CUT-TO-LENGTH HARVESTING INITIATIVE

The Cut-to-Length (CTL) Harvesting Initiative, a partnership involving SFF, the Lyme Timber Company and Coastal Enterprises, Inc, was launched in November 2007 to encourage and facilitate the use, where practical, of this advanced harvesting technology. The use of CTL has environmental benefits, and it also has the potential to provide economic benefits to landowners, loggers and the broader forest economy.

What is Cut-to-Length?

In the Cut-to-Length (CTL) Harvesting method, trees are felled, delimbed and bucked to various assortments (e.g., sawlogs, pulpwood, veneer bolts) directly in the stump area. Cut logs are then carried in a wagon (rather than skidded) to a roadside landing. This contrasts with a more conventional method (such as the tree length method) in which the entire tree or a long section of the tree is skidded to a roadside landing before these other activities can begin.

An efficient CTL setup typically requires two machines, a computerized harvester that cuts and delimbs the trees and bucks them to various assortments, and a forwarder to carry the logs to the roadside landing.

Environmental and Potential Economic Benefits of Cut-to-Length

The CTL method can be substantially more environmentally friendly than the conventional approach.  There are also potential economic benefits, such as higher paying, more sustainable jobs and dramatic reductions in fuel costs.   Read more

Barriers that Have Inhibited the Transition to Cut-to-Length

A logger making the transition to CTL faces a substantial capital investment, as well as a substantial learning curve on the effective use of CTL.  The Cut-to-Length Harvesting Initiative was designed with financial and training incentives to assit  loggers in making the transition to CTL.

CTL Study & Assessment

In September 2009, SFF initiated a broad review and analysis of Cut-to-Length Harvesting in the Northeast. The study includes a detailed literature review, a detailed survey of logging contractors who are using CTL, and an assessment of the potential costs and benefits of CTL from the perspectives of logging contractors and landowners, and broader perspectives including the economy and the environment. The study is expected to be completed and published during the Summer of 2010.

An assessment is also being conducted of the initial experience in implementing CTL on the Lyme Timber Company's Northern Forest lands.

CTL Survey Results & Presentation

At the 2010 Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo held in Essex Junction, VT, SFF and the Lyme Timber Company presented study results on Cut-to-Length Harvesting in the Northeast; including how and where CTL systems have been adopted, its benefits and challenges, and the situations where CTL harvesting may be most beneficial. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion. Download presentation: Northeast Cut-to-Length Survey Results and Discussion.pdf