Spent the weekend at Camp Deerpark (see Camp Deerpark Forestry) taking cores from the commercial tree species in the forest. The growth data collected from the cores will be used to recalculate the allowable cut each year. Its been years since we've done this, and the forest has been logged several times and we have also done some timber stand improvement. There's a very good chance that the residual trees are growing faster as a result of our management efforts.
Analysis of a few of the cores suggest that this is exactly what is happening in the forest. Look at the white pine (WP) and Red oak (RO) cores shown above (the ones with the red bars). The annual ring widths, i.e. growth rates, during the past seven years - the period delineated by the red line - are notably larger than those shown to the right of the red bar. The management activities at Camp Deerpark are clearly having a positive effect on the forest. The wider growth rings are a tree's way of smiling.