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Sportsman Club TSI
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In
September 2006 a category 3 tornado ripped
through Southern Missouri and devastated
over 500
acres of woodlands on the Perry County Sportsman's Club
near Perryvi lle, Missouri. Most of the trees
where blown or bent over, or badly damaged
in the storm. This type of natural
disaster creates some of the most dangerous
hazards found in a forest
timber stand improvement. Spring poles,
hangers, barber chairs, cluttered ground and
piled debris all combine to create a very
dangerous working atmosphere.
Our objectives for this project were to
clean up the forest floor and over story,
simply to promote the regeneration and
growth of a new forest. Below we will
discuss the process and the hazards of this
job. |
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| Our goal for this
job was to cut down most of the trees left
standing to allow them to re-grow straight
and at the same time. Many of the trees in
the affected section of the forest were bent
over, broken, knocked down. Other
trees that were growing suppressed, had
damaged crowns or forks were cut at the
stump to allow them to re-sprout and start
over. |
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| Affected area before
TSI treatment - You can see the debris on
the ground and many smaller trees left standing.
Most of these trees are growing crooked, are
broken, or possess some other undesirable
growing pattern. |
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| Affected area after
TSI treatment - All damaged or poor formed
trees are removed to allow them to re-sprout or
to allow sunlight for new seedlings. Trees
with good form are left to grow. Dead and
broken trees are left for wildlife and ecosystem
balance. These trees will not affect the
appearance of new seedlings and sprouts, nor
will they inhibit the growth of surviving trees. |
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All cut trees are left on the ground. Their
stumps are cut flat and within 6 inches from the
ground to allow for a new sprout to grow. |
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The Hazards of Working in a Blow Down |
Spring Poles
A spring pole occurs when a sapling is bent
over by another tree, creating high tension
in the bend of the tree. When a spring
pole is "released" it can whip upwards,
diagonal, or sideways creating an extremely
dangerous situation for the forester.
Click here to learn how we release a spring
pole. |
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Barber Chairs
Barber chairs occur when the tree splits in
the middle when being cut. One side of
the tree violently splits into the air and
can break loose when it reaches its
pinnacle. It then comes to the ground
endangering the forester.
This is another example of a bent tree under
tension, however the trees are much larger
than the sapling spring pole. These large
trees are typically bent over when another
tree falls on top of them, or, as in this
case, a wind storm blows them over. These
trees are dangerous to cut as well, because
the wood fibers split aggressively and with
much velocity. If the forester is hit he or
she is likely to be seriously injured or
killed. Also like the spring pole, the
forester does not know which way the tree
will go when it is released after the barber
chair is formed. |
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Hangers
Also
called "widow maker", hangers are loose branches
hanging from the top of a standing tree.
Falling limbs can get hung up in the crowns of
neighboring trees and can fall onto foresters who
are working below. Hangers are also created
when a forester or logger drops a tree that
contacts a neighboring tree on the way down,
breaking limbs which may hang for minutes or
months. |
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The crew at the
Sportsman Club
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| Chris, Mike, and Dennis after a great day at
work at the Sportsman Club in Perry County,
Missouri. |
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