In his own words, landowner Frank Winkler describes a few of the lessons he’s learned caring for his Catskill Mountains property, including advice on timber harvesting, improving wildlife habitat, dealing with property taxes, and much more. MyWoodlot extends a big “Thank You” to Frank for sharing his story with us.

High-grading removes the best trees and damages your woods. Turn it around and practice “worst first” forestry to boost your woods’ long-term economic and wildlife values.

High-grading and diameter-limit cutting are two common logging practices. They provide short-term income, but they damage your woods in the long run. Avoid them in favor of “worst first” forestry.

Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic emphasizes the beauty of nature, but a healthy forest can be downright ugly.

Doing nothing and “letting nature take its course” may seem best for your woods, but in certain cases doing nothing can actually reduce your woods’ health and wildlife habitat.

There are a lot of reasons for weeding my woods. Increasing food for wildlife, nest habitat for birds, or timber to sell are a few. Careful weeding can even help speed my woods’ transition to that cherished and extremely rare type of woods: old growth.