By combining forest management practices in a management plan, you can benefit wildlife while producing valuable crops of timber. Cutting Methods for Regeneration Forest regeneration cutting is the removal of all trees from an area to allow a new forest to grow. These cutting techniques are used to harvest marketable crops of timber and to create the best environment for young trees to grow. Following a regeneration harvest, many sun-loving plants valuable to wildlife begin to grow in the opening. These plants are palatable and highly nutritious as game forage, and many produce large amounts of fruit and seed for wildlife food.
Many landowners are concerned with the negative impacts of regeneration harvests on wildlife.
However, negative effects can be significantly reduced if you will consider the size, shape, and distribution of harvested areas in the harvest plan. You can use these techniques to regenerate pine and hardwood stands. During the natural development of a forest, young trees compete for all elements needed for growth. Some species or individual trees compete better than do others and assume dominant positions in the forest. The dominant trees in an even-aged forest are large and fast growing.