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FAQ What is Hygrading and why is it so Bad??

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Real Estate Agent with Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

FAQ  What is Hygrading and why is it so Bad??forest

  Hygrading is the slow destruction of a forest via removing the higher quality trees and leaving the poorest quality trees.

  Hygrading is one of the main forest ailments that foresters fight against.

  Hygrading is often the result of well-meaning landowners and loggers who go with the old fashioned idea of cutting the big trees and letting the smaller trees grow a while longer.

forest  Some loggers go so far as to set up contracts with landowners allowing them to take all trees over a certain diameter while leaving all of the smaller trees.

  The problem with the "leave the smaller trees to grow” logic is that often times the smaller trees are the same age as the larger trees, they are just defective trees.

  By leaving these defective trees and removing the best trees in the forest it degrades the genetic seed source of the forest with each thinning.

  Over time we find that in certain counties all of the private lands that are not being supervised by a Forester, look like they are not capable of growing good trees.forest

  While nearby industrial forests, and some government forests that are being supervised by a forester, are growing extremely high quality trees.

  The main difference is that in the Managed Forests, a Forester is marking the poorest trees in every harvest and leaving the best trees to regenerate.

  By managing these forests properly they will continue to grow better, healthier trees with each thinning.

  If you are considering thinning your forest, step one, HIRE A FORESTER!

  And NEVER let anyone talk you into Hygrading your forest.

 

 

 

Comments(33)

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Chris Miller Nevada Land with Water Rights
Vegas Grand Realty and Property Management - Mesquite, NV
Land with Water Rights For Sale

Great post Bob, we all need to be educated about this.  While the old thinking of take the biggest ones seemed to make sense before, it sure does not now. Keep it up, very few can talk about this the way you can.

Jun 28, 2013 12:13 AM
Jimmy Faulkner
Florida. Homes Realty & Mortgage - Wantagh, NY
The Best Of St. Augustine

Now I really know that Active Rain is a great school of learning. Trying to do the right thing is not always the correct thing. It is wonderful that the forest industry has found this out.

Jun 28, 2013 12:17 AM
Richard Iarossi
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Crofton, MD
Crofton MD Real Estate, Annapolis MD Real Estate

Coming from a suburban area, I wasn't familiar with the term, or the practice. It does make sense not to destroy the good genetic stock over time.

Jun 28, 2013 12:23 AM
Harry F. D'Elia III
WEDO Real Estate and Beyond, LLC - Phoenix, AZ
Investor , Mentor, GRI, Radio, CIPS, REOs, ABR

We need more professionals like yourself to ensure we have a forest for the future. Good stuff

Jun 28, 2013 12:35 AM
Fernando Herboso - Associate Broker MD, & VA
Maxus Realty Group of Samson Properties - Clarksburg, MD
301-246-0001 Serving Maryland, DC and Northern VA

Great post and I love the learning opportunities with ActiveRain. .I never heard of hygrading before. .

Thank you for sharing this with us. .

Jun 28, 2013 12:42 AM
Carie Shapiro
North Shore Suburbs & Chicago Real Estate - Evanston, IL

Add my name to the list of those who didn't know what hygrading is before reading this post.  Good information about a practice that certainly has repercussions on so many levels.  Congrats on the Feature too, Bob!

Jun 28, 2013 01:18 AM
Jay & Michelle Lieberman
Keller Williams World Class - Agoura Hills, CA
Creating Calm in the Buying and Selling Chaos

Just goes to show that there is an expert in just about everything out there.

Jun 28, 2013 02:36 AM
Les & Sarah Oswald
Realty One Group - Eastvale, CA
Broker, Realtor and Investor

Bob,

Thanks for such an informative blog. I had no idea what the word hygrading meant...and now I do. Next time I drive up to Seattle, I will be wondering which forest is managed and which aren't.

Jun 28, 2013 05:52 AM
Roseanne Campagna
John L. Scott RE Maple Valley, WA - Maple Valley, WA
Kent/DesMoines/Blk Diamond/Renton/Maple Valley, WA

Excellent post - more real estate agents would benefit from this kind of understanding of the environmental practices that can truly harm our home planet. Thanks

 

Jun 28, 2013 05:59 AM
Trisha Bush-LeFore
Preferred Properties Land & Homes - Walla Walla, WA
Providing Realtor Services in the Walla Walla Area

I really had never come to terms with this concept. Thank you for explaining this in a clear, easy to understand way. It's so nice to hear that there are people out there who can try to reverse the effects of this.

Jun 28, 2013 07:17 AM
Dwight Puntigan
DRP Realty, LLC - Saint Peters, MO
Dwight Puntigan

All of our forests need better forestry management.  Thanks for the post.

Jun 28, 2013 07:25 AM
Gerard Gilbers
Higher Authority Markeing - Asheboro, NC
Your Marketing Master

Congratulations on the feature. This was great information that is not often heard in other places.

Jun 28, 2013 07:44 AM
Jane Chaulklin-Schott
TEAMCONNECT REALTY - (407) 394-9766 - Orlando, FL
TeamConnect Luxury Homes - Orlando, Florida, 32836

Excellent post, Bob. Your words and explanation were so interesting and educational. But by chance that wasn't enough, the photos made it a slam dunk!! Always grateful for all the learning in AR, all the sharing.

Jun 28, 2013 07:55 AM
MichelleCherie Carr Crowe .Just Call. 408-252-8900
Get Results Team...Just Call (408) 252-8900! . DRE #00901962 . Licensed to Sell since 1985 . Altas Realty - San Jose, CA
Family Helping Families Buy & Sell Homes 40+ Years

Thank you Bob, this was news to me. I'm sure many land-owning folks need to hear this wisdom.

Jun 28, 2013 08:20 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Thanks for the lesson Bob. Landowners need to know this vital information.

Jun 28, 2013 08:49 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

What an interesting post.. I had no idea how important it is to know which trees should be removed and which ones should not in order to properly forest an area.  Thanks for your insights.

Jun 28, 2013 01:38 PM
Bill Reddington
Re/max By The Sea - Destin, FL
Destin Florida Real Estate

When a logger comes in and takes a tree do they not plant another tree?

Jun 29, 2013 12:28 AM
Edward & Celia Maddox
The Celtic Connection Realty - Queen Creek, AZ
EXPERIENCE & INTEGRITY - WE TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

Bob, makes sense.  I would think the forest folks check to make sure when thinning out the forest, that they don't take all the best trees.

Jun 29, 2013 03:39 AM
Debb Janes
Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Wonderful, wonderful post from smart, smart you. My son ( in Alaska) just bought property with quite a bit of land - and a section of forest with some spindly trees. Fortunately, he's doing it right and thinning only the weak. Thanks so much for your continued work Bob.

Jul 02, 2013 08:45 AM
The Woodland Team North Shore Lake Superior
The Woodland Companies - Grand Marais, MN
Land Specialists

Hi Bob, I am enjoying going through some of your early blog posts and reposts and getting ready to start doing some posts myself soon.

Feb 22, 2019 11:33 PM