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Planting Trees
Since 2006, Running Enterprise has been designing shelterbelts for landowners/managers to accomplish certain goals on the land. Starting in 2009, Running Enterprise will offer a full-service tree planting program.
Designing a shelterbelt takes time; it is not something you do overnight. The idea of a shelterbelt may come overnight, but the correct design and installation of a shelterbelt can literally take months. Well-designed shelterbelts can save you money, enhance wildlife habitat, and provide valuable protection for livestock and buildings (structures). In addition, they can add value to your land and enhance the aesthetic value of your property. Running Enterprise believes in bringing all of these values to you, while providing this to you at a manageable cost.
Benefits of a Shelterbelt
- Prevent soil erosion (farm fields especially)
- Prevent wind erosion
- Provide food, cover, and shelter for wildlife
- Protect livestock from the weather elements (cold, heat, wind)
- Ease energy costs for buildings
- Provide hunting values
- Dry land hay producer irrigation system
- Value added asset to the land
- Improve the aesthetic value of your property
- Catch snow
- Produce berries and fruits for human consumption
- Provide future fire wood (energy)
- Provide seclusion
- Improve the environment
- Many other opportunities as well
How to Install a Shelterbelt
- Create the idea. Trees never get planted unless someone creates the idea and brings it to the drawing board. All shelterbelts, good or bad, were derived from an idea.
- Get started early. This doesn't mean spring time when the grass starts growing. This means sometime throughout the year, start pursuing your idea. This is the planning stage. You need to establish the location of the shelterbelt and define the goals and objectives that you want to accomplish. Next create a soil profile. Certain trees will grow in certain areas and not others so by doing a soil profile, you will be helping in aiding in choosing the right trees for the location. Once you have done a soil profile, choose trees that fit the soil and satisfy the goals of the shelterbelt.
- Soil preparation. This is one of the most important parts of a shelterbelt. Without proper soil preparation, your shelterbelt will fail. More shelterbelts fail across the country because of the lack of soil preparation. Good soil prep begins in the fall.
- Establish a protocol with everyone involved. What materials will be used, if any chemicals are going to be used, tree planting methods, irrigation, fencing, and so on. It is important to have a well established plan in the beginning than to be developing it along the way. Who is involved in this job? What is their role?
- Order the trees on time, the earlier the better.
- Complete the job. It's that easy. But remember most shelterbelts fail because they were unorganized, uninformed, in a hurry, and did not plan properly.
Everyone's situation is different. Everyone has different goal to accomplish, different pieces of ground, different weather conditions, and battle Mother Nature differently. So just because your neighbor had good/bad luck doesn't mean you will have good/bad luck.
Running Enterprise has simple procedures it follows to plant trees. First, follow the steps above. But furthermore, look at things deeper than most people do. Planting trees in the country in a shelterbelt is much different than planting trees in your yard or in town. They are tons different. Key things we look for are soil profile, litter in the soil, the history of use on the land prior to planting a shelterbelt, and do the goals match what we need to achieve with the shelterbelt.
Then We Take It Further
- Tilling vs. non-tilling
- Weed barrier – Do we need it, size, and installation
- Irrigation – Do we need it, can we get it below-ground, or are there alternative ways to get moisture to the trees?
- Planting techniques
- Chemical – Do we need it, how will it be used
- What wildlife concerns are there
- Replanting efforts in the years to come
- Is the landowner eligible for any cost share benefits from the government
- Work with any other interest groups
- Protection- is it necessary, types of protection, fencing
- Then we address any other concerns to assist the landowner/manager to get the job done right and to achieve their goal and objectives.
So as you can see, a shelterbelt is not just something you dream up today and get tomorrow. It takes time and dedication. These are long term investments. They take time to get started, time to establish, and time to see results from. But the benefits in the end are very well worth it; just ask anyone who has a well-established shelterbelt.
Running Enterprise also does riparian area restoration, which often involves planting new trees. This is done on a case-by-case situation, but is evaluated much like planting any shelterbelt. For more information please contact us to review your situation.
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updated
03/31/2009
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