Fort McCoy timber harvest improves training capability, environment

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Logs are shown in piles near Highway 21 on March 23, 2018, on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. The logs were part of a timber harvest by Jelinek Trucking Inc. of Black River Falls, Wis. Timber sales are administered by the Omaha District of the Army Corps of Engineers and are sold by sealed bid. Timber sale bidding is held once each year, typically in December. Revenue from the timber sales goes into an Armywide forestry account and is returned to fund forestry projects on Fort McCoy. The timber harvest activities also support Fort McCoy’s strategic objective of enhancing the post’s military training value through improved area utilization and land use initiatives. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

04.11.2018

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                        

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Spring 2018 at Fort McCoy is active with timber harvest activities on North Post, South Post, and along Highway 21.

One timber harvest is taking place along Burma Road on North Post, said Forestry Technician Charles Mentzel with the Forestry Office of the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch. FutureWood Corp. of Hayward, Wis., is cutting in training area M-7 on the north end of Burma Road.

“They are harvesting to the installation boundary to better distinguish the boundary and to allow more sunlight to the road,” Mentzel said. “Also, this area has high potential for fires escaping from the north impact area. Now, after harvest, any possible fires will be more manageable to stop if they happen in that area.”

In training area D-6 on North Post, Hayes Logging of Tomah, Wis., is harvesting trees.

“This is in and around Range 6,” Mentzel said. “This harvest will allow better visibility of the targets at the range and also will open up the road for more sunlight.”

FutureWood also is cutting trees in Pine View Recreation Area and in training area D-10W.

“This harvest is going to give an area for the fence to be moved back away from the road,” Mentzel said.

“Currently, the fence is too close to the road. Red pine plantations are being thinned along with aspen and jack pine. Recreation trails will be safer from over-mature falling because of this work.”

Jelinek Trucking Inc. of Black River Falls is holding a timber harvest in training area B-29 near Highway 21 on South Post.

“This sale is thinning tree plantations where they are cutting jack pine, aspen, and red maple for regeneration,” Mentzel said. “They also will be cutting fence lines back for security reasons.”

Hayes Logging also is completing a timber harvest in the cantonment area and near training area C-1.

“They are cutting along fence lines and trimming back trees for security reasons and also thinning plantations for optimal growth rates. This helps give troops training here more maneuver space and better areas for bivouacking.”

Timber sales are administered by the Omaha District of the Army Corps of Engineers and are sold by sealed bid, said Fort McCoy Forester James Kerkman.

Timber sale bidding is held once each year, typically in December. Revenue from the timber sales goes into an Armywide forestry account and is returned to fund forestry projects on Fort McCoy.

The timber harvest activities also support Fort McCoy’s strategic objective of enhancing the post’s military training value through improved area utilization and land use initiatives, Kerkman said.

Mentzel said he is glad to see how the work comes to fruition and helps lead to a better training environment for all who come to Fort McCoy.

“From a forestry perspective, our mission here, first and foremost, is to serve the Army and create training environments that better serve our Soldiers who support future missions in defense of this country,” Mentzel said. “By thinning trees, the ones left will grow larger faster. This gives troops overhead cover and again allows for better maneuver space.

“The Range 6 project, for example, is getting rid of the need to cut a few trees each year that have been getting in the way of the targets,” Mentzel said. “And harvesting along the fence lines for security saves the government money from having to remove the trees individually.”

When a timber harvest is complete, Kerkman said a Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance (LRAM) crew will use a severe-duty shredder to grind the tree tops and branches left over from logging (called slash) and knock down the smaller trees the logger did not take, in areas where the military needs clear ground or to reduce fire hazard.

The LRAM crew is part of the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security Integrated Training Area Maintenance program, which coordinates natural resource management and training activities.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

• Date Taken: 04.11.2018
• Date Posted: 04.11.2018 12:24
• Story ID: 272641
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US