Decking
of Products
Harvested logs and pulp sticks are carried out of the woods and are stacked
at a staging area, or landing, until they are loaded onto a truck and
delivered to a mill. With all of the heavy equipment and truck traffic,
the area in and around the landing receives a concentration of heavy soil
compaction. Most landings become sufficiently compacted that tree establishment
and growth is seriously impacted if not prevented for a short time. Additionally,
the movement of all this machinery as well as the physical stacking of
logs and pulp sticks provides ample opportunity to damage the standing
trees surrounding the landing. Therefore restrictions on the size, number,
and location of landings can provide important protection for your remaining
woodland resources. An important provision that can help limit landing
size is to restrict the volume of wood allowed on a landing or the length
of time wood can sit on the landing before it must be hauled to a mill.
On woodlands with a long-term management plan, landowners may be able to work with a professional forester and identify one or more central landing areas that can be used for many harvests as they occur over the years. Centralized landing areas typically require that loggers skid or forward logs farther, so logging costs can rise, and stumpage receipts can fall, but long-term protection of the woodland can be significantly enhanced. Additionally, seeding of landings with desirable wildlife forage such as clover can provide a useful value for these areas if they are no longer productive for trees. Gary and Penny Shackelford have made some good creative use of this strategy. The Shackelfords have established a system of centralized landings on their woodlands in Rock County, and they get a variety of benefits from those landings. One landing that has been used for several timber sales has also proven to be an excellent staging area for the prescribed burns that the Shackelfords are using in their woodland restoration efforts. Another centralized landing on the Shackelford’s property doubles as part of a prairie restoration area.