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FORESTRY SNIPPETS

The Right Tree in the Right Place . . .

There is an old saying in the forestry camps, “Plant the right tree in the right place.”  One never plants the wrong tree in the wrong place, or even the wrong tree in the right place.  One is asking for trouble when one goes against what is considered a good forestry principle.

The best forestry policy is this — Plant only those trees that are native to your area.  There are enough forestry problems in this neck of the woods without other individuals adding to the pile of non-native species.

The main point I am trying to make is that if you look at a tree map of the United States, certain species of trees grow in particular areas due to soils and climate and elevations and temperature.  Do you find bald cypress trees growing in the Appalachians?  No.  Why not?  Because the soils are not applicable, and the temperature is too severe.  Does one find white oak trees growing out in the swamps of Florida?  No.  Why not?  Because white oak prefers rich, well drained soil.  It attains its greatest size on the slopes of the Allegheny Mountains.  Does one find vine maple growing all over Tennessee?  No.  Why not?  Because vine maple is a rain forest tree which grows on the Northwest coast.

What about loblolly pines in Middle Tennessee?  Forcing loblolly pines to grow in Middle Tennessee brings on other problems.  All the bugs, all the disease, all the ailments that affect loblolly’s further south in Mississippi, East Texas, Alabama, and Georgia is exacerbated in the loblolly’s planted further north.  The bug, disease or ailment becomes stronger as it moves north!  These same problems sometimes invade other species of trees.

For example, a particular bug or a disease that affects loblolly’s further south will sometimes spread north in search of more loblolly’s and sometimes become attached to trees that they may decide they also like.  Let us say that a loblolly stand is found in Hickman County, Tennessee, that these bugs or disease likes.  If there are other trees within the stand they decide they also like, like shortleaf pines or yellow poplar, it is a known fact in forestry that a bug or a disease or ailment can mutate and start to wreck havoc on the other species of trees.  Sometimes they do not even have to mutate.  And just think, the whole problem with the tree stand start with YOU!  The problem does not lay with nature or your neighbor or friend, it lays at your doorstep.  The same thing holds true for the white pines that you are unfortunately trying to force to grow in Middle Tennessee.


Dogwood Trees in Tennessee . . .

Since dogwood trees are dying across the Tennessee landscape due to anthracnose and dogwood borer, individuals need to be considering other native trees as replacements.  Suggestions are Allegheny Serviceberry, Sweetbay Magnolia, and Carolina Silverbell, plus a native that has been restructured to bloom white — Royal White Redbud.

All four of these species of trees are native and pest and disease resistant, but they are not resistant to dogs when planted in the home landscaping and will die unexpectedly if not protected!  They, nor any other landscape plant, do not make suitable “fireplug” substitutes!  Enforce neighborhood leash laws!


It Runs in the Family . . .

Several years ago the State of Missouri honored my Grandfather White by naming 6,614 acres located in Howell County, Missouri, approximately 11 miles south of West Plains, the White Ranch Conservation Area.  Fishing opportunities are offered along the South Fork of the Spring River, and the six acre White Ranch Lake.

Officials with the State of Missouri named this area after my grandfather because Harry L. White made such an impact concerning the business of forestry within the State of Missouri.  He was a venerable forestry and land steward and was well known for always believing in good forestry principles and practices.  Harry L. White never took away more than he gave back.

These lands represent the largest public area in the Missouri Ozarks.

and in Bon Aqua in Middle Tennessee about 30 miles west of Nashville . . .

“The purchase of Bon Aqua Woods was the first project commitment made by the Heritage Conservation Trust Fund proposed by Governor Phil Bredesen and established by the General Assembly in 2005.”

“The property’s special features include not only trees of grand size and diversity but also the presence of umbrella magnolia in its forest.  Although not rare, umbrella magnolia is relatively uncommon on the Western Highland Rim known only in this region in Lewis, Hickman, and Maury Counties.  It is more typically found in the rich cove forests of the Cumberland Plateau.

“Previously the State Natural Areas Program did not include a representation of this forest type in its inventory and did not have a natural area in Hickman County.”

“State of Tennessee worked with conservation partner Maury Miller and the Heritage Conservation Fund.”  (All quoted statements are from the State of Tennessee web pages on State Natural Areas.)

This 35 acre stand of old growth/virgin timber is considered the second finest White Oak stand in the Nation, surpassed only by 88 acre Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest in Paoli, Indiana.


Did You Know ? . . .

Did you know that originally there were over 400,000 square miles of virgin woods in the South?

  The old journals say that if someone back then (in very early Colonial times) had cut all the virgin trees down on the ground, it would be possible to walk on all the logs from the Eastern Seaboard to the Mississippi River without touching the ground.


To Learn More About Forestry . . .

Individuals really wanting to study forestry and learn more about its early beginnings need to consider and read up on some people who are responsible for not only the promotion of, but the deliberate struggle to bring American Forestry to the forefront.

Unaware of the important role they were playing in American Forestry at the time, here are the main players:

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Horace Kephart - Librarian and bibliographer.

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William Bartram - Botanist and scientist.

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Frederick Law Olmstead - New York Landscapist; designed Central Park.

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Gifford Pinchot - First head of Forestry Division within the Department of Agriculture.  Received training in Forestry in the French Forest School at Nancy, France, and in the Sihwald in Zurich, Switzerland.

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Carl Alwin Schenck - German Forstmeister, managed Biltmore Estate for George W. Vanderbilt; 100,000 acres.  Helped develop the Biltmore Forestry School which was conceived in 1896, and opened in 1898.  350 young men worked in their training program.  Schenck wanted to add a new dimension to the management of American Forests.  In 1915, Mrs. George Vanderbilt sold off most of the Biltmore Estate to the Federal Government at a nominal price which became the Pisgah National Forest.

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W. W. Ashe - One of the South’s ablest scientists and a pioneer naturalist.

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Joseph H. Hyde - Helped organize and was the very first President of the Southern Forestry Congress.

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Carl Schurz - Secretary of Interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes.  He was born near Cologne, Germany, and was educated at the University of Bonn.  He had a zeal for managing the Nation’s resources.  He was the first one to do a reexamination of National land policies, to reveal the reckless waste of resources and to awaken a lethargic public to the importance of effective management at the Federal level.

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Charles T. Mohr - Native of Esslington, Wurttemburg.  This man fled Germany because of oppression.  Mohr ended up becoming the best informed authority