Hickory Ridge Forestry will spend the remainder of winter in the Mondamin unit of the Loess Hills State Forest completing a large thinning project.
The first portion of the project involves a crop tree release specifically focusing on the highest quality oak, black walnut, and Kentucky coffeetree. HRF will select and mark individual trees using quality characteristics. After all trees are marked in the unit a thinning will occur to kill off competing trees in proximity to the canopy of our marked trees. Over time this practice will allow the selected quality trees the chance to improve growth and overall production due to lack of competition.
The second portion of the project is a weed tree thinning focusing on the western slope of the Loess Hills. Upon completion mainly oaks and walnuts will remain. Hopefully prescribed fire will play a role in the future conservation of this leading edge of the hills to consume remaining waste material and promote the growth of native Iowa grasses and forbes.
