Responsible Forest Management Practices at FML
FML is a proud Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody certificate holder and adheres to all of the FSC guidelines when selecting logs for production. See our FSC policy.
Frank Miller Lumber Forestry Philosophy
FML prides itself in being a careful user and steward of our precious forest resources. FML owns four tree farms around East Central Indiana. FML believes in a multiple use land ethic, where one can enjoy the many benefits of proper forest management along with an economical benefit, thus benefiting the environment and also providing a resource for the wood using industries.
Forest Management
Good stewardship during forestry activities will protect our valuable forestland. Forest management by loggers, landowners and land managers offers the greatest potential to reach forest health goals.
Silviculture occupies a position in forestry, somewhat analogous to that of agronomy in agriculture, in that it is concerned with the technical details of crop production. Silviculture has been variously defined as the art of producing and tending a forest; the theory and practice of controlling forest establishment, composition and growth.
Harvesting trees can help mimic natural occurrences such as wildfires by allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor so that oaks, walnuts, and other shade-intolerant species can get started.
Forest Management Methods or Systems
There are three major methods/systems prescribed by foresters in managing the forest. These may be used in combination within the forest, given the size, specie composition and the landowner's objective of his or her forest. These methods include:
- Selection System:
- The most commonly used method is “single tree selection harvest” (or the slight variation called “group selection harvest”). Trees are marked either individually or in groups before being cut. These selective harvests enable trees that are not biologically or financially mature to remain for future harvest in the residual stand. Using a selective cut method, only trees that are fully mature, defective or in need of thinning are removed. The harvests can occur on a periodic basis as to provide the landowner with a regular income. In addition to providing a sustained income, selective harvests are relatively acceptable from an aesthetic standpoint and lend themselves to sound forest wildlife habitat management. Group selection harvests (small block cuts from half an acre to five acres) also promote wildlife diversity by increasing plan diversity, edge, woody browse and protective cover.
Shelterwood System:- The “shelterwood system” is seldom used in a pure form in the central hardwood region but is often modified and incorporated into other types of managed harvests. The shelterwood harvest combines many of the assets of the single tree selection, group selection and clear-cut harvest. Acceptable oak regeneration occurs with the shelter systems that have optimal pre-harvest conditions, including widespread oak seedlings. Increased use of shelterwood harvest could help reduce the gradual conversion of the central hardwood region’s forest from mostly oak to mostly non-oak species.
- Clear-Cut System:
- The clear-cut harvest is sometimes used in the central hardwood region woodlands. In this type of harvest all the trees in a stand are removed. The clear-cut harvest is usually prescribed only when species type conversions are desired. Compared to selection harvest, clear-cut harvests frequently result in more satisfactory regeneration of desirable shade-intolerant tree species, but this asset is often overshadowed by the much greater length of time that the tracts will benefit larger forestland owners. As long as they are not too large and are irregular in shape, clear-cuts have positive effects on wildlife diversity that are similar to or greater than the effects of group selection cuts. These cuts are especially valuable to deer, turkey, grouse and other wildlife species that depend on forage and browse for food.
The most practiced silvicultural approach employed by foresters usually involves a combination of harvest methods. The forester encountering an unmanaged stand confronts a wide variety of conditions requiring different silvicultural prescriptions. Small areas may contain a stand that includes immature stands of desirable trees in which only individual trees should be marked for cutting. Areas of the same forest may have been extensively damaged in the past by grazing of livestock, burning or harvesting damage resulting in poor species composition or quality that could be improved by a small clear-cut.
As most of the central hardwood region’s forests are privately owned, the landowner’s desires are usually the most important factor in determining the management of their forest. With a little knowledge and the help of a professional forester, both the landowner’s objective and the silviculture objectives can be met. This not only meets the satisfaction of the landowner, but also the industry and our society.