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Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
Trees growing within the corridor should usually be removed. Remember that those cute little seedlings will eventually grow into pack-snagging adolescent trees. They are a lot easier to pull up by the roots when they are small than they are to lop when they grow up.
Prune limbs close to the tree trunk. For a clean cut, make a shallow undercut first, then follow with the top cut. This prevents the limb from peeling bark off the tree as it falls. Do not use an ax for pruning.
If over half of the tree needs pruning, it is usually better to cut it down instead. Cut trees off at ground level and do not leave pointed stobs (Figure 8).
![[diagram] Pruned trees](images/fig008.jpg)
Figure 8—These trees should have been
removed rather than pruned.
“Logging out” a trail means cutting away trees that have fallen across it. It can be quite hazardous. The size of the trees you are dealing with, restrictions on motorized equipment, and your skill and training will determine whether chain saws, crosscut saws, bow saws, or axes are used. Safety first!
You need training to operate power saws and crosscut saws. Your training, experience, and, in some cases, level of certification can allow you to buck trees already on the ground or to undertake the more advanced (and hazardous) business of felling standing trees. Be sure you are properly trained and certified before cutting either standing or fallen trees. Remember that using an ax exposes you to similar hazards.
Some trees may be more safely felled by blasting. Check with a certified blaster to learn where blasting is a feasible alternative.
Removing fallen trees is a thinking person’s game. The required training will help you think through problems, so we won’t relate the details here.
Cut the log out as wide as your normal clearing limits on the uphill side, and out of the “clearing zone” but closer to the trail on the downhill side. Roll the log pieces off the trail and outside the clearing limits on the downhill side. Never leave them across ditches or waterbar outflows. If you leave logs on the uphill side of the trail, turn or bed them so they won’t roll or slide onto the trail.
Sometimes you’ll find a fallen tree lying parallel with the trail. If the trunk of the tree is not within the clearing limits and you decide to leave it in place, prune the limbs flush with the trunk.
It is hard to decide whether or not to remove “leaners,” trees that have not fallen but are leaning across the trail. If the leaner is within the trail clearing zone, it should be removed. Beyond that, it is a matter of discretion whether a leaner needs to be cut. The amount of use on the trail, the time until the trail is maintained again, the soundness of the tree, and the potential hazard the leaner is creating all need to be considered in your decision. Felling a leaner, especially one that is hung up in other trees, can be very hazardous. Only highly qualified sawyers should do it (Figure 9). Blasting is another way to safely remove leaners.
![[photo] Leaning tree over a trail](images/fig009.jpg)
Figure 9—If you are uncomfortable with your ability
to safely cut a tree due to the hazards or your
lack of experience, walk away from it.
Felling standing trees (including snags) is statistically one of the most dangerous activities a trail worker can engage in. Simply put, do not even consider felling trees unless you have been formally trained and certified. Bringing in a trained sawyer is cheaper than bringing in a coroner.
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