Dead Trees

[SkunkedAgain]

I've got 8 acres up on Vermilion and it's mostly natural, except for the cabin of course. Unless I need firewood, I let trees fall and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. There's a little stand of black spruce that all tipped over - probably when someone sneezed too hard. In any case, it's in between my cabin and the neighbor's place. It's all dry tinder since it's been down for two years and isn't touching the ground. When it's like that, is it best to cut it down and burn it to reduce fire danger or just to let it be? I like to see the forest get the nutrients it needs from decay, but want to strike the right balance especially since this stuff isn't on the ground. My neighbor on the other side will burn anything and everything just to keep stuff clear but...

What do the rest of you do in such situations?

[Scott K]

I have had a blow down on my land a couple times, any downed pines that are close to the cabin, or campfire area gets cut up and burned, to prevent a forest fire. I also will cut up a few downed trees for campfire wood, but I will always throw the brush into small about 10 foot around piles maybe 4 feet high where the tree fell, other then in the yard area. It adds to cover for wildlife, and I get good useable wood for a fire. Keeping things natural is good, but not always the smartest/safest thing.

[silver_squid]

Think of it this way....in a fire dependent landscape (such as northern MN is) Mother Nature would use fire to burn an area to create the conditions needed to regenerate most of our early successional tree species. So post fire, really all that's left on the site is carbon, most other elements get burnt out. To make a long story short, don't feel your doing an unnatural thing! I like your idea of a fire buffer around your investment!