Pine tree removals moving full speed ahead!

The Pine tree removal project is moving along at a good pace. We had a tree contractor helping us last week and were able to cut down and process 25 trees. We have the contractor for another five days so we should be able to get to our goal of  removing 50 trees.

  Most of the Pine trees are very large and really messy. There are many dead limbs and when the tree hits the ground the dead wood explodes into thousands of small pieces.

Once the tree is on the ground it's time to run all the branches and small debris (called "duff") through the chipper. We built a box mounted in our dump trailer to shoot the chips into. It's very easy to move around when pulled by a tractor and it doesn't tear up the turf as much as the tree contractor's truck.

Once the limbs are chipped and the area is clean the logs are cut into 32' lengths. The mill wants them cut to this length for processing. Any logs that are at least 4" in diameter and are a minimum of 16' long can go to the mill. Anything shorter we run through the chipper if 10" or less in diameter. Anything larger must be cut and split for firewood. We grab the log with our excavator and set it on a cart on the lead end. The other end is lifted and a chain sling placed around the log so it can be hauled with the loader. The logs are then transported to a holding area next to the fourth tee where a logging truck can come in through the gate from NE 8th Street.

Trevor (one of the guys on our staff) is shown here atop the mounting pile of cut logs ready for delivery to the mill.

Once the logs are hauled off it's time to start grinding. This machine has a rotating wheel with carbide teeth that cuts down the remaining stump. The machine can grind to about 12" below ground level and it takes about an hour to grind a 36" diameter stump.

                                                      The grinder in action.

A progress photo showing the area between #2 and #3 tees where we are in the process of removing  5 Pine trees. There is a climber in the tree removing one branch at a time. It was windy and there is an irrigation controller about 3 feet behind the tree. The contractor was worried about falling the tree due to it leaning toward the controller and the South wind pushing the tree toward the controller.

This photo shows the area behind #5 tee looking North toward the 9th tees showing most of the stumps ground. Once all the grinding is complete we will go back and scoop out the grindings, fill in the holes with soil and place sod over the soil. It will take us about a month to get everything cleaned up, sodded and all of the rutted up turf areas restored.

 Thanks for your patience during the process,

Steve Kealy
Golf Course Superintendent.