Serving Hancock, Washington, Penobscot, and Southern Aroostook Counties
Phone: 207-214-2875
Email: downeastforestryllc@gmail.com
Timber Harvest Assistance
"Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society such as wildlife habitat, timber, water resources, restoration, and recreation on a sustainable basis."
U.S. Forest Service definition
Foresters are specially trained in how to use silvicultural techniques to meet a landowners goals and objectives. There are many different ways a harvest can be implemented depending on what the landowner wants to do with the property. At Downeast Forestry, we are able to provide landowners with full-service timber harvest planning. We can flag out boundaries, mark trees-to-cut, create buffers around sensitive areas like wetlands, help plan and build forest roads, negotiate contracts with loggers, and oversee forest operations.
Many landowners have a primary goal of wildlife habitat enhancement (such as for deer), but they also would like to get an income of some kind for their trees if they are of merchantable size*. Removal of poor quality trees and leaving healthy trees can greatly improve the forest health and habitat of a woodlot, while also providing the landowner with some income. Softwood seedlings and stump sprouts from hardwood trees will provide spring and summer browse for mammals such as moose and deer. More growing space will allow seedlings, saplings and remaining trees to grow faster and more healthily. Raspberries and blackberries will grow in open areas and the yard where wood was stacked, creating soft mast food for bear, moose, deer, etc. Many bird species also thrive in harvested areas as well.
*If trees are not of merchantable size, landowners may be eligible for NRCS cost-share funding to help pay for the cost of the harvest that would benefit the woodlot. For more information on program types and availability, click here.
Common Types of Equipment
Feller Buncher
A feller buncher cuts trees one by one or in bunches of 5-10 trees depending on size. They are very efficient at cutting acreages over 15-20 acres.
Grapple Skidder
A grapple skidder grabs bunches of trees from a pile of trees that the feller buncher or processor makes in the woods and hauls them to a log yard where trees are stacked to be transported to a mill.
Forwarder
Forwarders are less commonly used, but some crews do still use them. Similar to a grapple skidder, a forwarder grabs trees from a pile that the feller buncher or processor cuts and them takes them to the log yard.
Processor/Harvester
A processor cuts a tree, delimbs it, and cuts it to a specified length (typically 8', 10', 12', etc.). The limbs are usually left in the woods to restore nutrients back to the soils. Processors are also very efficient at cutting acreages over 15-20 acres.
Cable Skidder
A cable skidder is generally used with chainsaw operations. The chainsaw operator cuts the tree, cuts the limbs off it, then wraps a cable around each individual log with the cable skidder and drags them to the log yard.
Delimber
Delimbers are used with feller buncher/grapple skidder systems. When the trees are hauled out of the woods, the delimber takes trees one at a time and cuts the limbs off them and piles them. Sometimes they also sort trees by species and product.
Slasher
Once trees have been delimbed, they can be cut to a specific size. Some trees can be trucked to the mill without being cut to size, but other mills require specific sizes upon delivery. The slasher also loads logs onto a truck if the truck does not have its own loading boom.