HRF has stayed busy at the River City Hunting and Fishing Expo at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs. There have been great people to talk to who have wonderful ideas in mind for improvement of their properties or learning about some new management strategies. It’s impressive to see such a great interest in quality management with a strong emphasis on conservation and habitat. Hopefully the winter snowstorms will subside enough to start allowing better access to projects so we can start seeing these improvements hit the ground.
In regards to the snow, access is the key issue. It is nearly impossible to reach deep into a site aside from a snowmobile. After that it’s time to strap on the snowshoes so not to step two feet or more deep with every step. We’re not going to let the snow stop us. Hickory Ridge Forestry is gearing up to start a large 200+ acre timber stand improvement (TSI) project for the Loess Hills State Forest just south of Pisgah.
In a few months when the project wraps up HRF and the state forest will have valuable data on all crop trees selected. After all the thinning occurs to release the best of the high quality trees we’ll be able to cruise the timber years down the road and determine the rate of increase of growth on these selected trees. Look for photos in the next few weeks of the beautiful snowed in loess hills, it’s truly an awesome sight.