Aftermath of loggers

[sghoghunter]

Back in June the loggers pulls into our lease to thin the front quarter of the trees. When they pulled out around a month later they left on heck of a mess. The first time I went over there while they was still there cutting I spent an hour on the tractor pushing trees and vines out the way just to get to camp. They made four different loading decks in the roads where we drive. In two of them they took their skidder and pushed out the limbs with one swipe and the others they didn’t do anything. When they came in two years ago they came back with a D6 and pushed out the roads and the water run offs a few weeks after they left. Is it normal practices for loggers to leave roads in bad shape? I spend time every year on a tractor keeping the road from the highway to camp graded so a handicap van can get in without any problems. These are some before and after pics

 

[NCHillbilly]

Back in June the loggers pulls into our lease to thin the front quarter of the trees. When they pulled out around a month later they left on heck of a mess. The first time I went over there while they was still there cutting I spent an hour on the tractor pushing trees and vines out the way just to get to camp. They made four different loading decks in the roads where we drive. In two of them they took their skidder and pushed out the limbs with one swipe and the others they didn’t do anything. When they came in two years ago they came back with a D6 and pushed out the roads and the water run offs a few weeks after they left. Is it normal practices for loggers to leave roads in bad shape? I spend time every year on a tractor keeping the road from the highway to camp graded so a handicap van can get in without any problems. These are some before and after pics

Yes. They don't care, for the most part.

 

[gobbleinwoods]

About the only way to hold them accountable is to have the checks made out to you and/or you and them and you won't sign the last one until they straighten up the mess.

 

[tree cutter 08]

I'd say if the land owner doesn't care they aint going to the extra trouble to do more than they have to. Logging aint landscaping. I hear all kinds of complaints about logging company's. It's just the nature of the beast. Be glad they are doing some cutting. I'd love to see some of that up here on the national forest. Maybe just me but I didn't see anything wrong in the pics

 

[Gadestroyer74]

Looks like a normal logging operation to me. I suspect this is a lease. First business is trees that’s what they care about and most there focus. The person that leases is just additional income mostly for taxes and they usually don’t go to far outta their way for extra stuff. From what I see doesn’t look to bad.

 

[antharper]

I was gonna say the same thing others have already said . Looks good compared to some I’ve seen . You probably could have gotten a little more done if you were there when they were finishing up and just asked .

 

[Silver Britches]

There are some good crews, but from my experience, very rarely do you have a crew that cleans up afterward. I’ve seen them leave grease buckets, oil cans, and piles of other trash scattered around. One crew piled their trash down in some of the hollowed stumps left from the trees they’d just cut, grease buckets and all. Even cut some huge white oaks along a creek and left them lying there. From my understanding, they’re to leave a buffer of so many feet along our creeks. After seeing that, I reported them to the Ga Forestry commission and the guy promised he’d go have a look. Not sure what happened, but I never saw that same crew in there again after that. A different crew came in and finished up.

And yes, I’ve had them leave the roads all screwed up. Some of it even looked intentional. I’ve also had them leave their trailers in the road blocking travel. Had them leave the gates wide open after we asked them to please close them when they left for the day.

 

[gma1320]

A majority of those contracts are negotiated on. The timber company wants to get the most money. A logger wants to get the most money. The highest bids generally don't include clean up or minimal clean up. Those nice neat jobs you see pay less to the timber company.

 

[kmckinnie]

Sometimes it’s the crew also. Some crews do great work. They get running behind and management moves them out soon. They chasing the dollar.

 

[sghoghunter]

I'd say if the land owner doesn't care they aint going to the extra trouble to do more than they have to. Logging aint landscaping. I hear all kinds of complaints about logging company's. It's just the nature of the beast. Be glad they are doing some cutting. I'd love to see some of that up here on the national forest. Maybe just me but I didn't see anything wrong in the pics

This picture here shows halfway of what I’m talking about. The yellow line is where the road was before the crew came in and now there is a 6ft pile of tree tops and logs with no way to get to the plot that’s 200 yds on the other side. If you don’t see a problem with that your one of the kind that will do it.

 

[sghoghunter]

Looks like a normal logging operation to me. I suspect this is a lease. First business is trees that’s what they care about and most there focus. The person that leases is just additional income mostly for taxes and they usually don’t go to far outta their way for extra stuff. From what I see doesn’t look to bad.

So making loading decks in a road and not clearing the road out when done is normal? You don’t have to go out of your way to do something right if it’s done right in the beginning

 

[Big7]

There are some good crews, but from my experience, very rarely do you have a crew that cleans up afterward. I’ve seen them leave grease buckets, oil cans, and piles of other trash scattered around. One crew piled their trash down in some of the hollowed stumps left from the trees they’d just cut, grease buckets and all. Even cut some huge white oaks along a creek and left them lying there. From my understanding, they’re to leave a buffer of so many feet along our creeks. After seeing that, I reported them to the Ga Forestry commission and the guy promised he’d go have a look. Not sure what happened, but I never saw that same crew in there again after that. A different crew came in and finished up.

And yes, I’ve had them leave the roads all screwed up. Some of it even looked intentional. I’ve also had them leave their trailers in the road blocking travel. Had them leave the gates wide open after we asked them to please close them when they left for the day.

Be sad if they came back and needed all new tires wouldn't it.

 

[sghoghunter]

Be sad if they came back and needed all new tires wouldn't it.

25 years ago that would have crossed my mind but these days I’m not near as stupid as I use to be

 

[Kev]

Looks like they did a decent job. If it was a road, the landowner has the power to get it fixed. Looks like the landowner has different objectives than you.

 

[transfixer]

We were lucky I suppose with the logging crews we had on our lease , they did destroy the roads as they were still logging into early November and it usually rains a lot during October, it took them a couple weeks but they did come back and straighten out the roads, but I was told the landowner had insisted they restore the roads to the shape they were in prior to logging as part of the deal .

the crew we had went to the trouble of taking down a couple ladder stands and cameras and putting them against another tree where they wouldn't be destroyed ,

They do things different though than what they used to, they leave the tops and stripped limbs in piles scattered throughout the woods, some in rather large piles, and they don't burn them or mulch them like they did 30 or 40yrs ago

 

[Anvil Head]

Bottom line - depends on the contract negotiated and how diligent and concerned the land owner is. Your issue is with the landowner and not the harvesting crew. If the landowner doesn't care the HC won't care.

 

[Gadestroyer74]

So making loading decks in a road and not clearing the road out when done is normal? You don’t have to go out of your way to do something right if it’s done right in the beginning

I’m only going by your pictures.

 

[Tight Lines]

In my experience, if the landowner is specific and cares, and makes them, they'll fix all the roads and clean up...if not, then they are in and out and don't care in the least...I've had them ram gates, drain oil on food plots, run over 5 new ladder stands waiting to be put up, burn down a shooting house, cut right down to a creek with no barrier, and leave all kinds of garbage. It's like kids playing with Tonka trucks in the house after being outside in the rain...

 

[kmckinnie]

Good luck this year hunting them clear cuts.

 

[sghoghunter]

Looks like they did a decent job. If it was a road, the landowner has the power to get it fixed. Looks like the landowner has different objectives than you.

I think it’s more of a common sense thing. It’s like when you mow someone’s grass,do you blow the clippings on the porch and driveway? Blowing the driveway and porch off isn’t in the agreement