Stone Branch, build it, they will come.

I finally got the go ahead to get started, unit F, 22 acres.

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I cut a trail down the ridge top, from top to bottom, 500 yards with 100 yards of elevation change.

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I probably killed 5000 trees with my hack hammer.

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I also girdled and

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mulched. Over the 22 acres I averaged 5hrs, 7 minutes, and 30 seconds/acre.

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G
Why no prescription for the highest elevations?
 
Much of the sunny side mid slope of unit A is/was a dense thicket of mountain laurel. The laurel was top killed by my fire but is slowly resprouting.

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In the meanwhile, much of the slope has sprouted up in blueberries, I'll take it.

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G
 
The precolonial laurel brakes were torture for the early explorers. Deer and bear here love their winter shelter. I’ve never got the blueberries, only blackberry growth. Your Place looking like a real deer hotspot this year


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My contract with the feds stipulates a 20-25 sq ft basal reduction from a starting point of 85 sq ft basal area. Chief forester Bill was out yesterday and he took 11 point measurements in unit F and he came up with a remaining sq ft basal area of 57 sq ft. He had zero criticism of my work but did flag one tree o hell that I neglected to kill, which was subsequently, quickly, dispatched. $6,322, cha ching.

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G
 
The precolonial laurel brakes were torture for the early explorers. Deer and bear here love their winter shelter. I’ve never got the blueberries, only blackberry growth. Your Place looking like a real deer hotspot this year


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Thanks dogghr. I spent much of last week in the laurel thicket.

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The fire top killed a lot of plants, I see lots of browsing on the regrowth.

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I still had lots of beech, maple, blackgum, sassafras, and sourwood to kill.

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I have killed a lot of trees using regular squirt bottles, they only hold a quart, always leak, and never work very well or very long. I'm 38 acres in and my 2 quart pump bottle is still working flawlessly. I saw on utube someone say that they don't like these bottles because you have to pump them, well you do have to pump them, 5-10 pumps in a 4 hour work session. I would have gone through 10 regular squirt bottles by now.

The remains in the jug is the very last of my solution made with 1 gallon of imazapyr. I mix 1 quart of imazapyr with 4 quarts of water for a 20% solution, a 10%+ actual chemical solution. I have another gallon on the way. I did about 36 acres with imazapyr at about 18 oz of solution/acre.

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Chief forester Bill Knott is coming out on his office day, Friday, to approve my work in unit A, $4,511 cha ching. Unit C is up next. I would also like to burn at least a couple of acres in unit F.


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G
 
I bought one of those little pump sprayers after seeing the Land and Legacy guys use them. I agree works pretty slick. I should have someone come look at my maple patch I am dropping for free might be missing out on some $$. Nice work, cool pic of the bear. Can you hunt them there?
 
You don't use the Jack bottle anymore? ;) Good work as always, G.

I bought one of those little pump sprayers after seeing the Land and Legacy guys use them. I agree works pretty slick. I should have someone come look at my maple patch I am dropping for free might be missing out on some $$. Nice work, cool pic of the bear. Can you hunt them there?

Thanks guys. I was always drenched in glyphosate with the old squirt bottles, no more.

E, there are 2-3days seasons, bow and gun, and 1-4 day dog season in my zone. I'm not too excited about my chances. $287+/acre for TSI.

G
 
I've said all along, it is harder to get a fire to burn in the woods than it is to burn a woods down. Yesterday, 90+ degrees, no rain for almost a week, humidity dropping towards 40%, fire wouldn't carry through the leaf liter.

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I saved a fawn from a big coyote two days in a row back in July, this may be the one.

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I was calling this buck 4 1/2, 4 years ago.

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Another 8, he has a bad eye.

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goofy.

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G
 
My little pit bull Spike was stashing one of his deer antlers around the backside of the wood pile yesterday,

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and found one of these.

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After a photo shoot I said goodbye about 300 yards away from where I found her. I say her, because I believe that she may be a gravid female.

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I then decided to move her closer to where I found her about 100 above our camp. I didn't want to move her out of her territory if she is indeed a gravid female.

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Dog will hunt.

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Goofy out making his rounds.

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G
 
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You mentioned the imazthapyr mix, are you doing hack and squirt, basal bark application or cutting off and sprayng the stump?
 
You mentioned the imazthapyr mix, are you doing hack and squirt, basal bark application or cutting off and sprayng the stump?

Foresters' prescription- mix one qt of imazapyr with 4 qt. water to make 5 qt of a 20% solution which is a 10%+ actual chemical solution. Hack and squirt, 1 hack per 3" of diameter, 1ml solution per hack. This application is also prescribed by the label.

G
 
I’ve been following along with your thread for several years. In fact I stalked the forum for a few years before I made an account, in large part to view the property tours of guys like you, Native, and many others. You’re an inspiration to habitat junkies, and your photography skills are outstanding.

I had a question about your success and thoughts on the 20% imazapyr solution for hack and squirt. Are you seeing a good kill on all of your target species with just the imazapyr? I know several folks who have used the triclopyr, water, and imazapyr combo with success, but 20% imazapyr would sure be simpler if it’s effective. Have you by chance used that solution on sweetgum, hickories, or ironwood? I have a north facing hillside consumed by sweetgum (over and mid story), hundreds if not thousands of various hickory species in the mid story (mostly 2-8in DBH), and several ironwood that we plan on attacking soon.
 
I’ve been following along with your thread for several years. In fact I stalked the forum for a few years before I made an account, in large part to view the property tours of guys like you, Native, and many others. You’re an inspiration to habitat junkies, and your photography skills are outstanding.

I had a question about your success and thoughts on the 20% imazapyr solution for hack and squirt. Are you seeing a good kill on all of your target species with just the imazapyr? I know several folks who have used the triclopyr, water, and imazapyr combo with success, but 20% imazapyr would sure be simpler if it’s effective. Have you by chance used that solution on sweetgum, hickories, or ironwood? I have a north facing hillside consumed by sweetgum (over and mid story), hundreds if not thousands of various hickory species in the mid story (mostly 2-8in DBH), and several ironwood that we plan on attacking soon.

Thanks MO, so far so good on my kill of target species. I had big maples that I hit with triclopyr ester last summer that still look healthy outside of a few dead branches. I have big maples hit with imazapyr this year that look like they will be dead. I would say that any 2-8" DBH tree hit with imazapyr will be toast. I have one 16" sweetgum that i hit 3 weeks ago that now has 1/4 of it's leaves browned out. The only tree that I need triclopyr for is black locust. 1 gallon of imazapyr has treated 36 acres for an average of 17-18oz 20% solution/acre.

Imazapyr is not the prescription everywhere, it will kill nontarget plants that share root systems. For example, in my sugar maple forests I will be double girdling cull maples. I was told to be careful around tulip poplars that I don't want dead.

I do find imazapyr much easier to mix up and carry around. I put 60oz in my hand sprayer and use about 36oz of it in a 4 hour session.

I was reluctant at first to use imazapyr. Now if i get a good kill without killing off my whole forest I'll be sold on imazapyr.

Forester Bill was confidant that if I use imazapyr as directed I won't be killing non target trees.

G
 
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