Clearing trees & enrolling in crp pros/cons?

Shawk

Member
Hey guys... I'm curious about a few things that maybe some of you might be able to help with??
Our family may be purchasing a piece of land. It's decent quality ground with about 5-6 acres in timber in the center. The trees are simply a mix of whatever has grown there over the years. There are some scattered larger trees, but most a mix of smaller to middle size. Soo... that leads me to wonder what others have done to clear? Cut to stumps, then bulldoze or ?? I'm assuming there's not much value in the trees themselves but I'll check. Obviously they'll be rooted in... what should I be careful or watchful of? Cost? My plan would be to clear it, put in in production and then flip it back into CRP which would serve the birds better than the scattered hawk & eagle perches the trees provide now. ;)
Also curious about later when/if the ground comes out of CRP... this piece is set to enroll. What are the positives and negatives for the land now and later? Of course we've done our homework of clearing and CRP... but I'm curious from those who have some experience... thanks!!
 
How many acres is the parcel, i would say leave your island of trees as it does provide some diversity to your property. I would just make sure it doesn't expand in size. I am biased to leave trees being a forester. Depending on species of trees they might provide both hard and soft mast for the wildlife which I feel is a good thing. Think of it as a mini shelterbelt and in stead of looking way to remove, think of ways to improve that aspect of your existing habitat. I think the the cost of removing and stumping would far exceed the benefit that this little island will or does provide to wildlife.

We leave mature islands in you habitat work, one to show what the parent stand looked like but to also provided diffrent habitat and added edge habitat. This edge habitat provides good opportunity for a food source and escape cover. Just my 2 cents. Oh yeah congrats on buying some land:cheers:
 
How many acres is the parcel, i would say leave your island of trees as it does provide some diversity to your property. I would just make sure it doesn't expand in size. I am biased to leave trees being a forester. Depending on species of trees they might provide both hard and soft mast for the wildlife which I feel is a good thing. Think of it as a mini shelterbelt and in stead of looking way to remove, think of ways to improve that aspect of your existing habitat. I think the the cost of removing and stumping would far exceed the benefit that this little island will or does provide to wildlife.

We leave mature islands in you habitat work, one to show what the parent stand looked like but to also provided diffrent habitat and added edge habitat. This edge habitat provides good opportunity for a food source and escape cover. Just my 2 cents. Oh yeah congrats on buying some land:cheers:

Hey M...

It's a 40 acre piece... the stand of trees isn't very thick so while it provides some relief, I doubt there's much wildlife there as it stands. There a much better stand on the neighbors place. So if I focused on some native grasses it might provide a little diversity there. I figured we could clean house on part or all in order to get a little more out of it. I understand it won't create much of a return in terms in income, but with it's location and the price of land in this area it'll create some added tillable acres if we sold down the road. ;) I'd likely just knock out 2-3 acres in the end of leave a couple acres of the trees... just getting some ideas before we move on something. Thanks a bunch!!
 
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Come on be a tree hugger.......lol. I guess one question I would have, if the rest of the piece is in production then what was the reason for leaving this piece? I doubt that there is much volume or value in the mature trees other than fire wood. im sure the value of tillable acres would make clearing this island worth it. Sounds like it will be a fun project.
 
Come on be a tree hugger.......lol. I guess one question I would have, if the rest of the piece is in production then what was the reason for leaving this piece? I doubt that there is much volume or value in the mature trees other than fire wood. im sure the value of tillable acres would make clearing this island worth it. Sounds like it will be a fun project.

lol... more on the part about being a "fun project" than anything else... :D Yeah, I'm not big into chopping down trees but this is a little different case. The kicker is I'll likely be planting a bunch around our home place.
I'll probably do nothing in the end, but I like to talk about projects that should be done! We'll see... keep those pooches running! Talk later...
 
I tell a lot of folks this: when you get a piece of ground, make sure the first thing you do is eliminate all the invasive species so that the cost is the lowest it will ever be. If these trees are non-native, invasive species, take them out. If not, you have choices to make. If you have goals, go for them. If taking the trees out mechanically will cost what buying that many more acres of ground would cost, may want to rethink it. If they are invasive and need to go, a more affordable option is to girdle and treat them with Pathway while the sap is down and let them come down on their own schedule.
 
I tell a lot of folks this: when you get a piece of ground, make sure the first thing you do is eliminate all the invasive species so that the cost is the lowest it will ever be. If these trees are non-native, invasive species, take them out. If not, you have choices to make. If you have goals, go for them. If taking the trees out mechanically will cost what buying that many more acres of ground would cost, may want to rethink it. If they are invasive and need to go, a more affordable option is to girdle and treat them with Pathway while the sap is down and let them come down on their own schedule.

Thanks T! That's what I was thinking too... hammer out whatever isn't supposed to be and be done. Once trees are done... I'm assuming dozer will need to come in either way to create a decent canvas to get rid of stumps, roots and so on. So I'm wondering if just getting one in there up front and biting the bullet may be the best option...
 
If you're going that way, I'd just hire an excavator to do the work. They can remove the trees and pile them where you want them. The main warning I have is if you have locust, you will need to either girdle and treat them or cut them down and treat the stumps well before removal or every bud on the roots will become another tree. You didn't say what size these trees are or what species. Might figure into the final decision.
 
Yeah, my thought was to just get an excavator in there and be done shortly after purchase (if purchased). Trees are a pretty good mix but nothing huge... I'll get someone on the property if we buy it who knows what they're doing to give me some ideas. Thanks!
 
I would think that the property around your island of trees would produce a good crop, the island of trees themselves would provide a haven for deer, you would be surprised to see how many deer would use that as a hideout when season comes around, I would put in some trail cameras and see what is going on in there, a fun project would be mapping out the trails in the trees and putting up stands. Bird hunting is my passion, but on those days when the birds need a break, you wont be stuck in the house watching The View on T.V.
 
I would think that the property around your island of trees would produce a good crop, the island of trees themselves would provide a haven for deer, you would be surprised to see how many deer would use that as a hideout when season comes around, I would put in some trail cameras and see what is going on in there, a fun project would be mapping out the trails in the trees and putting up stands. Bird hunting is my passion, but on those days when the birds need a break, you wont be stuck in the house watching The View on T.V.

I thought about that as well... it's not an ultra thick piece but I'm sure that deer and so on would put it to some use. I think we may be leaning to another piece now but this one is definitely in the running. Cameras would be fun... thanks for the reply!!
 
One tract we own has 3 isolated stands of trees along one edge. Only one of the three is large enough to be an old homestead. Regardless, they're there and we looked at getting them dozed so that the ground could be returned to production. It was a mid-five figure price tag. The price was completely ridiculous compared to the crop potential of the land. Those trees are still there.

Trees were a mix of native cottonwoods, cedar, locust, osage orange, and at least one species I could not identify.
 
I knew there would be some good input here. :) Thanks guys!!

Update... we ended up going with a different piece. I'm excited to get my hands a little dirty this year when things slow down a bit at work. It has some nice potential for some good habitat and has a couple water holes as well. Sooo... we'll have to see what's lurking in the water this spring. :)
 
shawk, how did your project turn out? We have applied to put 137 acres into CRP that surround two wet areas. Should be approved since the other 3 quarters of land on that section is already in CRP. It will be pretty cool to have a mile square of CRP. Don"t see that often in eastern SD. V/r SDViking
 
shawk, how did your project turn out? We have applied to put 137 acres into CRP that surround two wet areas. Should be approved since the other 3 quarters of land on that section is already in CRP. It will be pretty cool to have a mile square of CRP. Don"t see that often in eastern SD. V/r SDViking

Sounds like a fantastic piece!
We ended up having a professional come in with a dozer and large excavator. He did a massive clean and we breeched one of the pond levies to drain it as much as possible for now (two ponds on the property but both sadly to shallow to hold good fish). I'm still torn what to do with the one pond that could be good with some work. I would love to deepen it but in the real world it may be just pushed in and put back into production where it once was. So I guess at this point the entire piece is a work in progress. I'm thinking in another year or two we'll put some of it into CRP, add some food plots and so on... but it won't a high % of the property. Your 137a of CRP would be fantastic! We have a family farming it that appear to be absolutely top notch... so we'll likely never convert the entire piece so they can continue to farm. Best of luck and keep me posted!
 
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