Ash trees falling

Tap

Well-Known Member
I'm really lucky these trees didn't smash my stand.
The only reason the one didn't hit it was because it hit another standing and leaning ash and it deflected away from a dead center hit.
These photos show the carnage of dead ash around here. They are everywhere by the hundreds or thousands. And there are countless dead ash that haven't fallen yet. I counted 12 dead ash within 100 feet from this stand.
I wonder how many years it will take for these trees to be laying on the ground and no longer a danger. The next few years definately has some hazards in the woods.
I'm also wondering if there will be a rise in the termite population. There's plenty of food out there for them.
That large one in the background fell in the last month.


The nearer ash is the one that narrowly missed the stand. It's probably 12" diameter.
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That leaning trunk on the right side of the the pic is what steered the fallen tree away from the stand. The photo doesn't show it but there is a scar about 20 feet up where the fallen tree 1st made contact. If the tree could have fallen straight down (not deflected by the other trunk) it most definately would have smashed the stand. You can see snapped off ash where the fallen one fell. Not sure if it knocked it over or not.
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This is looking straight down. You can see how close it came to falling on the stand...and possibly me, had I been in it at the time.
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That is why I try to avoid dead standing trees unless they are in an area I won't be hunting in or see much human activity. I realize a dead standing tree can offer habitat to other animals, but I try to do that only where it isn't a significant hazard. Otherwise I tend to mark trees with spray paint that are dead that need to be cut come winter time. It's part of my on-going TSI so to speak. Sometimes there is still decent wood in them that we use for firewood. I tend to mark them in the summer as you can see if they have leaves or not or just how far gone they really are. I still mark them as some are only dead in the top and I have seen folks try to put stands in them...not knowing the top was dead. You want to stay out of any tree on my place with a big "X" on it in ANY color spray paint!

A wrecked stand is one thing.....consider if you would have been in the stand when it came down.....you got nowhere to go!
 
That is why I try to avoid dead standing trees unless they are in an area I won't be hunting in or see much human activity. I realize a dead standing tree can offer habitat to other animals, but I try to do that only where it isn't a significant hazard. Otherwise I tend to mark trees with spray paint that are dead that need to be cut come winter time. It's part of my on-going TSI so to speak. Sometimes there is still decent wood in them that we use for firewood. I tend to mark them in the summer as you can see if they have leaves or not or just how far gone they really are. I still mark them as some are only dead in the top and I have seen folks try to put stands in them...not knowing the top was dead. You want to stay out of any tree on my place with a big "X" on it in ANY color spray paint!

A wrecked stand is one thing.....consider if you would have been in the stand when it came down.....you got nowhere to go!
Oh, I think about what it would have been like to be in that stand when that tree came crashing down...literally at arms length.
Ash used to be one of the good species for stsnds. They often have multiple trunks for concealment. I no longer put stands in them, if you can even find a live one anymore. But it's just about impossible to avoid being around them. There aren't many places in our region that there isn't one or more within 100 feet. It's hard enough to find a stand tree with all the right requirements. If I were to avoid being near an ash tree, I may as well sit on my porch


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Oh, I think about what it would have been like to be in that stand when that tree came crashing down...literally at arms length.
Ash used to be one of the good species for stsnds. They often have multiple trunks for concealment. I no longer put stands in them, if you can even find a live one anymore. But it's just about impossible to avoid being around them. There aren't many places in our region that there isn't one or more within 100 feet. It's hard enough to find a stand tree with all the right requirements. If I were to avoid being near an ash tree, I may as well sit on my porch


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They are pretty common here as well. The borer issue isn't so bad here...yet. Like I said - scout your trees in the summer to make sure they are healthy for use later in the year. I think you could still maybe find some good ones....just need to confirm first. I have several that appear fine for 20 feet and then they are dead as a hammer. Wind storms tend to snap them off for me. My son used to ask me all the time how I could scout for deer and trees stand locations by looking up in the trees. I told him there is some good information up there and we just needed to pay attention!
 
Oh, I think about what it would have been like to be in that stand when that tree came crashing down...literally at arms length.
Ash used to be one of the good species for stsnds. They often have multiple trunks for concealment. I no longer put stands in them, if you can even find a live one anymore. But it's just about impossible to avoid being around them. There aren't many places in our region that there isn't one or more within 100 feet. It's hard enough to find a stand tree with all the right requirements. If I were to avoid being near an ash tree, I may as well sit on my porch


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Same here, all ash trees dead in Huntington county. So much for the ash tree borer quarantine. Luckily where I'm at oaks are more prevalent. It seems there's just one pest after the other, the lanternfly is next and I understand that they like to eat hardwoods?
 
Year 2 for the borer where im at. The trees are dying and some are dead. My bottoms are full of dead trees, most of which i took the pleasure of killing. Junk. Underplanting oaks. Its a hazard for sure.
 
They are pretty common here as well. The borer issue isn't so bad here...yet. Like I said - scout your trees in the summer to make sure they are healthy for use later in the year. I think you could still maybe find some good ones....just need to confirm first. I have several that appear fine for 20 feet and then they are dead as a hammer. Wind storms tend to snap them off for me. My son used to ask me all the time how I could scout for deer and trees stand locations by looking up in the trees. I told him there is some good information up there and we just needed to pay attention!

Really? There are very few ash live in Madison County. Your will be dead soon.....
 
By luck alone the ash die off came slowly here, slow enough to harvest hundreds of ash trees before they were completely dead. Many of them made baseball bat quality. Thus there are very few ash left to die and fall here with much size to them.

Edit added Dec. 06-----Baseball quality veneer ash went for $1000 to $1200 per thousand board feet in 2014,15 and 16 (did not sell any in 2017) If you are lucky enough to have that quality of ash it is likely still worth checking prices in many places for someone that may deal in that market. Ash is the main tree for wooden bats so no matter how much the bat makers have stockpiled no more ash will likely be grown to maturity for at least the next forty years minimum if ever.
 
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Really? There are very few ash live in Madison County. Your will be dead soon.....
Yep - most of mine went in one of the two timber harvests, but I still have young ones. The borer doesn't seem to bother them as bad. I saw little use to them from a wildlife perspective so they where on the chopping block when the timber man came. The value was in the toilet because of the mass sell off of them but they where not helping me achieve my goals so chop, chop! I have some young ones I cutt he tops out of to turn into shrubs and they are still alive as well.
 
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Of my 380 acres, I have over 100 acres of ash...mostly dead...all dying. It’s sad. It’s a mess. I cut those in areas where they will cause damage, but it’s virtually impossible to cover all the bases. Lost a older box blind a couple weeks ago to a dead ash and a NE wind. I’m in a qualified forestry plan here in Michigan and my first scheduled harvest is to get rid of the Ash. Problem is that there is so much of it, no one will cut it. I’d give it away for firewood, but like I said, no one wants it.
 
Such a shame, ash is, or was, one of the most versatile types of wood, and the number one firewood species, lightweight, low smoke, easy to split, good btu's, and the only firewood that burns good when still totally green. Better stock up your wood supply while you still can.
 
I hate this too. I've got quite a few white ash trees and they've found ash borers in the county just north of me. Probably won't be long till mine are dead too.

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I hate this too. I've got quite a few white ash trees and they've found ash borers I the county just north of me. Probably won't be long till mine are dead too.

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Cut em while they're still alive.

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