Hello Everyone,

On Wednesday, September 23, 2020, nine FOSM volunteers felled a total of 33 trees in Sulphur Canyon and Cienega Canyon Picnic Areas.

Ten trees were felled in the upper part of Sulphur PA near the restroom. The diameters ranged from 3 inches to 15 inches. Twenty-three trees were felled in Cienega PA, and the maximum diameter was 22 inches.

Two interesting trees were observed. Sim Cook found a 4-inch diameter oak trunk hanging about 4 feet above the ground with the branches tangled in other trees. Eric Russell removed the hanging trunk by felling the two 8-inch trees supporting it.

Along the Cienega Nature Trail, Jerry Carroll’s team found that the upper half of an 8-inch curved oak had split from the trunk due to the weight of the tree and the extremely high tensile stress in the upper side of the curved tree. When this event occurs in a tree with a heavy lean and a back cut is being made, the stresses can cause the upper side of the trunk starting at the back cut to split vertically and be propelled backward extremely rapidly. This situation is very dangerous for the sawyer at the back of the tree. The resulting shape of the lower part of the cut tree is similar to a chair, and  the event is known as “barber chairing”.

The volunteers were Don Carnicom, Eric Russell, Cliff Giles, Jerry Pekarek, Steve Roholt, Jerry Carroll, Byron Garner, Sim Cook, and Sam Beard.  Photographs of the work today are presented in the attached Word document.

Sam Beard, Projects Chair

Friends of the Sandia Mountains