Forest Restoration, an Art and Science
by Kris Spinning
Somewhere inside the dense undergrowth, a machine was chewing its way through oak, pinion and juniper. We could here its gnashing, grinding buzzing whirl. Plumes of debris shot high and far into the air, raining down like a hail storm of bark and wood chips. The sharp sweat smell of pine was heady. But still I could not see the machine that turns an impenetrable tangle of wild fire fuel into a park like setting. Then, a juniper disappeared before my eyes, revealing the tree munching beast: the Hydro Ax.
Scott Chase, the head forester for Vermejo Park Ranch, was careful not to let me venture too close. The Hydro Ax can throw chunks of wood “shrapnel” as much as 200 feet. As the machine turned to make another pass, we had a clear, yet distant view. The Hydro Ax looks like a cross between a front end loader and a lawn mower on a lot of steroids. It can raise the cutting deck high in the air, and as it is lowered on a tree, it grinds it into a pile of mulch-- in less than a minute. Trees that would take me hours to fell, limb and chip the slash were processed into forest litter in less time then it would take a hand cutter to make a felling notch. The Hydro Ax is the ideal machine for clearing out large areas of ladder fuels in our overly dense forest. Scott and I waked down the road a little further to an open area of about an acre. This newly formed meadow had been created that morning in one to two hours. It was cleared to provide the next landing area for the logs and equipment for this current fire mitigation project. This summer, Vermejo is concentrating on creating a two mile long shaded fuel break along their border with SFTR. Due to topography and prevailing winds, a wild fire that started on Vermejo could easily spread onto SFTR. This fuel break will help to halt that progression and also provide safe access for fire crews to battle a wild fire.
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| Under Scott’s direction over the past few years, Vermejo has embarked on an ambitious program of forest health restoration. Because of logging practices of the past 100 years, and our national policy of fire suppression, Vermejo, like SFTR, has an extreme density of small diameter timber. These trees compete with each other for the precious rainfall. With rarely enough water to go around, the trees are more prone to disease and insect infestations. Their crown to crown proximity allows fire to spread in the canopy rapidly and viciously. Forest areas that were clear cut years ago had oak brush move in and become established. Now those oak thickets choke out other species and provide fuel for wild fires to climb into the tree canopy. The vegetation density also negatively impacts wild life, reducing forage, and making travel through the forest difficult. |
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Clearing out the under story and thinning the tree density is one step in the restoration process. Vermejo has been treating 2,600 - 3,000 thousand acres a year for the past few years. It is an expensive process that requires large specialized machines, knowledgeable crews, and a great deal of coordination with neighboring land owners, contractors and markets for the wood products being removed. In Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, those markets have been drying up over the years. Small, local saw mills have shut down, not able to compete with large foreign logging operations. |
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The Hydro Ax has the power to clear through dense understory vegetation quickly, leaving little more than mulch behind.
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There is less market for small diameter trees, since there is less potential for being cut into usable lumber. With some effort, markets have been found so that the timber is salvageable. The trees that are being removed are graded and sorted into stacks. Some will go to post and pole processing, others for furniture and lamps. Scott's dream is for their healthy restoration project to become self sufficient, with revenue from timber sales offsetting the costs. Presently however, there is so much work to be done upgrading old jeep trails just to provide access, and equipment to acquire or lease that the costs far outweigh the revenue. Some of the costs for the shaded fuel break project are being met through a grant obtained by C.K. Morey and the Colorado State Forest Service. With the aid of that grant, they are able to extend the break further and treat many more acres of land. The overall economic impact of protecting the forest, improving the wildlife habitat, and mitigating the threat of a devastating wild fire is priceless however, and are the prime motivators in Vermejo’s decision to commit to these large restoration projects.
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This meadow was carved out of thick brush in just over an hour.
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| Many in the forestry world said that what Scott was proposing could not be done. That the terrain, the type of timber and the scarcity of markets for small diameter wood products were all negative factors. But even at the first glance of the fuel break project, one can see it is very successful. The success is in large part due to the preparation and planning of the project. First the trees to be saved were marked with great care, evaluated for their size, shape, health and for their esthetic and wild life value. Scott takes environmental impact seriously, and is also greatly concerned how the final project will look, and is enthusiastic about being a good neighbor with SFTR. He said that when ever possible, they marked trees on the side away from the road so as not to be seen. The marking paint itself is even environmentally safe, and will wash off. |
| Not only were the perfectly shaped trees saved, but also many old ponderosas that bore the tell tale signs of lightning strikes or those with wind broken tops that eventually grew back were left. I asked, other than because these trees had character, why where they left. Scott explained some of those oddly shaped trees made good roosts for turkeys and others were favored by other birds. Some trees were targeted for removal because of disease signs, mistletoe infestations or tops that were forked, thus making them prone to wind damage. |
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The equipment used in this project is impressive. There is no hand cutting, even on the steep terrain. Trees that can be harvested for timber are held firm by the articulated arm of the feller/buncher while a saw blade cuts it at ground level. The “buncher” part of the name becomes apparent when the arm can then grab another tree, and another, cutting and holding as it goes. The cut trees are then stacked in piles for the next step. The Processor snatches trees off the pile, pivots, shears off the limbs onto a slash pile, measures and cuts to an optimum length for its diameter, and deposits the log onto a stack to await removal. The fluid motion of the Processor seems like some strange dance between machine and tree, as the processor embraces, turns, dips its wood partner. |
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The Feller/buncher grabs a tree and shears it off at ground level. The processor strips limbs and cuts the tree to a usable length.
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Walking the forest with Scott showed that there is an art to a successful thinning project. Like a sculpture standing before a block of marble, Scott sees through the wall of vegetation and chips, carves and removes material to reveal the precious beauty concealed within. In a painting it is often the negative space that adds drama to the subject. In the fire mitigated forest, the open spaces draw the attention to individual trees. Here, a magnificent fir with its blue green needles catches the sun. There, the reds and yellows of a ponderosa’s craggy bark play with light and shadow. Everywhere the feathery softness of the grasses that quickly fill in to carpet the forest floor shimmer with the slight breeze. Color splashes and dots the landscape as wild flowers now have a chance to grow. The forest becomes a painting that one can walk through. Touring the areas that were treated a year ago, the purpose of fire mitigation seams almost secondary. The natural beauty of the forest and the abundant wildlife are what is first noticed. Deer, elk turkeys, birds of all kinds move in to the areas that have been thinned, and they become an important part of the process Scott explained. Wildlife browse on the new growth, and the hope is that they will help to keep grasses, oak brush and other under story vegetation in control. To further encourage these partners in forest health maintenance, water sources are created or improved so that the animals will not only visit, but stay in these areas. |
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| It is an enormous undertaking to restore our forests to a healthy balance, whether it is a project of thousands of acres, or five acres. Scott is grateful to have a good crew working with him to get the job done. He is joined in these efforts by Greg Esstoll, Les Dhaseleer, summer helpers Theresa Mick and Brent Oblinger, and heavey equipment operators Mike Vigil and Gary Judd. It is also critical to have the support of Ranch manager, Marv Jensen and owner Ted Turner. Many lessons can be learned from the work being done by our neighbor, Vermejo Park Ranch. The principles of restoring a healthy forest and maintaining it are the same no matter the size. The benefits for homeowners undertaking their own forest health restoration project in the wild land urban interface areas are beyond measure. Not only is it important for protecting homes from devastating out of control fires, but the increased value from usability, wildlife viewing, aesthetics, and the pride of being a good steward of the land are all rewards for the hard work and effort. |
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Scott Chase
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A group from SFTR had the opportunity to tour the shaded fuel break project in its beginning stages.
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