Walked through a TSI timber that we worked on in 2011 so that makes 4 years of growing since we hit it with the saws, some big changes in here since then!
This timber had a lot of big bur oaks, that was our #1 crop tree. We'd save a few bigger hackberry and any hickory or cherry trees if present (but I don't think this timber had any). There were also a ton of elm in here so we dropped all we could and girdled 99% of the rest. Those dang elm are such aggressive growers, some even survived the double girdle! Must not have gotten deep enough
And you can see a pocket of larger ones here that need girdled
But for spending a few hours in here over a weekend this place has made some big changes! Some spots we focused heavy on hinging...
Some spots we just cut the trees clean off and drug them away. Trying to encourage the deer to walk through here
This is what this entire timber used to look like... wiiiiide open
But here you can see where we started hinge cutting just in the distance, major change in habitat once you walk into that thicket!
This was probably our most aggressive TSI work, we really got a chance to drop some big trees and girdle others and that really opened up the canopy
Open up the canopy, free up the good oaks, and let sunlight to the forest floor. That's a recipe for creating whitetail heaven!