Forest Harvesting & Thinning is an essential aspect of Forest Management, if completed correctly thinning realizes short-term financial returns while greatly improving the value of the remaining crop.
This may be done to make the stand more profitable in an upcoming timber sale or to achieve ecological goals such as increasing biodiversity or accelerating the development of desired structural attributes such as large diameter trees with long tree crowns.
Forest Harvesting
If carried out poorly, the financial impact of Forest Harvesting and Thinning on the value of the plantation is disastrous. Good harvest management removes small, dead, dying, and deformed stems, focusing the value on the tree chosen to remain.
All too often, without proper management and supervision, harvesting contractors take the short-term gains at the expense of the forest and the forest owner. A professional Forester, working on behalf of the owner is always, absolutely essential!
Ecoplan Harvesting and Thinning
Ecoplan specialise in Continuous Cover Forestry which is a management technique used for the sustainable management of woodlands where forest stands are maintained in a permanently irregular structure, which is created and sustained through the selection and harvesting of individual trees.
Ecoplan Forestry manage timber sales on behalf of clients ensuring all operations benefit the plantation and the client, short and long term, rather than the processor or end user of the extracted timber.
Forest Harvesting and Thinning
Ecoplan have no conflict of interest in harvesting operations, and no deals with processors or end users. Our sole aim and involvement with thinning & harvesting is to ensure the operation benefits the plantation.
Never sell standing thinnings directly to the end user without an independent forester acting on your behalf!! Never ever have your thinnings managed by a person or company with a conflict of interest regarding the harvested timber! Always remember the focus of thinning is about what you leave in the forest, not what you take out!
And most importantly, Forestry in Ireland is regulated by over 30 pieces of legislation and protocols. Any breach of any of these would have very serious legal and finacial implications, and ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse. Why take the chance?
And remember, forest harvesting can be a lot easier and more valuable if a Forest Road is already in place!
For more information, please contact us.
See our Forest Management Services page for what else Ecoplan can do for you.
And visit About Us to learn more about Ecoplan Forestry
For a detailed list of all relevant forestry regulations in Ireland, please visit the Departments website Here.
The Forestry Licence Viewer is an online tool that provides information on forestry licence applications. The Viewer allows the user to search by application reference number; select an application from the recent applications list; or, to simply zoom in on a site.
Submissions received on forestry licence applications will be uploaded to the viewer as they are received and processed. Documentation will be made available for applications received from 11th January, 2021, when they are opened for public consultation.
An additional tab will become available when a site is selected, where the user will be presented with the available documents, which can be opened to read. Further documents will appear when the application is decided, which is when the full suite of assessment and other documents become available.
You can use the Departments free Forestry Licence Viewer tool Here