Paul in the woods

If you look at this Forestry Commission page: Creating a Management Plan (England) It has a plan of operations spread sheet: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Inventoryandplanofoperations.xls/$FILE/Inventoryandplanofoperations.xls Download that and it has a species list tab with common and latin names.

Is there no time limit though? If I had a tree fall across a neighbours drive I can see why it might be regarded as theft if they cut it up and kept it as soon as it fell, but if I left it there for several months would the courts really say it was theft if the neighbours got someone it to cut up and remove the tree?

The owner is not interested in the tree and has plenty of other firewood and trees down. They're a busy farmer and seemed appreciative of the phone call but I expect he'll be annoyed I don't take his word and insist on something written down - hence the question. I've taken loads of photos and I'll make some notes. If there was any claim for the firewood I could claim far more for the damage done and the expense of clearing it. The only slight worry I have is the tree is nice and straight and I'd be tempted to try milling a section.

Funny you should mention that, in my case the tree has snapped about 20-30' up and the top 50+' has sailed into my wood taking a few trees with it. Must have been fairly impressive sight!

If a tree falls from a neighbouring property into mine I assume they still own the wood? Is there any length of time where I can claim the wood? Basically a large tree has fallen into my woodland causing damage to a couple of my trees in the process. I've spoken to my neighbour and he's more than happy for me to clear it and for me to keep the wood. (A fair deal I think as I may have to get help to take down one of my own trees that's now leaning). Ideally I'd get something written down but many people just don't do that. I don't expect there to be a problem and I'll stack the wood for a year or two to season anyway, but I'm just curious to know where I stand.

Another old thread: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/chainsaw-carving-forum/27219-defence-woodturners.html

Half it's work would only be a few hundred yards but the other half would be about 5 miles. Weight wouldn't be an issue but I'd make a fair few trips per year.

I didn't take pictures but posted about it on another forum at the time, so know the date. I used to find loads of it in the south east but not found it at all now I've moved to the SW.

I found this link: Logging trailer, forestry trailer HR500 + crane for small tractors and ATV Quad - Motorgeräte Fritzsch GmbH Looks the same or similar to the one in Teed posted up. It can be made road legal, for a price, but then is limited to a slow speed so probably not ideal for car use. I don't suppose there's anything similar that can be towed behind a car on the road is there? I've tried searching but not come up with anything.

I've found it in April before (21st in 2011).

These trailers look like what I need, so thanks for posting the video. I need to extract some timber from my small pieces of woodland and I can't justify a large trailer with a powered grab. I know they're aimed at ATVs but would it be possible to hitch one up to a car or small tractor? I assume the hitch is a bit low? And with a light board, would they be road legal?

On my bit of woodland there's no regular use and the entrance I use is locked. I want to use the signs to stop the odd one off muppet who suddenly thinks it would be good to walk into the woodland, climbing through a hedge rather than over a gate. If I had the signs then I'd obviously put them either side of where I'm working. Having said that, over the last year or so, I've witnessed a large arb company climbing, MEWPing, felling trees onto a country lane for a day and there was no sign of any signs. I've also seen contractors fell, burn, dig, & stump spray a few acres in a publicly accessible nature reserve, again no signs at all. It makes me wander if that many people use them?

I caught one grey squirrel in my Kania trap! I was baited unset for a few weeks and then I caught one fairly quickly after setting it but nothing for months after that. I've had far more success with these traps (wooden box and the BMI 116 trap): Fourteenacre | Fineren Bodygrip Box for Squirrels The trap is enclosed in a box with an offset entrance which prevents bycatch. Baited with hazelnuts and peanuts and with a few minutes practice very easy to set (after a bit of practice) and not as expensive as a Kania. Also the dead squirrel is hidden from view (from people as well as other squirrels). You could try an enclosed tunnel in your Kania to see if it helps? I don't (didn't) have that many squirrels and with just two of the 116s and boxes I went through a whole family in a few weeks (large female, large male, then smaller ones etc). One day the trap caught another less than an hour after I cleared out a previous one. Location also seems to be important, set on a pole or tree that's over looked by a larger tree as the critters like to case out something new. I also baited an area with a home made nut feeder for a couple of weeks as well to get them used to being fed.

Many thanks for that, I've not heard of them before but have downloaded their guide and will give it a good read. My holdings are a tad smaller, roughly 15 acres.

I know, well deer poaching round here as we don't, yet, have wild boar. But where do I stand if a poacher hurts himself on a log pile whilst he's trying to conceal himself whilst poaching?

You may jest, but...

Thank you Gary. I assume we're not talking hiring a professional to carry out a hazard assessment as the woods are fairly remote? Rather, a bit of common sense, so if I notice anything that worries me I need to sort it but if I'm happy to walk through it then that wouldn't be negligent? Realistically I expect hardly any private woodland gets risked assessed unless work is done or it's close to people?

The "No Trespassers" sign is a bit OTT and I would hope it doesn't come to that. I could almost see the wild boar sign encouraging people in!

That's only up to a point though, isn't it? I'm not going to go round all my blackthorn trees and cut their spikes off just in case some one pricks themselves? More realistically I'm not going to remove all the dead wood from my mature oaks just in case it falls on someone who shouldn't be there? Having said that, that is part of the reason I'm thinking of the warning signs. Even though the wood is private, it has an obvious path through it and I've removed some dead wood from above it. But trees that out the way on a steep slope should I really cater for a muppet who decides to take a shot cut during a storm?

Why do I need signs at all if it's private woodland that no one has been given access to? I don't recall seeing many people use signs at all unless it's large scale forestry. To be blunt I'm more after a "Get 'orf my land" sign that can stay up for a few months so I don't have to complete all the works in a couple of days. At the moment for example I'm leaving some felled trees until the ground dries up. I don't think they're dangerous but I witnessed a rather stupid person the other day which has led me to reconsider just how daft people can be.

I have a couple of questions about using warning signs on small scale woodland operations. Basically I would like to keep people out of some private woodland not just while felling is going on but while any work is done for several weeks, e.g. extracting the logs, sorting the brash etc. So: 1) Do people actually take notice of signs such as "Warning Forestry Operations"? 2) Is there any problem in displaying such a sign? I.e. I gather if you display a sign "Beware of the Dog" it's an admission your dog is dangerous and may well get you into more trouble if your dog attacks someone. 3) Is there any other reasonable way to stop people wandering about when I'm not around?

That's not quite right. I discussed the issue with Oregon and it turns out a couple of the cutters were outside the tolerances they could come up with. On closer inspection I noticed the chain was made from two sections, i.e. it had two joins. One section all the cutters were even to the naked eye and the other section they were not. I think there may have been some sort of problem at the end of the chain roll but don't doubt now it was original Oregon chain (I wasn't aware chains are often made to order and boxes hand written when I posted). I will also add that I received two replacement chains from Neil so am happy with their service and both those chains looked perfect to me. I posted the chain back to Oregon but have not heard anything since. I did take a number of photos but didn't think it was worth posting them up.

I expect you can hold enough to split a log but if you apply for a explosive licence for shooting you can only use the powder for shooting/re-enactment. You could try phoning your local firearms licencing team, it would be fun to hear their response.

Thanks you both for the suggestions. I am prone to keeping branches and logs that look interesting and might have a use one day. I shall be a bit more organised and keep some of the straighter lengths for future projects and any bits that might be good for turning.

From the Telegraph: Ash dieback breakthrough as scientists learn to spot resistant trees - Telegraph And from Nature: Molecular markers for tolerance of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) to dieback disease identified using Associative Transcriptomics : Scientific Reports It'll be interesting to see what the advice will be to those responsible for ash trees, is it best to leave the existing ones or think about replanting with resistant trees?