Mature Eastern Cottonwood Decline

If I didn't have all that I do invested in the current plan, I would probably have already moved up to Washington to work with some of those guys that keep calling out for real crewmates, but MN used to whisper my name from time to time as well. I would definitely team up with you, and I'm sure you'll find/develop somebody that's at least as awesome.
 
Oh yeah, it's all in timing. It'll work out. I'm super excited to build this then just bring guys out to work for fun! That's one of my goals in building this. I miss traveling and climbing for people, it was the best part of my early career.
 
I noticed no definitive fungal/bacterial disease in them when we performed the work. The one with the heaviest decline had no brown or soft rot, and not much in the form of canker. The others that crown cleaned were the same, no indicator of pest caused decline. I was surprised. Major tip dieback with some losing entire secondary leaders.

That said, we did a major retrenchment on two along the river to see if they survive and recover. It's a good experiment moving forward as we may get to manage the entire row of them. I'm thinking of taking soil samples now that soil temps have increased.
 
I removed two of these monsters today. 36'' bar was 4-6''s short of passing through on the base cuts. I'm thankful for the ball I was riding. Backyard trees too. Very glad I didn't have to take them down with manual rigging. Loves me 50 ton buddy. They are magnificent in stature. For the first one, I had to use the MS661 with that 36''bar for the last 2 picks before the base cut. About 30'' in dia aloft.

With special thanks to:

The crane operator. He kept me safe. Slow is smooth .... smooth is fast.

The Avanti for pounding the ground and preserving the bodies of the ground guys. I do prefer the Little Giant but it's all good.

MB saddle for the comfy ride. My saddle of choice. And the suspenders for supporting the weight of that 661.


Nice to see these, in this thread, of park residency. I do get paid by the pound but, I love most trees. Cottton woods are not my favorite but, I've respect for the old growths.
 
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I wish I had a crane some days. Those weren't too terrible to remove. Same thing, 3120 with a 32" bar was just over half way through. Climbed it out to the butt. The log made one hell of a thump when we felled it. My buddy lives up the road and he felt it from his house.

They're gorgeous trees. I'd hate to see any more die off
 
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