Objective:
Manage the effect of felling and skidding on visual quality.

Considerations:

• Equipment selection with respect to ground conditions.
• Efficient utilization
• Water quality

• Excessive rutting
• Leaving high stumps and damaged, broken, and hung trees
• Poor utilization
• Exposing mineral soil on steep slopes
• Felling or leaving tree tops in waterways
• Excessive stream crossings
• Damaging residual trees

• Cut all stumps as low to the ground as possible.
• Lay out hillside skid trails to minimize their visibility and exposure of mineral soil.
• Minimize stream crossings.
• Stop harvesting operations if soil becomes wet enough to cause excessive rutting.

• Fell all trees within the clearcut area unless left for wildlife or aesthetic beauty (dogwood, redbud, and other flowering species).
• Achieve maximum utilization
• Leave wildlife trees near the edge of openings so they will blend into the timbered background
• Fell all broken, damaged and bent over trees.
  

• Follow logging standards which meet harvest quality requirements and management objectives.

Level #2: Moderately Sensitive

• Cut all stumps as low to the ground as possible.
• Fell all hung and bent trees.
• Consider establishing operating corridors parallel to highway or viewing area.
• Remove all excessively damaged trees.
• Minimize damaging residual trees.
• Consider lopping tops down to a maximum height of 3 feet within 50 feet of highway viewing area.

• Cut all stumps as low to the ground as possible.
• Fell all hung and bent trees.
• Establishing operating corridors parallel to highway or viewing area.
• Remove all excessively damaged trees.
• Consider removing or lopping tops down to a maximum height of 2 feet within 100 feet of highway viewing area.
• Consider establishing viewing zones by intermittent removal of under growth along travel routes.