Clearing Out Wooded Land
Two years ago, my husband and myself bought 75 wooded acres in Southwest Louisiana near the small town where my mother’s family is from. The plot of land that we chose to buy is wooded acreage which had been clear-cut several years ago. We have cleared around four acres and plan to clear out more for a pasture. Last year we built a metal workshop which will sit behind the house. We also have a 3 bedroom mobile home in the back where we will live until the house has been completed. This post discusses why we chose uncleared land.
Why Clear Some Land?
Clearing overgrown wooded areas can be done to improve the wildlife habitat, but it must be done carefully to avoid harming species and their environments. The Wildlife Trusts and PS Bees give a good overview of how to manage a private wooded property. Growcycle discusses how to come up with a clearing plan. For more details, The American Forest Foundation discuses steps needed to determine how to clear and maintain your forested land.
Clearing land without a plan is a recipe for disaster. First, we came up with a few requirements. This includes a 3 to 4-acre yard for the house, shop, mobile home, orchard, and garden. Also, we needed a firebreak around the property and a few trails through it. We had put a couple of rough trails shortly after we bought the land that the wildlife instantly started using. We have been using a game camera that my husband’s brother installed near one of the trails.
What are the Steps to Determine What to Clear?
What do We Want for our Woods?
Since our land was formerly a Loblolly pine stand that was logged several years ago, we first looked into having a new pine stand planted. But that would have been quite an expense, even with state grants. So, we decided to clear what we wanted to clear for the camp, the metal building, the orchard, and eventually our house. We also cleared paths for wildlife, and firebreaks. Since then, wildlife has seemed to increase on the property. So, our current goal is to increase wildlife diversity and to have a small farm. These goals may come into conflict in the future, so we may have to spend more time protecting the future animals and gardens wee plan to have.
What do We Have on The Land?
Right now, we have an overgrown 70 acres or so of previously logged out loblolly pine stand. We have cleared a few acres and some firebreaks. It’s been several years since the pine was harvested on the property. The new growth is approximately 12 feet tall or so on average and very crowded. The lowest part of the property, about 10 acres or so, is an undisturbed forested area of hardwoods. There are lots of invasive Talla trees in the land that need to be removed.
What Do We Want to Accomplish?
We would like to increase the plant and wildlife diversity on the property by selective clearing, creating edge habitats, creating small meadows and possibly a pond, and thinning out some of the overgrown areas. This is done with the goal of trying to return the overgown areas to a more natural forested state. We also may create a few small pastures for raising Gulf Coast native Sheep, a landrace sheep breed first brought to the area by the Spanish.
What Has Been Done So Far?
My husband, Barry, hired a person to bulldoze and clear the four acres and pile up the debris in a pile that we burned. He also has been working with someone to mulch and create a firebreak around the fence line. Now, we have completed most of the firebreak clearing. Earlier, we had cleared some trails, which the deer are actively using based on their tracks. We now have a cleared area for the future house site, the workshop and the mobile home. It’s starting to look much nicer.
What are We Looking For in the Future?
The eventual goal is to have a natural forest in some areas, and a small farm we can enjoy in our retirement. We can have animals such as chickens and sheep and to have some wildlife in other areas. We also can have a garden and orchard, but it will have to be protected by a deer fence and in the case of orchard trees, protected by a cage for each tree.