Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Any of you who live in or near the Rockies have undoubtedly seen the devastation of the bark beetle.
Likely will turn much of our beautiful forrested mountains into high elevation prarie some day soon.
Sad, but it's "nature taking it's course".
But I had to chuckle recently when the local Nat'l For. office issued a warning to hunters this fall to be especially careful in the woods, as the beetle kill trees may fall on you!
I do believe that if a tree falls in the woods . . . weather you are under it or not . . . it will make a sound!!!
So I'm curious, any of you had a tree fall near you while hunting?

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

No, but it sure is sad looking at the devestation that the beetles are causing. I'm not sure where this will end up, but I do have a little bit of good news....everywhere you look there are new trees. I don't know if I just never paid attention before, or if there was not as many. Everywhere you look there are new trees growing, thousands of them. :D

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Always gotta be careful where you stand.

Always gotta be careful when the wind blows.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

The Forest Service has taken to closing selected campgrounds now in response to the damage too, where the danger of a tree falling across a tent or RV is actually quite real.

And, in spite of all those new trees growing underneath all those snags, all it takes is one lightning strike and they'll be incinerated along with all the rest of the abundant fuel.

Thank your local environmental-obstructionist group. The policy today of "do nothing" is just as disastrous as wanton clearcutting was decades ago. Ahh, yes - "fire is a natural process", they'll say. Some even describe the beetlekill as a natural process. Well, so is polio.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

I haven't had any trees fall on me or close to me, but several years ago
I had a homemade wooden ladder stand that was crushed by a very large
oak tree that had fallen on it. The platform was still hanging by the chain
way up in the tree. Would have very interesting if I had been sitting there
when it fell.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Let's show everyone what we're talking about when we speak of "beetle kill" and the devistation. Here's a pic. taken not far from Granby, CO. Notice all the brown out there. And this same scene goes on for millions of acres in central and northern CO.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Now, compare that last pic. to this next one which was taken this summer in the southern part of CO., not far from South Fork, CO. You'll see a striking difference. Notice, all green trees in this pic.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Sept 1st, opening day for elk and deer in Teton county, WY. A warm, heavy snow fell at 8,000 ft and up. An early snow for these parts, and the first time I was in the woods for the first snow of the year. I heard 3 trees fall. I don't know if they were beetle kills or not. They could have been snags. They were pretty exciting though. I have never heard one go down before. The last one fell within 100 yards of me while I was napping. I awoke and the first thing I did was reach for an arrow. I thought the herd bull I was dreaming of was coming right for me. I recently saw a picture of what happens when a tree falls on an elk. If you haven't seen it before I'll try and post it here.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

POST IT!

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

the damage out there is amazing...and sad. I spent two weeks in wyoming and colorado and there was so many dead trees. Acres and acres and acres, mile after mile sometimes...

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

I had one a few years ago that came apart at the bottom of the trunk when a good gust of wind hit it.Heard a a loud POP!! and dust flew out of the holes in the trunk and we started running.It's amazing how fats you can run up hill with some motivation.

When I was a kid we had a big thunder boomer roll through and we had our cows on a big cotton wood river bottom.The next morrning my sister went looking for her 4-h steer,she found him he had about a 10 ft around cotton wood laying accross his head.Pretty devestating force with out going into detail.

BBJ

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Yes. Two weeks ago on Basalt Mountain east of Carbondale, CO. My buddy and I decided to stop and sit on an aspen log, only to have another aspen crash down on us. It was pretty friggin windy that day. Luckily we weren't hurt. I took it in the head, but my buddy's pack deflected it a little first. The craziest part was, and I swear on everything holy to the truth of it, another one fell right next to us as we were collecting ourselves.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

They won't let the forest service and timber companies combat the problem through logging or controlled burns, so what they get are out of control beetle problems and horrible wildfires when the dead timber burns at the wrong time. Actual common sense management went out the window long ago with the forest service and was replaced by enviro-minded employees pumped out from the liberal college system in this country. Instead of letting science and common sense prevail, passion and beliefs are followed, and those who don't agree are pushed aside or silenced. The forest service still has some great people in its ranks, but the people who can physically manage the forest with their hands and an ax, have been outnumbered by bean counters and people who do nothing but study everything, but do nothing. The forest Service used to make a profit for our government through timber management, but now run in the red fighting fires as our resources burn instead of being harvested. Anyone who thinks we lack timber has not stood on a high point in Idaho, trees in no shape or form are endangered.

Sorry to wander off topic, as for falling trees, we had several branches and tops come out while elk hunting last week. I suggest making sure if you stop for a break, don't do it under a dead snag, especially if there is any wind. The squirrels were in full pine cone harvest also, and I swear they were trying to drop them on us, so watch for that also, a 1/2 pound green cone from 100 ft will rock your world.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Speakin' of those pesky little squirrels, isn't frustrating to be still hunting, or just sitting in the forest, looking for elk or deer, and you keep hearing "something" that has you on high alert, only to figure out eventually that some squirrel has been dropping pine cones makin' all the noise!! Drives me nuts some times![:@]

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

They are not eating the pine cones on the ground are they? i am assuming they are not if. all it will take is a nice big wildfire to clear out the dead trees and scare the pine cones so they will sprout. it is all a cycle just like "global warming".

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

That's so funny. I sometimes feel like the little fuggers are telling on me when they start chattering. I wanted to put an arrow in one last year when I had some deer moving in and he wouldn't shut up.:D

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Why of course not a dead tree is still a tree in the eyes of the envirowacko. BIL is an ex forest service employee who lives in Oregon and the first time I visited him we were laughing about the infamous spotted owl scare.. Trees are not endangered in most Western habitat but it is a waste not to remove some healthy trees that are in overgrown forests as well as the damaged trees from the landscape. We are supposed to be good stewards of our Earth that seems to have escaped some people.

RE: Any trees fall on anybody, yet?
 

Global Warming at work.