Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

my first look yesterday at the damage. Mygawd! I've never seen anything like it. So, what happens now? All the damaged trees die? How loang before things look somewhat "normal"? Very sad and depressing.

maybe for the trees that just lost some limbs it will be just like pruning them but the snapped limbs will provide better entry for the bugs to get in them its definately going to look different when we get leaves

with mud slides and now this ice storm....feels like "end of times" kinda stuff. I have the sinking feeling that I'll not see the recovery within my remaining years.

All sorts of new pests on the move in now too.... , but out of all of that new canopy space thats open now there will be some younger hardwoods (hopefully all native) that will begin the resurgence or re-establishment of the Ozarks....

And this time, the hardwoods will not all be the same age with re-establishement as they were some 90 years ago or so. Which will result in a more healthy forest (the natural way !)

Good to hear the good side of that! I was totally flabbergasted as I drove up and down Hwy 21 yesterday. It looked like an F5 tornado had managed to run right down the highway for 30 miles. Trees were sheared off at midtrunk, whole stands of trees uprooted together in lots of places, some just twisted into standing heaps of splinters and brush. Whole mountainsides were salted with the bright tips of broken limbs and trunks.

My hike to Glory Hole was an exercise in straddling and stooping. There were places where two or three massive hardwoods had fallen in exactly the same direction. At one spot where I had to navigate a bunch of laid-over pines, I counted 20 in that one cluster that had all laid down in the same direction. Apparently, there were strong winds at work along with the freezing precip. It truly looked like tornado damage, except that it was spread out for miles in every direction. The local old-timers say they've never seen anything like it.

I do hope we all have the foresight and patience to let Nature take its course. I fear our well-intended efforts to "clean it up" will deprive the mountains of resources that help maintain long-term balance. At least two or three human generations will see the direct aftermath of that ice storm.

just read in the nuzpaper where the Ozarks will be taken over by turkeys. No, not Team Stupid....the other kind of turkeys. Seems the downed trees will provide for more cover for turkeys and more bugs for them to eat....and hard for the hunters to get in there to kill'um. Go turkeys go! And chipmunks too.

I have a question along the same lines.
Does anybody have any info on the status of the Ozark Highlands Trail post ice storm? To be specific the Hurricane Creek section of the trail. Who's been brave enough to get out and hike it since the Ice storm?
Thanks.

Some info on the USFS website.

Some salvaging of downed timber is underway/planned.
Here is a link to a map of the salvage areas. (large file) Looks like the entire forest except for wilderness areas. Plan for the Big Piney District

Here is a map of the damage zones in the Big Piney District (large file)

Link to latest news release on the USFS webpage

Who's been brave enough to get out and hike it since the Ice storm?

It would take a brave soul to go out and climb over, under, and around every tree that has fallen onto the trail. Not to mention those widow makers that are hanging on by some bark fiber.

I know when we had our ice-out two years ago I had the same feeling. It was utter destruction in a lot of places. It was like the descriptions I have heard from the people who were in this year’s. We said the same thing. War zone, bombs went off, etc. And to go out and listen, it sounded like shotgun blasts every few seconds with the limbs breaking. It is like losing old and dear friends.

But here is one thing that we are going experience in the near future with this storm. We are experiencing it now in my area of the Ozarks.

There will be an increasing danger of wild fires due to the downed lumber that is going to be seasoned to perfection. A good time to be aware of and spread the word about this is now, before it becomes reality. And it will. We will need to be a bit extra vigilant on our burning. Leaves, fields, campfires, everything. Even a good lighting strike will set something ablaze (which we can’t help).

Always remember to look up during the excursions to the woods to watch for those widow-makers. They will get worse as the time goes by.

But on the up side? As time goes by, things will look a lot better for the forestation. I guess there will be more chance of disease and insect infestation, but Ma Nature will take care of herself!