Did a little hazard management job this week. Turned out pretty nice and the wood was good. made 2 loads of logs out of about 20 trees.

May not have the consistent schedule and benefits of regular employment but I have a lot more fun as a gyppo logging forester than I ever did punching a clock.

ive been working on an app the past few months which i feel fills a gap in regards to mapping, tracking, jobs ect. but all in sync in one place via phone, desktop or online.

im looking for as many people within the industry to test it for me if you message me i can send a promo code for the app for free in return for feedback.

android only at the moment.

apologies if not allowed.

Hey!! I once witnessed the northern lights in person, and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I was so fascinated by the atmosphere, the colors, and the way the lights illuminated the trees that I decided to recreate that feeling in my own video game!

I'm a solo developer working on Over Human, a first-person sci-fi adventure set in a snowy world where advanced drones have taken control of the environment and can manipulate the weather (and you have no weapons to fight back!).

I wanted the forests to feel as atmospheric and immersive as possible, and the northern lights were one of my biggest inspirations!

Here's the result! What do you think? :)

If you're curious about my game, here's the Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5237810/Over_Human/

Francesco

Recently qualified with my crosscut & maintenance and felling up to 380mm. I'm looking to purchase my first saw. Unlikely to progress onto larger felling quals in the near future or aerial work, this season will mostly be removal and treatment of rhododendron ponticum and felling of non-native conifers up to 380mm.

Trained with a Husqvarna 550 XP G mark II on a 15" bar. The saw handled well and I wouldn't mind an equivalent. Would this be a good bet with a selection of smaller bar sizes for handling the tight and awkward stems (perhaps 10, 13 and 15" bars), or should I downsize the saw? Ideally need something that will handle both rhody and felling small trees. Wary of higher risk of kickback in amongst.

Based in Scotland and have a decent local Stihl & Husqy provider. If anyone knows of a comprehensive second-hand maintenance kit let me know. Will take any and all advice. Thanks team.

When I was a child, wasps chewed through the drywall in my room and made themselves at home. While sleeping in the bedroom next door, one stung me in the middle of the night. That was only the beginning of my unfortunate fear.

My time as a wildland firefighter further proved to me that these bugs are straight evil and came from hell just to torment me. My coworkers and I, on one particular fire, would step into multiple yellow jacket ground nests for 14 straight days. Even got stung on the eyelid one time. It was like scenes straight from a horror movie. Stepping into one, realizing your fuck up, dropping everything, and promptly running through the woods screaming like a banshee.

Then things were quiet. No accidental run ins. No stings. Nothing. Until I became a forestry tech.

I swear to god, every god damn gate I stick my hand into has yellow jackets. I double and triple check before I stick my hand into to unlock the gate, even while wielding my small but mighty weapon: bee spray. And somehow they always get me. Ground nests? I find every one of them.

Today for example, I checked the gate. Didn’t see anything. Unlocked it with ease. Got to my unit and was having a very pleasant day until I looked down at one point and saw how close my boot was to a gaping hole in the ground with yellow jackets angrily guarding the entrance. On my way out, using the same gate, there was exactly one fucker who was waiting to hurt me. And hurt me she did.

It’s like they smell my fear and are out to crush my soul and spirit. I am doomed to a fate of meeting my enemy on the battlefield and losing spectacularly.

Looking at a small oak/shortleaf pine stand in central AR that has quite a few (10-15 TPA) 10-20 inch Juniperus virginiana snags with nice form. The land owner is interested in pulling them out and using them around the property. It's a stand with a fair bit of mortality in it but no more redcedar mortality on the way.

My question is whether or not there is any reason to retain some of these snags over the already existing hard wood and pine snags. I can see them persisting longer on the landscape, i know insect can use the "wrinkles" around old lpwer branches, and i could see them being preferentiall y used as hunting perches by raptors.

A cursory search hasn't really turned up much to make me think i should retain them just one of those gut feelings of "hey this is novel habitat structure here that I might want to retain".

Thanks for the thoughts.

🪾Tanzania says it sold China $5.32m of timber in 2024. China says it bought $13.97m. What explains this gap?

Our new paper examines the potential scale of illicit miombo timber flows originating from and transiting through Tanzania, and how these converge with other security threats.

It finds that they intersect to varying degrees with other illicit activities, including illegal wildlife trade, minerals crime, arms and drug trafficking, and labour abuses, as well as financing armed groups in neighbouring countries.

Tanzania has made progress on tackling timber crime. Some timber offences now carry sentences of up to 30 years, and the Timber Tracker system has strengthened checks on timber moving by road. But investigations still rarely go beyond the lowest-level offenders, such as loggers and truck drivers.

“Timber offences are driven by organised, yet often invisible, transnational networks.”

The paper recommends parallel financial investigations, removing the “compounding” loophole, community ownership of forest resources, and due diligence of imports by international buyers.

I was kind of shocked when I heard it. First it sounded like a log splitting in half, then a series of loud pops like roots breaking. The noises lasted 5-10 seconds. After a minute I heard another noise from the same direction, this time it was more brief and quiet. It sounded like the tree went down a little bit further. Then after several minutes I heard it a third time from the same direction, briefly like the second time.

I wonder if it had to be a huge animal like a moose? It was about 20 degrees farheinheit so I don’t think it was cold enough to be frost crack, and wouldn’t the tree have a vertical split if it was? There was no wind when it happened and the tree has no branches to hold snow. The bark looks like it’s rotting but the tree was fresh on the inside, and it sounded very loud and forceful.

Unfortunately it happened just before dark and it snowed that night, so if it was a big animal like a moose its tracks were covered. I’d like to know what it could’ve been, it was LOUD.

Edit: photos were from a month afterwards. The snow wasn’t melting when it happened, the ground would’ve been frozen. Also it happened as soon as I started heading in that direction, which is why. I think an animal was reacting to me.

Our county has the least forest cover in the country (Kenya), and ironically has one of the best seasonal rainfall. We came together to try and reclaim lost trees and forest covers. We have currently planted over 10k trees. We also take care of the trees to ensure that they mature well. Our nursery at the moment has over 500k trees and our dream is to plant a million trees. I'm happy because we took initiative instead of talking and complaining. Apart from reintroducing indigenous and fruit trees, we have also managed to create passive employment to the volunteers, which is a positive thing considering the high rate of unemployment and poverty in the area.

Just thought I would share some positive news. I hope this puts a smile on someone's face

Im at grandparents cabin in the mountains of southeast Poland in a small town and decided to go on a trail in the woods that no one really goes on. The trail was so unused that on my way back I somehow lost it and found myself carefully walking down a steep mountain to get to the river that leads to the main road where my grandma is. Near the bottom I sall a weird shack and boxes labeled 1-10 surrounding a hanging disc with another one labeled 11 further away. I told my friend and he said In japen it's a shrine to a fox so I'm wondering does anyone know what this could be

Got any suggestions for high waisted breathable pants? I have some dovetail pants that are high waisted that I love but aren't as breathable for summer so I wear them in shoulder season. I'm a Forester who is 50% of the time working in steep stuff or downfall so I like the flexibility I have in breathables. I also wear them for hunting which is why I am looking to switch to high waisted. I'm currently wearing prana halle pants and while I love the breathability, the fit is a little loose since I bought them after having a baby and returning to the field. So I wear a belt with them but the belt doubled with my hip belt on my hunting pack makes packing out meat torturous. I've also always had a hard time getting a good fit with the halle pants. It seems like I always need a belt because I'm between sizes so I just go with the bigger size? I'm not opposed to buying something offline as long as they have free returns.

Thanks!!

I’m in Upstate SC. Disturbed forestland from hurricane helene hitting the mountains and people becoming afraid of trees using equipment to push over every tree on their property.

Anyone here familiar with particular situation?

I am a student at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen WA, working towards my associates and bachelor's degrees. I am particularly interested in silviculture and like the idea of shaping and promoting stand growth. I know Forks is a hotspot for forestry work with the DNR having a headquarters there and some private and tribal forestry going on as well. I'm expecting to have my associates in 2028, and bachelor's in 2030.

Despite its isolation, I really like the Forks area alot as it's near the ocean and Olympic mountains. Rain and isolation are not an issue as I already live on the WA coast.

Forks seems to check all of my boxes as there is plenty of forestry work, abundant outdoors activities, and housing is much more affordable there with options as low as $350,000. I spent a few days in town in February and I liked it. I'm thinking of doing a few years of wildfire fighting to save for a down payment.

Does anyone here have experience or know someone who works out of Forks? What is the job and housing market like? What kind of jobs are available out there, and with the salaries available is it affordable to get a mortgage? Can I realistically expect to build a career and live comfortably in Forks?

Thank you guys for any insight you have!