A forester is often asked what is the best time of year to sell timber. The question is usually in reference to if there is a season of the year timber prices are higher, a question which will be dealt with in another article of this series. Other times the person is asking, in regards to the weather, if there are times of year it is too muddy to have a timber harvest.

The short answer would be yes, there are times of the year the ground is too wet to harvest without making ruts. Besides looking bad, ruts can cause considerable damage to trees and soil. Deep ruts can sever roots, increasing the chances of being blown over by a high wind. They also diminish the trees ability to take up water and nutrients. Ruts can also make a trail unsuitable for future forest management or recreational use. If the rut runs downslope, long term harm can be caused by erosion carrying your soil off the property and potentially polluting a stream with sediments.

So much for the short answer. The more detailed answer is that wet soils are more likely in the winter but can be encountered any time of the year. This past fall is a good example of how unpredictable it can be. A normal fall is dry enough for logging, but most of the sales I administered stopped in late October because the ground was too wet. But I have also seen 8” of rain in a July that prevented harvesting and a fall drought that allowed harvests all winter. Logging is possible even in a wet winter if temperatures are cold enough to freeze the ground.

Different terrain and soils also can make a difference. Portions of the Ozarks have ridges that are relatively broad and flat with a clay soil. It is difficult for water to drain off these sites and ruts can be made long after the adjacent slopes have dried out.

In my opinion the best ways to prevent ruts are by proper planning and contract specifications. Having a professional forester involved in the sale is the first step in the planning process. Consulting foresters are available and the Missouri Department of Conservation assists with timber sales under some circumstances. One way planning can help is to locate roads, log landings, and skid trails to avoid wet areas and take advantage of well drained soils.

Perhaps the best way to avoid ruts is to communicate with the buyer what your expectations are and what is acceptable. A timber sale contract is the best way to express those expectations. A contract may state a maximum depth of ruts or a specification such as “…seller may terminate any part or all of the buyers operations if the operations are detrimental to the forest, land, or watershed”. It is customary for the ending date of the sale contract to be extended the number of days operations are halted due to wet weather.

Overall, clear communication and adequate planning are the most critical pieces to properly conducting a timber sale in order to minimize damage to the site.

Article by Steve Paes, MDC Resource Forester.

Top of the Ozarks RC&D Forestry Committee http://www.morcd.org/totorcd/

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