Aitkin DNR Mechanical Oak Improvement

The overall goal is to increase the amount of oak covertype across the landscape in our management area. Red oak requires full sun or partial shade to thrive. Two sites are aspen cutovers that were planted to a mix of red oak, white spruce, and white pine. In order to accomplish the goal of creating a mixed species site, most of the aspen and brush need to be removed to provide the oak and conifers the sunlight and other resources needed to grow into quality crop trees. A brushsaw will release the crop tree species from aspen and brush competition. Where no crop trees exist, brush will be cut and a well-formed aspen left every 14 feet. Two other sites are 25 year old mixed hardwood stands with a substantial component of red oak. In this case, the oak will soon be outcompeted by the birch, maple, basswood, and aspen. These sites will use a chainsaw to provide a "crown release" of at least six feet of space on at least three sides of the crowns of well-formed red oak trees.