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   GENTLE LOGGING DEMO

PROJECT RESULTS AND REPORTS

Quantitative Measurements Report    (PDF file, size 6,522 kb)  Contact Dr. Miller for other formats.
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Authors:  Raymond O. Miller, Robert Heyd, Robert Rummer, and Dwight Jerome
 

Abstract: Partial cutting of many productive hardwood forests in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with traditional harvesting systems must be restricted to brief periods when damage to the site and residual stand can be minimized. These stands occur on sites that tend to be wet and vulnerable to soil damage most of the year. Newer harvesting equipment may be gentler to the soil and present the opportunity to extend the time during which operations may be safely undertaken on these sensitive sites. This project evaluated five, newer, cut-to-length harvesting systems as they operated on a vulnerable site near Munising, Michigan in May of 2001.
          Allowing for variation of initial soil and stand conditions, all systems performed reasonably well; leaving the site fairly undisturbed and causing minimal damage to residual trees. The larger systems deviated slightly more from the forester’s prescription for the stand than did a smaller system, but these larger systems were more productive in terms of cost per green ton harvested. Skid-steer prime movers disturbed a greater proportion of the ground than articulated prime movers but in no case did rutting or compaction exceed acceptable limits. Harvesting systems like these may provide the means for managing productive hardwood stands on sensitive sites where logging has previously been considered too risky.

Field Observer Report (PDF file, size 1,267 kb)  Contact Dr. Miller for other formats.
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Authors:  Raymond O. Miller

Abstract: Five observers (a forest engineer, a forester, a soils specialist, a logger, a forest landowner, and a sustainable forestry expert) evaluated five modern harvesting systems during a two-day thinning in a productive hardwood stand on a site with a high water table.  Operations were conducted in early May, when the soils were wet, near Munising, Michigan.

The observers felt that all five systems adhered closely to the thinning prescription and that damage to the residual stand and disturbance of the soil was minimal.  Operator skill seemed to be more important than equipment design in producing acceptable results.  Although there will still be times of the year when logging on wet sites is not possible, these newer harvesting systems can be safely operated for more of the year than traditional systems.

Summary of Participant Exit Survey (PDF file, size 730 kb)  Contact Dr. Miller for other formats.
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Authors:  Raymond O. Miller and William E. Cook

Abstract:  Five, new, cut-to-length harvesting systems were demonstrated to a group of several hundred loggers, foresters, and other interested individuals in a northern hardwood stand in Upper Michigan.  The site was typical of many in the region where productive hardwood stands grow on soils that are wet and vulnerable to damage much of the year.  We asked the participants to evaluate the harvesting systems as they carried out a thinning in our test stand.  Participants shared their impressions of system operability, productivity, and ability to minimize damage to the site.

Some expressed the concern that these new harvesting systems were too big for this type of thinning but most felt that size was not a problem.  Logging company owners and equipment operators tended to feel that they could do an equally good job with equipment they already owned, but foresters and resource specialists tended to think that these newer systems would do less damage to the site than traditional systems.  Most agreed that, although this equipment would be best suited to large conifer clearcuts, it was versatile enough to be effectively used in thinning jobs like this.  Owners and operators indicated that this equipment would be slightly more difficult to operate than existing equipment but felt that it would have average productivity and better than average reliability.  In general, most participants were favorably impressed with performance of these new systems, although loggers were apparently not as convinced of a need to change as were foresters and resource professionals.

Additional Reports and Products

Davie Communications was contracted to deliver a high quality video of the demo.  There are copies of both the two hour satellite broadcast (produced by Northern Michigan University)  and the 15 minute video imbedded within the longer tape.  Contact Bill Cook for copies of either video, while supplies last.

Michigan SAF Home Page

This website is maintained by Bill Cook, Michigan State University Extension Forest in the Upper Peninsula.  Comments, questions, and suggestions are gratefully accepted. 

Last update of this page was 21 September, 2005

This site is hosted by School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University.