 1951, St. Louis businessman Leo Drey began to acquire 
lands in the Ozarks in an effort to
     demonstrate that taking better care of forests would produce lasting 
and economically beneficial
     results.  When National Distillers, a private company with lands 
located in the Ozarks, decided to
     liquidate its holdings in 1954, it sold approximately 90,000 acres of 
land to Leo Drey, who continued to
     purchase other forestland in the Ozarks for Pioneer Forest.

     For more than half a century, Pioneer Forest has restored these Ozark 
woodlands through
     conservative, natural forest management, and has preserved 
ecologically important areas and notable
     landscape features.  Altogether there are nearly 160,000 acres in this 
unique, privately-owned land base.

PRIMER ON SINGLE-TREE SELECTION FOREST HARVEST

    Single-tree selection harvesting is one reproduction cutting method 
used when applying
    uneven-aged techniques. Using this conservative harvesting technique, 
both managers and
    landowners are able to continuously maintain a diverse and multi-aged 
forest (a forest with three or
    more age classes) while also deriving income from periodic harvests. 
This forest management
    technique provides a dynamic opportunity for forest development and 
succession which is essential
    for the continuity of the forest. Applying single-tree selection as 
part of an uneven-aged forest
    management program most closely mimics the natural process which occurs 
when a single tree or
    small group of trees in the forest succumbs to natural mortality. Such 
small-scale disturbances as
    lightning strikes or insect attack, are the most common type of 
disturbance affecting
    late-successional forests. It has been the only forest management 
technique practiced on Pioneer
    Forest since the 1950's.

    When to Harvest

    Harvests on Pioneer Forest generally occur when a particular stand 
achieves a closed canopy,
    visible signs of growth have slowed, and individual trees within both 
the overstory and understory
    express stress through evidence of such characteristics as crowding, 
dieback, or disease. The
    current harvest interval is about 20 years in length which allows for 
removal of some of the growth as
    well as trees exhibiting the noted characteristics of stress. Harvests 
remove approximately 40% of
    an area's standing volume. The result is that as many or more trees of 
all sizes and age classes are
    left standing as were cut during the harvest. This system of management 
allows for the retention of a
    forest on every acre, even immediately after harvest.

    Commercial contracts are generally made directly with mills and include 
all marked trees within a
    given area. Careful layout insures protection of standing trees as cut 
logs are hauled out of the
    woods. Marking, cutting, and skidding begin at the bottom of a hillside 
and proceed to the top,
    resulting in the least damage to the trees left uncut (the "leave 
trees"). Shortleaf pine is marked from
    diameters greater than 8 inches at breast height (dbh) and is scaled in 
two-foot increments to a 6"
    upper stem diameter. Hardwoods are marked from diameters greater than 
10" dbh and are scaled
    in two-foot increments to a 10" upper diameter.

    Which Trees are Left and Which Trees are Harvested

    Every tree on every acre of a scheduled cut is examined during the 
marking in order to determine
    whether it will be left or harvested. This is done because the trees 
that remain in the forest are a
    higher priority than the trees cut in our conservative uneven-aged 
forest management. The process of
    choosing trees to harvest is not a complicated one, but there are 
several important, and
    easy-to-apply principles which are considered while conducting a 
harvest in any given area. The
    instructions of Guldin and Baker (1998) for marking crews in southern 
pine forests hold just as true
    for Missouri Ozark forests: the simple concept is "that marking crews 
cut the worst trees and leave
    the best within each diameter or product class and among classes if 
necessary."

    As a first step, marking crews identify specific trees which are to be 
left. Leave trees are the
    healthiest trees on a site, expressing the greatest potential for 
growth and the strongest physical
    characteristics, but also are species which are best suited to a 
particular site. For example, a healthy
    shortleaf pine growing on a south- or west-facing slope, or a white oak 
tree growing on a north- or
    east-facing slope would be ideal candidates for leave trees. Walking 
through the woods, the tree
    marker is constantly monitoring individual tree quality, species, and 
site conditions while moving
    through an area and across a variety of landscape conditions. The 
overall objective for a marker is to
    match the growing stock to the site, giving the leave trees room to 
grow by removing the poorer
    quality trees around them. By the same standard, even poorer quality 
trees, those which would
    otherwise be cut, may be left on site in order to meet a particular 
objective. (For example, post oaks
    are often left for wildlife as mast-producing trees; other trees are 
often left for den trees).

    Generally, harvests on Pioneer Forest remove between 12 to 15 trees per 
acre. We begin by
    marking the smallest and poorest quality trees first. Individual trees 
may be marked for cutting based
    upon the same factors, which change depending upon the aspect, slope, 
physical condition of a tree,
    and past history of the area. There are many variables to consider when 
marking trees, not simply
    size. These include poor form, vigor, disease, and damage. The general 
spacing of the trees as
    evidenced on the ground but often more importantly, observed in the 
forest canopy is important as
    well. A marked tree which is harvested leaves a hole or opening in the 
canopy. This opening in the
    canopy provides an opportunity within the forest for the best trees 
which remain to continue their
    growth. Leave trees benefit from the small gap which adds light and 
reduces competition for space,
    water, and soil nutrients. These holes or canopy gaps are sufficient 
for sunlight to reach the forest
    floor. This sunlight allows seedlings to germinate and permits other 
saplings and understory trees to
    grow into this newly created space in the forest. During the 20-year 
period between harvests, these
    understory trees occupying the gap, grow into the canopy, and the 
seedlings on the forest floor
    develop into saplings. This progressive development of small trees into 
large ones is critical to the
    method's success.