The Economic Benefit of Marking
Here are some photos of a marked lot in Auburn the was harvested in January of 2018. When our lots are marked, the trails are also marked with the trees marked to that particular trail. The trails are then spaced roughly 110-120 feet apart in a watershed type formation to minimize residual stand damage. While this might take a little longer than working off a prescription based thinning there is a reason for it.
In a study by Tom Ebner and Bob Daniels in the fall 2006 issue of the Southeastern Forester compared a professionally marked stand versus one that was thinned by a logger. The annual growth after harvest was 26 percent higher in the marked stand verses the loggers harvested stand. Residual stand quality was also higher in the marked stand. In the marked stand, 5.2 percent of the remaining trees were low grade, compared to 14.2 percent the unmarked stands. Stumpage value prior to the next thinning was $457 per acre higher in the marked stand. A professionally managed stand will yield higher better quality results.