Timber stand improvement (TSI) by my definition simply means utilizing various techniques to improve the quality of your forest for the benefit of wildlife species or future timber production. Timber harvest, through logging whether it be clear cut, select cut, etc., which could be considered TSI, is not what we're referring to here. When I use the word TSI, I’m talking about hinge cutting, stump sprouting (mineral stumping), girdling trees mechanically and often with the addition of herbicide to kill them, hack and squirt method, and others.

I use the types of TSI methods mentioned above at varying rates depending on the type of timber species we are treating, their size/maturity, stated goal (creation of bedding, a travel corridor or increased browse, nesting, etc.), as well as time of year and stem density. I treat TSI as a scalpel the majority of the time. The various methods can be used to create habitat types across the landscape in the perfect spots to maximize use of that area, promote travel, bedding and feeding, as well as nesting, brooding, etc.

For example, a treatment area of TSI adjacent to a high-quality food plot can be an awesome place to “bed deer” or set up a staging area with ample browsing cover to intercept deer as they travel toward the food source. TSI is a great way to remove unwanted trees that aren't beneficial to wildlife and often won't ever become marketable timber at the same time. We refer to it as weeding the garden often to clients.

We simply fell, hinge cut, or girdle and spray the undesirable tree to eliminate its competition with our wildlife beneficial or timber tree and further open up the canopy to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor and provide new growth that provides browse and cover to various forms of wildlife. It also can be conducted in small chunks where possible; it can lead to various ages and stages of regeneration throughout the property.

That same effect can be harder to obtain with traditional logging practices due to a landowner needing a larger amount of timber to be able to entice a logging crew to cut smaller tracts at different times. Also, the logistics and schedules of loggers can often become difficult to manage, leading to less-than-optimum outcomes. Utilizing TSI helps us mitigate these issues and put specific habitat types where we want them in a much more controlled way than a timber harvest operation often can provide.

For all these reasons, we offer all forms of TSI work on our clients’ properties and have treated hundreds of acres of timber for our clients and ourselves over the years.