Woodland Services

Long View's woodland service crew members work closely with both forest management and contracting staff in the care and tending of the forest.  The varied activities they focus on create critical links in the chain of treatments necessary to achieve excellent results through the long lives of trees.             
Top photo:  Will Lehning cutting his way into an invasive infestation.
Bottom photo:  Dan Healey pausing during some pruning work.  
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​Invasive Plant Management
Unfortunately a variety of invasive plants species are now widely established in and around our region's forests.  Many grow rapidly and interfere with the ability of native tree species to become established and survive.  Long View's woodland service staff use a variety of tools and techniques to reduce and manage invasive plant infestations based on the   

Timber Stand Improvement
In simple terms, forestry is large scale gardening of trees with a series of weedings and crop harvests.  Timber stand improvement (TSI) refers to any activity aimed at improving the future growth of the forest when the trees to "weed" are too small, poor quality, or inaccessible for commercial harvest.  Long View's woodland service staff use small chainsaws and clearing saws to cut non-salable trees to provide extra growing space for favored species and individual stems.  Identifying and encouraging the best specimens early is the easiest and most effective way to grow a forest full of great trees. 
 
Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance
Having easy access to the woods is one of the surest ways to foster excellent management and allow regular enjoyment and use of forest resources.  Woodland service crew members use small equipment and hand tools to build and maintain winding trails for landowners who enjoy narrow footpaths through their forest.  When heavy equipment is needed for larger multi-use road and trail projects, Long View's contracting staff are available to help.  

Tree Pruning, Planting, Removals, and Chipping
Rounding out the woodland service crew's activities, are occasional projects pruning trees (for fruit production, timber values, or tree health), planting trees, and doing small scale removals and chipping along trails, field edges, and near buildings or other structures. 

​Woodland Service Staff
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Dan Healey, Woodland Services Forester and Shareholder
Dan first joined Long View in 2002 and spent two winter seasons logging.  He then switched gears to pursue interests in farming and trailwork before starting his own business.  For five years Dan grew a business focused on treework, small scale logging, and invasive plant control. In 2012 Dan decided to return to Long View to work with a larger team and develop our woodland service offerings.   This was a natural fit given the overlap with the work Dan was doing in his own business and Long View's desire to better serve the full spectrum of landowner needs.  Dan now works with forest management staff and Long View clients with a focus on the woodland service areas of the business.  Dan lives in Brattleboro, VT with his family and is an active member of several local organizations including the Windham Regional Woodlands Association as well as the Putney Mountain Association. 
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Tom Groves, Field Foreman 
Tom is the daily on the ground lead for the woodland service crew.  His background and greatest expertise is in invasive plant control after multiple seasons of work experience in southern New England (where the problem is unfortunately much worse).  Tom earned a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Framingham State University in 2014 and is a certified commercial pesticide applicator in Vermont and Massachusetts.     
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Will Lehning, Crew Member
Will is following the "Jack-of-all-trades" path at Long View.  While he's officially a member of the woodland service crew, he also leads Long View's annual harvest of white birch bark, and works with one of the contracting crews logging.  Will grew up working for his family's logging business and a local dairy farm before earning a B.S. in Forestry from Paul Smith's College in 2015 and then joining Long View. 
Seasonal Crew Members (left to right)
Harry Voekel, Marshall Keeton, Thom Chase, Justin Taylor

Banner photo at top:  Thom Chase and Tom Groves with their clearing saws ready for a day of Timber Stand Improvement work.