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  1. #21
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    I'd say no to cutting. You might as well hang a sign that says "i was here." Yeah, one branch at a time won't be noticed, but there are plenty of sites on the AT or LT where you know a camp is near by the lack of any sticks or twigs on the ground or on the trees. Anything burnable has been picked clean.

  2. #22
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    It seems this tread has taken two ... wait if it ... branches. Some are talking about trees and branches in parks (which apparently have a mythical unlimited number of lower dead branches that each person will remove) and others (me) are talking about trees you might find in a remote camp area that have a few reachable dead branches.

    Removing a fire hazard, admittedly in a very limited way, is not the same as leaving a gum wrapper on the ground. Removing a lower dead branch from a tree is not destroying the tree. If you look into it, you'll see you are actually making the tree healthier.

    If you spied a widowmaker stick in some branches and you had the ability to toss up a line and pull it down, would you do that? Or, in the Spirit of "Leave No Trace" would you leave it alone - with the potential to fall on the next visitor?

    If I find a picnic table covered with needles and bird droppings, I do my best to clean it up. After I use it, I don't put the needles and bird poo back so the next visitor can "enjoy" the unsullied natural setting.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 07-28-2022 at 15:33.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  3. #23
    Chard's Avatar
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    Parks of any kind: No cutting of live boughs ever, better to find a different spot. I'd only trim dead trees, limbs and widowmakers, using the trimmings for firewood (eg. stickstove).
    Crown Land (or equivilant public lands): No cutting of live boughs unless absolutely necessary, but I would clear underbrush. Dead limbs and widowmakers are fair game.

    As a side note, I try not to collect any firewood along a shoreline. As a canoeist, I value the dead wood more for its asthetic value than its BTU's.
    Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

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  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by cougarmeat View Post
    If you spied a widowmaker stick in some branches and you had the ability to toss up a line and pull it down, would you do that? Or, in the Spirit of "Leave No Trace" would you leave it alone - with the potential to fall on the next visitor?
    I would not. One, it is probably on there better than I think it is and it seems like a hassle.

    Though the line of reasoning of 'making natural things safer' is the same logic that had those boy scouts knocking over standing stones in Utah.

    As for the fire hazard improvement by breaking off dead branches, I doubt my impact will do anything besides visual. Good or bad. It will not be bad for the tree. It might make the tree in question slightly less prone towards disease. Maybe. For fire, it is spitting in the wind.

    Though I am not going to report anyone for breaking off dead branches. Or even live ones. I just would not do it as I would prefer my presence to go unnoticed.

    I do get really annoyed at people who saw down whole trees for firewood without understanding that green wood does not burn (unless it is ash).

  5. #25

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    Apparently my personal guidelines are mushy.

    I just got back from being out and I needed to move my hammock up just a few inches on one end. I broke off a few small dead branches without even thinking about it. And then took note that I just did that.

    so I guess for me it really depends on what you are doing.

    - If it is a few small branches that are less the say 6” in length, I will break off a handful without thinking about it (apparently)
    - If there are a number of trees and all are ‘bushy’ at the bottom, I will probably (operative word) not break any off as they will look different than the ones I did not mess with. Unless it means there is no where for me to hang.

    So if it can be done and nobody will notice the difference, I will likely break old dead branches. If it will be obvious that I impacted the space I will move much more carefully.


    I am kind of funny about dead branches as I do camp sometimes (rarely these days) when you can not find dry wood to burn (generally snow or recent snow). IMO, the dead branches on the bottoms of trees are for people in those situations and I will avoid when I can.

  6. #26
    Depends... if it is in a place where anyone is likely to find out and care than you are probably not in a great place and it is also probably not a great practice there. If you are off in the middle of nowhere, it likely makes no difference to the forest. The tree will laugh at you when you get sap on your hands and we will see who gets the last laugh.

  7. #27
    New Member 3 Feet High and Rising's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trail Runner View Post
    Dead branches, yes. Live branches, never.
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