the village idiot

Midge Industries Natural Garden Enterprise Scheme.

That's thoroughly depressing. It boggles my mind sometimes that our species can be quite so short sighted and stupid. I'm no anti-capitalist, but surely it has become perfectly clear that we have to have much more robust legislation against these clearance activities, for our own sakes if nothing else. Market forces need very strong checks and balances. The growing 'each country for itself' movement is only going to make matters worse. Evolution has programmed into us a propensity towards selfishness and short term gain, but we have also developed the ability to understand the long term consequences of our actions. This is thought to be a skill pretty much unique to our species, but it is increasingly apparent that we are not making best use of it. The balance between short term gain and long term viability is pretty disastrously out of whack. Good on you for trying to take a stance.

Could you expand into the tree surgery side a bit more and become Midge Tree Services? "No job too small for MidgeTS" Apologies. I'll stop it now.

Midge maintenance management. Gardeners at your service? Easily abbreviated to: Mmm. Gays if for any reason this wouldn't be appropriate I would go with MGM.

Lynx would be a slightly less controversial option. It is under serious consideration in a few specific locations but a long way off from becoming a reality.

We don't find we have to do rabbit control. We actually seem to have more Hares than Rabbits. Most of our browsing damage is caused by Deer. We certainly don't have wild Boar, and I don't know anything about their contribution to biodiversity. I've heard tell they are a kind of a pig to get rid of. ? Yup, I'm here all week!

Thanks sandspider, I have very mixed emotions about Squirrels. They are incredible creatures to watch but they do cause a lot of trouble. They are a huge frustration for people trying to grow good timber trees due to their de-barking habits. This is not such a big concern for us as good timber is a bonus but not a fundamental objective. They have been known to steal bird eggs out of nests which is obviously bad for biodiversity. They also take all the hazel nuts before they ripen which limits hazel regeneration from seed. As a result we ask the shooting syndicate to control the numbers to a certain extent. On the plus side, Squirrels along with Jays 'plant' a staggering amount of acorns, Beech and Chestnut mast in a season and forget where they put a lot of them. These will sometimes germinate and grow into new trees. I think everyone is probably aware of the negative impact grey's have on the native red squirrel population. On balance Grey Squirrels are almost certainly a negative for woodland biodiversity and financial viability and control measures are advisable. I do quite like the little fellas though. I keep this personal fondness under wraps when in the presence of other foresters for fear of losing a few teeth!

Thanks AJS, Yes we are very lucky to have such a big patch. It is one of the largest woods in a county without a great amount of woodland. There are a couple of two man teams in my area who do the same sort of work. They have managed to be viable by getting agreements with several owners of smaller woods, cutting an acre or two in each location every winter, or getting paid to do ride work etc. There are opportunities out there.

We don't see Deer all that often whilst we are working, but frequently see them at dusk when we are leaving the Wood. Roe do seem to be the least timid of all the species. You can sometimes get surprisingly close, especially if you are in a vehicle. They don't recognise the shape and you don't smell right (or wrong!) The issue of following up a Deer that doesn't drop on your land is a tricky one. Occasionally Deer can sprint 100mtrs or more before collapsing. I would suggest that there is a moral imperative to follow up on an animal that has been shot wherever it ends up, but I can see that this could cause issues with neighbouring land owners. I am not much of an authority on Deer stalking. I am too much of a wimp and rely on others to do it for me. I'll see if I can get Stumpy Grinder to give his thoughts as he is hugely experienced.

Simple answer is no. Do people still read books? The best way to communicate your ideas with people these days seems to be on the internet, and this format suits me whilst work is still ongoing. Perhaps when my body tells me it's had enough something like a book could be a possibility. It is probably too niche a subject to attract a lot of interest though and I really wouldn't know where to start. There is a lovely little book called 'A Year in the Woods'. It is written from the perspective of a Deer stalker so there is a fair bit of killing, but it contains some wonderful descriptions and really manages to capture the range of feelings and experiences you have being in, and working in, the Woods. An excellent Christmas break read. Edit: I bought this book for Steve's Dad at Christmas a couple of years ago. He is now our most active Deer stalker in the Wood and loves the place just as much as we do!

Thanks Bolt. Yes, have really enjoyed putting it together, and the kind feedback has been very nice to receive. Looking forward to meeting up with some of you in the new year for a woody stroll.?

TAKING STOCK. We are now pretty up to date with our tour of operational events in the Wood. I'll try and remember to keep you updated as other exciting events occur. We'll move over now to Ancient Woodland ecology, focussing on the ecosystem as a whole and also on some of the important and interesting species that make their home in this increasingly rare habitat. In the meantime here are a few arty farty shots of the Wood to flick through. It is a real pleasure sometimes to remember to down tools and just mindfully take in the beauty of these places. Happy Christmas everybody. TVI.

Yes, I've been there, and never going back again! Lovely dead hedges you've got there. Thanks for posting the pictures. Do you have extra hands on site to help construct them?

DEER MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. Before making any major decisions on how you are going to counter Deer damage impacts you need to have some idea of the scale of the problem in your particular patch. You can have a Deer impact survey, where an experienced person can walk through the Wood recording the frequency of slots (Deer hoofprints) and assess the general level of browsing damage. This will provide you with some fairly general information about the species that are present and whether the browsing level is severe, tolerable or non-existent. A more definitive measure can be made with the use of Deer exclosure plots. These involve felling an area of trees (such as a coppice compartment) and erecting a Deer proof fence around a segment of a few square mtrs. You can then monitor the difference in regeneration inside and outside the exclosure. If after a couple of years the vigour of the regrowth is comparable either side you can be somewhat sure that you currently have a sustainable number of Deer. If however you observe a scene similar to the picture below, you know you have a big problem. We have used Deer exclosures in our Wood and find them an invaluable monitoring tool. Heras fencing panels make excellent Deer exclosures. They are very easy to put up and take down, and can be re-used multiple times. You can just about see one of our exclosures behind Chainsaw miller Alec. Once you have an idea of how heavy the browsing pressure is in your wood you can plan appropriate action. If browsing pressure is low you might get away with taking no action, or you might choose to employ some simple regeneration protection techniques such as piling brash material on top of cut stumps, or spreading your brash liberally across the entirety of a felled area. Deer are quite lazy and don't like picking their way through branches to get to new shoots. I have tried both these methods, and in our particular circumstances the 'brash piling' worked reasonably well, but the 'brash spreading' didn't. It has worked for other people with lower browsing pressures, but spreading the brash has the complication of making compartments relatively inaccessible to Deer stalkers. If you don't go down the Deer stalking route though this is obviously not a problem. I have experimented with various individual stool protection techniques over the years including building semi fortresses. These worked well against the Deer but inhibited the regrowth too much by blocking out the light. If you have a great deal of brash and free labour at your disposal you can build up a 'dead hedge' around your freshly felled area. This can work reasonably well to keep some Deer out, but it is rare that you will generate enough tops to build a tall enough hedge, especially in neglected coppice. Deer are excellent jumpers. We do make a dead hedge around our compartments. It is a bit of a token gesture in terms of keeping Deer out, and is more about keeping the brash out of the way and providing a habitat. If Deer browsing pressure is high you could consider fencing off any newly felled areas for a few years to give the regeneration a chance to grow above browsing height. There are several different fencing options, which one you choose would depend on budget, time and your own aesthetic preferences. Some people use plastic mesh fence, others use a more substantial metal wire fence. Both of these options are quite labour intensive and it is difficult to remove the fencing once they have done their job. The plastic mesh also often succumbs to Badger attack. Electrified strand fencing is another option which some people have success with. It is relatively cheap and easy to install but requires constant upkeep to keep it from short circuiting. Theft is also an issue here as these set-ups are often powered by a solar panel and battery (easy pickings for the light of fingered). Becoming more and more popular as a woodland fencing option are Heras fence panels. These are the metal mesh panels you often see erected around building sites. They offer the advantages of being very user friendly and very re-useable. On the down side they don't make your woodland look particularly beautiful. You would want to jettison the rubber feet as they create a gap any mildly peckish Muntjac could easily squeeze under. If you have a relatively small woodland and high Deer pressure you could consider fencing the whole perimeter. This can be very effective if you keep on top of maintenance, but is disastrous if (as has happened many a time) you manage to fence a Deer population in. You will also just be exporting your Deer issue to your neighbours, and stopping the transit of other large mammals into and out of your Wood. In my view the best 'holistic' Deer management option is to control the overall numbers. This involves yourself or other trained people shooting a certain percentage of the Deer within your Wood and the surrounding land. There is a lot of public queasiness around shooting Deer. This is misplaced in my opinion. The process is very humane, especially when compared to how we obtain our other sources of meat. Venison is also a very healthy option as the Deer have been browsing in the wild up until their death, they have not been overly stressed and have not been pumped full of antibiotics and growth enhancers. One wonders whether if Deer were rather ugly creatures there would be anywhere near the level of public distaste at their numbers being controlled. The browsing pressure in our Wood is probably best described now as moderate. Arbtalk's Stumpy Grinder and others put in some seriously extensive stalking work in the early years. We don't currently have Fallow which is a huge bonus. We now have a team of Deer stalkers who take around 30-40 animals a year. Sometimes they stalk on foot, and sometimes sit in high seats and wait for the Deer to come to them. They are not paid, they operate in return for the venison. Even with this level of Deer culling we still get significant problems. In the first growing season after coppicing the freshly cut stools all get browsed down to next to nothing. What saves us is the bramble. The browsing pressure is not so high that the Deer take out all the bramble growth too. Once this gets established it protects the regenerating stools from the Deer and we can get acceptable, all be it delayed regrowth. If we didn't control Deer numbers they would take out the bramble too and we would get no regeneration. We have also had some moderate success by 'overfeeding' the Deer. We have opened up so much area in the Wood over the last few years that the Deer struggle to have a devastating impact in any one particular place. The browsing pressure is the same but it is diluted over a large area. This technique is only really possible in a large block of Woodland. If however you a planning a couple of separate areas of felling in the same season it might well be worth considering combining them into a single block. Deer are cautious about wandering out into wide open space, a one hectare coppiced block will be a less attractive proposition than a freshly felled acre. If you invite Deer stalkers into your Wood it is a good idea to make sure they have had adequate training and have the appropriate firearms certification. The rifles they use are serious bits of kit and you need to be sure that they are going to operate safely and humanely. You can research the DS1 and DS2 training schemes. It's not just Deer that obliterate new shoots. Rabbits, Hares and even mice and squirrels can be problematic. You can tell if your damage is caused by Deer by looking closely at the browsing. Deer have no top teeth in the front of their jaws and have to tear off the shoot that they are eating. This leaves a somewhat ragged edge to the 'chew point'. Rabbits and Hares nip the new shoots off very cleanly. Deer control is such an important issue in Woodland management but it is not really given the amount of attention it deserves. They are very elusive creatures so people are often surprised to hear that they are such a huge problem. I hope that in the future public consciousness can be raised and we can start to tackle the issue more systematically on a national scale. All these new hugely ambitious tree planting initiatives will fall flat on their faces if we don't take appropriate action on Deer control. That being said, don't let the threat of Deer stop you from performing management operations. As explained above there are ways to mitigate the damage at a woodland level and the work is too important to give up before you've even started.

Kind of, yes. I am a fan of most of what Peterson puts out (with a couple of notable exceptions). I agree with Trigger though that the particular rant you posted wasn't one of his best.

You would still need all countries working together. In the present climate we are moving in the opposite direction. A less radical measure that would at least stabilise population growth would be to limit people to only replacing themselves through childbirth (two children per couple). I floated this idea on here a while back and still haven't managed to wash off all the spittle.

This is why we need to be forced to do things differently by law. There is very little political will for this though and we are not likely to elect anybody with it. We are a bit stuck. The only way out is for all countries to take the necessary economic hits simultaneously, keeping a relatively level playing field. With richer countries helping out the poorer ones as required. We were making some promising progress with this very rare scenario until Trump pulled the USA out of the Paris Climate Accord, stating that action on climate change was "bad for business" This was an act of monumental nationalistic selfishness, and paved the way for other nations to pull out too.

DEER. It's not putting too fine a point on it to say that if you are considering bringing an area of woodland back into management and you do not have a plan for Deer management you are probably doomed to very disappointing outcomes. As Silverhooker pointed out, Deer numbers have rocketed in recent years to the point where if you don't control the numbers, or fence them out, you are very likely to get little or no viable regeneration from the seed bank in the soil or from freshly cut coppice stems. This never used to be a problem. When Deer numbers were sustainable a woodsman could fell an area of coppice and be safe in the knowledge that they could return the following summer to see prolific regeneration of trees and wildflowers. With Deer numbers as they are now, apart from in a very few locations where Deer are not present, you will not be experiencing this life affirming vista unless you have taken Deer management measures. Deer numbers have reached a level where road collisions have become widespread. The health of Deer populations is also being adversely affected due to increases in the spread of disease and malnourishment due to lack of winter food. Both a result of over-population. We humans have wiped out all the natural predators of Deer from the UK countryside so it is now our responsibility to keep their numbers at a sustainable level for the sake of our crops, our woodlands and for the Deer themselves. There are six species of Deer resident in the UK, four of which are especially relevant to woodland management, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Roe Deer and Muntjac. Of these four only two are truly native to the UK (Red and Roe). If you have just Roe and/or Muntjac it is just about possible to manage the populations on a woodland scale through culling. If you have a Fallow population in the area the issue is a lot more serious and you really have to be part of a 'landscape scale' management program as these Deer are a lot more free roaming. A herd of Fallow could wipe out your coppice compartment in a couple of evening suppers. If you don't like the idea of having Deer shot you do have the option of fencing them out of any freshly cut areas (or the whole woodland if you have the resources). This method works well to protect the areas in question but has the unwanted consequence of increasing browsing in unfenced areas of your Wood, or neighbouring blocks of woodland. I think it is fair to say that in most areas of the UK, Deer control needs to be your top priority when considering woodland management operations. Without a Deer plan it is often better not to start as you are likely to be doing more harm than good. A plan for controlling Deer impact can include killing Deer or fencing/stool protection or both (you could also buy a Lynx but this would land you in a lot of trouble!). I'll outline what's involved in each of these scenarios in the next post.

That sounds like a pretty idyllic retirement plan. I hope you find a nice bit of woodland. When you do, don't forget to post up some pictures!

I don't think you'd get any comeback if you adopted this approach. It sounds sensible, hopefully keeps you viable and is close enough to the best practice guidelines. After a couple more years we should have a clearer picture on what trees are going to make it and which aren't. What they are probably trying to prevent is a knee jerk mass felling of Ash. The speaker seemed much more concerned about Deer management than anything else.

Norway maple?

I went to a Woodland Communication event yesterday. One of the speakers was from Natural England and was detailing the latest guidance on managing woodland with Ash dieback. Encouragingly there is some evidence from follow up studies in Europe that resistance rates in woodland Ash populations could be as high as 40%. This is an average of course so there is no guarantee that all individual sites will see this level of survival. From what I could gather current advice on woodland management practices are as follows and depends somewhat on the frequency and age of Ash within the Woodland: High Forest: Moderate thinning operations targeting the worst affected trees can help improve the survival rates of more tolerant trees in the stand and allow light in to encourage the growth of potentially resistant saplings. Care must be taken though not to 'over thin' as this can have a negative effect on the trees left standing. Coppice: 'In rotation' coppice Ash should continue to be felled. The biodiversity losses from ceasing coppicing would be too detrimental. For out of rotation Ash coppice the advice is to retain large stools if not subject to imminent collapse, especially if they are seed producing (female). It is also suggested that converting the coppice system to an alternative silvicultural system could be considered. Deer management is paramount to give the best chance of natural regeneration of Chalara resistant saplings. There is more detail in the table below. It relates specifically to SSSI woodlands but is probably fairly applicable to any woodland containing significant quantities of Ash. The full guidance document is linked to below, including a copy of the table above that the over 40's among us won't need a telescope to read. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811166/NE_FC_Ash_dieback_SSSI_management_advice_V2_April_19.pdf

I don't know whether it's just an East of England thing but conservation groups here are generally very scrub friendly. Heath and fens are important habitat types in their own right and an appropriate number should arguably be maintained, but their species carrying capacity doesn't come close to that of scrubby woodland. It would be disappointing if all potential woodland sites were consistently cleared of their trees. You would hope that a more balanced approach would be adopted, especially as woodland provides the additional benefit of providing a useful commercial product along with it's very significant biodiversity, recreation and carbon sequestration contributions. With the multitude of benefits that woodland provides, would it be going too far to suggest that it is a much better vegetation type to encourage in many circumstances?

We don't have any specific provision for open space in our plan or our Countryside Stewardship agreement. It could certainly be argued that our rides constitute open space but they are officially recorded as ride creation/maintenance operations. We weren't obligated to have open space provision but it is certainly a good option if you are aiming to diversify your habitats. It sounds like your governing bodies are sending very mixed messages by encouraging the conversion of woodland to grassland but questioning your 10% open space plan. It is your woodland, and if you feel you can justify your plans on a Woodland improvement basis then stick to your guns. Did the FC concede on your 10% in the end? Regarding your BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) question. It is unrealistic to expect woodland managers to be aware of, and make provision for every single BAP species in the UK. If you have a small block of woodland with one or two identified rare and protected species it makes some sense to tailor your management plan to their needs if possible. If you try to cater for everything in a very small block you may end up with habitats too insignificant to sustain anything much. If the woodland block is large I would consider it appropriate to try and create a diverse range of habitats including some non-intervention areas. These are just my particular thoughts on it. Ultimately it is down to individual managers to do what they feel is best for their patch and try to get the relevant authorities on board with their thinking. In my experience the Forestry Commission have been open to discussion on all potential ideas that can be aligned with the UK Forestry Standard. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/687147/The_UK_Forestry_Standard.pdf The UK Forestry Standard is a weighty tome but important to be familiar with as it informs the stance of the FC on any woodland management decision. Copied below is a section from the UKFS on open space which is relevant to Paul's particular point of tension: Open, scrub and edge habitats the open, scrub and edge habitats within or adjacent to woodland are especially important for biodiversity. these unplanted areas may contain valuable habitats, such as shrubs, open and stunted forest at the natural treeline, grasslands, crags, heaths, limestone pavements, bogs and a range of aquatic habitats. open areas such as utility wayleaves, roads and rides add to these open habitats. their value as habitats is greatly increased if they can be linked together and if the forest edges next to them are managed as part of this network. In some situations, management will be required to maintain open areas and prevent them reverting to woodland; shrubby woodland can be flailed, grassland mown or lightly grazed, and heathland periodically burned. Where woods have been recently planted, open areas within them may contain botanical interest that can be maintained with periodic mowing. Forest edges that grade into open ground and, where possible, contain mixtures of native trees and shrubs are far more beneficial to biodiversity than abrupt edges. they provide, for example, bird nesting and feeding areas and sources of nectar for pollinators and other insects. Many birds nest in edge habitats, and some, such as black grouse, depend on the maintenance of a diverse edge structure. Butterflies require nectar sources and food plants associated with edges and open areas. distinctive open forest habitats and species associations have also developed in woodlands with a long history of grazing, parkland, wood pasture or understorey grazing, and these have specific management requirements. 23 Plan open space in new and existing woodland to create and enhance networks of open-ground habitats. 24 Consider practical opportunities to restore open habitats where their value could be reinstated and sustained. 25 develop graded edge habitats; thin woodland edges to create a diverse and convoluted structure and a transitional zone between habitats. 26 ensure wetland features such as springs, flushes and bogs are protected, and take opportunities to restore degraded features. 27 Consider how open areas and areas with partial tree or shrub cover can be managed to maintain or enhance their value for biodiversity. UK Forestry standard

In the Woodland context, whenever I am given direct advice from any special interest group I always make sure that I listen, and show that I am listening. I don't always do what they suggest (ask ten different foresters for a plan of action and you'll get eleven different answers), but the fact that they at least know that you are open to their point of view goes a surprisingly long way and stands you in good stead with them in the future.