Walking in your woods: What to look for?

As a landowner, one of the best regular activities you can do for the health of your woods is to take a walk through it and observe what is going on.  We recommend taking walks at least every season as you can see different things at different times of the year.  For example, in the winter you might be able to see more of your land from the trails as there is less underbrush and your trees might have lost their leaves.  Then in the summer, you might be able to see damage from pests or disease on individual trees.  We have come up with a checklist for you when you are out on your land. 

Checklist on what to look for when out walking your land

All seasons

• Signs for downed or damaged trees that can be a safety issue
• Check the access points on your land. Do you have gates at your entrances? Are they in good working order?
• Always keep an eye out for signs of trespassers. Look for any damage to your trails/trees, illegal dumping, or other signs of people using your land without your permission. 
• Check your trails and roads to make sure they are in good working order. Look for downed trees or signs of soil erosion.   
• Signs that animals are sheltering in your woods (look for snags, downed logs and brushpiles): be sure to protect these areas from activities you might do on your land.  Consider flagging them and marking them on your MyLandPlan.org map so you and those out on your land know not to remove that snag, downed log or brushpile. 
• Document any damage to your woods from wildfires, windstorms, drought, floods, or tornadoes.

Spring 

• Location of vernal pools (aka ephemeral ponds)
• Damage from ice or wind storms. 

Summer 

• Bleeding or oozing trunks? Could be sudden oak death or mountain pine beetle or southern pine beetle. 
• Exit holes on the trunk of your tree? Might be Asian longhorned beetle, thousand canker disease or emerald ash borer.
• Wilting leaves?  Leaves dropping when they shouldn’t be? Then could be oak wilt or maybe thousand cankers disease, hemlock woolly adelgid or western spruce budworm.  
• Do the veins on the leaves look yellow or brown? Could be oak wilt.
• Sparse tree crowns? Might be pine decline or swiss needle cast.  Or for deciduous trees, maybe it is emerald ash borer.
• Short, yellow needles? Could be pine decline or swiss needle cast.
• Chewed leaves? Check out the gypsy moth.
• Learn more about the diseases and pests in your region. 
• Or have you noticed some weeds taking over?